Academic Journal Blog M3 - Web Resource
The
web resource I selected to describe from Module 3 is the Native American Authors link to an alphabetic listings by author’s
name, resource (online or book) title, and tribal affiliation. A message is
posted on the homepage stated that the IPL2 consortium of US colleges and
universities is now closed permanently, but that the website, hosted by Drexel
University, may continue to be used.
I
was surprised by the amount of information available on this website. Anyone
looking for information about Native American authors would be well served to
bookmark this website for future reference. The IPL2 did a terrific job of
compiling and organizing this data. However, at some point in the future, as
this site is not updated, the data will become incomplete. I hope that some
other organization sees the value in this resource, and assumes responsibility
for maintaining and providing this information as an online resource.
I
decided to test the value of the resource by searching for my voice, Wilma
Mankiller. I easily found four online resources about her, and a book reference
to “A Chief and Her People” written by her. I know that I could have found
these same, and probably thousands more resources, with a simple Google (or
some other browser) search, but the ease and simplicity of using this resource
should make it very attractive to researchers.
One
of the online resources was a speech titled “Rebuilding the Cherokee Nation”
given by Mankiller in 1993 at Sweet Briar College
in Virginia.
I read through her speech and found very interesting that when she became Chief
she did not focus on the daunting problems facing the Cherokee, but instead on
the strengths of the Cherokee and making use of those strengths to tackle those
daunting problems. The strengths she mentioned were: the Cherokee are a
tenacious people; the Cherokee paid attention to culture, history and heritage;
the Cherokee had great leadership in their communities; and the Cherokee had a
great sense of interdependence. From her perspective, these strengths were the
foundation for rebuilding the Cherokee Nation.
I feel with Mankiller, she felt problems could be addressed better with a stronger tribe. She ousted the Black Cherokee, which went to the Supreme Court - one decision I feel she was wrong. NN
ReplyDeleteGreat web source. When I first looked the site over I was just amazed at how much information the site packed into self. The vast amount of information that they have about authors is very impressive. The site seemed very easy to navigate and was well laid out. One big part about the site though, when I was bringing it up, the main page stated that the site was permanently closed and would no longer be updated. Thats too bad to see such a resource be no longer receive regular updates but what information they have posted will remain accessible. Also I would like to find more information about the ousting of the Black Cherokee by Mankiller.
ReplyDeleteNice post, I also found the author site but chose not to use it as it doesn't update anymore. Although I did find my "Faithkeeper" Oren Lyons Biographical Sketch and Member of Earth Legacy Advisory Board listed. Along with his two books, "Dog Story" and "Exiled in the land of the free: democracy, indian nations,and the U.S. Constitution."
ReplyDelete