Research Paper
Your research paper for this course can cover any topic in which the rights of tribal sovereignty or self- government are at stake. In other words, any case or situation in which a Native American tribe (or tribes) are seeking to assert, expand, or define their power to make government decisions for themselves. Often, such claims bring tribes into conflict with states, or federal laws, or with government agencies like the Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Environmental Protection Agency, and so result in public debates, court cases, or new legislation.
Your research will explain what is at issue in your chosen case or issue, including:
- What kinds of powers or authority the tribe(s) in question are asserting/claiming (e.g., a right to control of land, or of some natural resource, or criminal jurisdiction over a person or group)
- What other powers/institutions/entities are involved (e.g., state governments, federal agencies, ?other tribes, private citizens, etc.)
- How/if the issue has been decided or resolved
- How the issue connects to the broader issues and theories of multiculturalism we have ?examined
Example Research Paper Topics:
• Federal recognition of tribes?
• Tribal membership criteria?
• Tribal water rights?
• Gaming (gambling) on reservations?
• Criminal jurisdiction on Indian lands?
• Control/ownership of mineral resources on Indian lands
• Cultural practices/religious freedom
For any?for your research. For example, if you choose federal recognition of tribes, you might look at the case of one particular Indian group who are seeking recognition, or a group that was recently granted recognition. For tribal membership, you could look at a case like the Cherokee Freedmen controversy. Or, if you were to choose the topic of criminal jurisdiction, you could look at a particular court case, like Williams v. Lee; for gaming on reservations, you could examine the case of California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. (Court cases, or specific laws, will be a good choice for many of the topics).
You may also choose something that doesn't fit within any of these general topics, but if you want to do this make sure you get your choice approved before you proceed further with your research.
Research Outline
In addition to the paper itself, you will submit a detailed paper outline and annotated bibliography in week seven of the course. This outline will demonstrate the overall structure of the paper and the major topics you will be discussing. The length of the outline will vary somewhat, but 5-7 pages is a reasonable estimate. The more you are able to include in your outline, however, the closer you of these topics, you will choose a specific case or issue, historic or ongoing, to use as an example are to finishing the paper. The purpose of the outline is to show that you have made substantial progress in your research and have a general sense of your topic and how you plan to approach it. This means that you will need to have done quite a bit of work already; you will not be able to put your outline together in a night or two.
You will also submit, with the outline, an annotated bibliography. This is a list of all the sources you will be using, with a short (3-4 sentence) explanation of what the source is and how it contributes to your research.
Formatting and technical requirements:
- Your final paper should a minimum of fifteen pages in length, double-spaced, with a normal 12- point font and one-inch margins.
- You need to have at least five sources for your paper; at least one of these should be a book, and at least three should be scholarly sources (academic books, articles from peer-reviewed journals, court decision, or legislation). If you aren't sure what counts as a scholarly source, ask for clarification, or check this guide from the DePaul Library:https://tutorials.library.depaul.edu/e- learning/working-with-journals-web/
- Include in-text citations (either parenthetical or footnotes) for all references to your sources. It does not matter to me which citation format you use, as long as you use one. If you are not familiar with any standard citation format (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.), then please look up how to properly cite sources using one of these formats. The DePaul library website has links to guides for all of the major citation formats. (https://libguides.depaul.edu/research101/research101-cite-sources).
o You need a citation any time you quote someone, as well as any time you reference another person's ideas or arguments. If there is an idea or point in a sentence that is not your own, original idea, or contains a factual statement that is not common knowledge, then that sentence should end in a citation. As a general rule of thumb, it is always better to have too many citations than too few, so if you are at all in doubt, cite.
o Long quotations (anything over four lines of text) should be formatted as block quotes- smaller margins, smaller font, single-spaced. In general, avoid using very many long quotations; the majority of the paper should be your own words, thoughts, and ideas.