Assignment:
Ethnography of an Indigenous Culture
This activity is a good way to demonstrate what you have learned in this course. Be sure to choose an indigenous culture that you find interesting. Read all directions and ask questions if you have them.
To successfully complete this activity, you will need to consult:
• your textbook
• Web sites -- no encyclopedia!
• Contact your instructor at least three weeks before this assignment to make sure you have chosen an indigenous group. Numerous
students have made mistakes in understanding what is meant by indigenous. Please review your readings. It is also best to NOT choose a group in the United States (they have assimilated to U.S. Culture and it can be difficult to write paper).
You will be constructing an ethnography of an indigenous culture of your choice. To help you choose an indigenous culture, I would recommend starting at these websites:
Wikipedia Indigenous Peoples
Center for World Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Node of the World Wide Web Virtual Library
I must approve your choice by the fourth week of the semester. This is not an activity you will want to procrastinate on.
This acivity is a capstone experience for you. It is critical that you demonstrate you can use as many concepts from our course as possible. You are to apply as many ideas you have learned from the textbook, videos, and websites as possible. Underline each concept you use from the text! While firsthand knowledge of a culture is valuable, you must use academic resources for this activity.
When you submit your activity, type out the question and then your response. You will not need to organize your work into the traditional style for a paper. It is your job to "flesh out" the indigenous culture you have chosen. By the time you have finished, someone who knows nothing about your indigenous culture should be able to truly understand it.
• Include the complete address of any and all Web sites you use
Some of the following questions may be answered in a few paragraphs, but some may require you to write more than a page. You probably will need to consult more than one WEB site. If you choose a culture that has been changed by another, be certain to stick with the traditional aspects of your chosen culture before it was contaminated by outsiders. Integrate concepts, ideas, and theories from your textbook and Web sites. Remember: demonstrate that you can truly use concepts from this course.
1. Is this truly a culture? What makes it a culture? Why is it a culture? (Remember language!)
2. Where is thisculture geographically located? Cite if you quote.
3. Of the patterns of subsistence covered in your videos and textbook, which is the dominant type used in your culture and why?
4. How have these people adapted to their physical environment?
5. Is this a preliterate or literate culture? Explain.
6. How are mates selected? (Think on a cultural basis.)
7. How is descent traced? Describe the system and why this system works for these people.
8. What form of marriage is found? What form of family? Describe them.
9. Describe the religion or concept(s) of the supernatural. How does the pattern of subsistence relate to the type of religion?
10. How have outside forces changed this culture? What are some of the challenges faced by this group today? This is an important part of your paper.
11. What do you believe this culture's future will be like? (Think anthropologically!)
12. Is there anything about this culture which strikes you as unique? Discuss and describe your reaction in cultural terms.
Other Directions
1. Paper must be typed and double-spaced.
2. Cutting and pasting from a website is the same as plagiarism. Make sure you place the information in quotes, give the website credit, and also explain in your own words.
3. Type out every question and then answer it. The paper does not have to be written in a formal research format.
4. Don't just list but answer the questions in paragraph form.
5. Pictures, graphs and other supporting material are great.
6. You may also want to go to the library and check out books and use them.