A survey of Indigenous literatures across Turtle Island from before colonization to the present day, with an emphasis on historical contexts and literary developments in a variety of genres (including objects such as wampum belts and pictographs). Topics to be explored include colonial relations in pre-Confederation Canada and the US, the Trail of Tears, residential schooling, Indigenous migration and urbanization, the Sixties Scoop, the Occupation of Alcatraz, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The course considers how Indigenous literatures have raised and addressed these issues over the past five hundred years. Authors may include Joseph Brant (Mohawk), E. Pauline Johnson (Mohawk), George Copway (Mississauga Ojibwe), Basil Johnston (Ojibwe Anishnaabe), Maria Campbell (Métis), Lee Maracle (Métis/Salish), Handsome Lake (Seneca), Samson Occom (Mohegan), John Ross (Cherokee), William Apess (Pequot), Alexander Lawrence Posey (Creek), Sarah Winnemucca (Paiute), Zitkála-Šá (Sioux), Mourning Dove (Okanogan), N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Joy Harjo (Muscogee), Louise Erdrich (Anishnaabe), and Alicia Elliott (Tuscarora). |