ARE YOU FEELING SO VERY... DISCO? / a disco elysium-inspired pamphlet about the genre that changed the goddamn world. feel free to print it out yourself and give it to others, baby! (i also have some printed extras from ax u can get on my shop)
AAAAA PHEW i just finished binding a bunch of new zines that compile my PNW fantasy sketch pages :”) just in time for when I get to table at the Portland Zine Symposium tomorrow!!!!! if anyone’s in the area come say hi!!!
I’ve loved walking through this event for several years now, I’m so happy that i get the chance to table this time 🥹🥹🥹
Thanks for the interest folks ;_; I went ahead and added it to my ko-fi shop for those who want one but can't make it to Portland!
(Since I'm tabling this weekend and next, I might be a little slow sending them out, but i'll do my best to do it asap, definitely within 2 weeks! Thank you ;v; )
Why "Precolonial" Indigenous North American History Matters: A Mini Syllabus
Okay I had this half-finished lying around so I prettied it up into something vaguely usable and added links wherever possible (most of them being totally legal...)
This is not a full treatment of Indigenous history before European contact. It was originally created to be a 15 week class, so it was not intended to cover everything but to give a taste of various regions and histories. Unfortunately, certain essays I would highly recommend are in the Oxford handbooks I listed at the end, and I have been unable to locate free-to-access versions.
Each section includes a question to consider that is intended to suggest ways that these precolonial histories have reverberations into the present. In a course I'd be able to draw them out more clearly, but keep them in mind as you read, if you like. Finally, please keep in mind that few of these sources will read like a "straightforward history" of "precolonial [xyz region/tribe/nation]." Be open-minded and critical-thinking!
Part 1: Foundations
Questions to consider:
Why didn't we learn this stuff?
Why should we learn this stuff?
Why do so many Indigenous people distrust historians / anthropologists / archaeologists?
Readings:
Michael Witgen (Red Cliff Ojibwe), "American Indians in World History" in The Oxford Handbook of American Indian History
Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Custer Died For Your Sins, chapter 4: "Anthropologists and Other Friends"
Floyd Westerman (Sisseton Dakota), "Here Come the Anthros" (music video!!)
Juliana Barr, "There's no such thing as prehistory"
Peregrine and Lekson, "The North American Oikumene"
(Parts 2-6 under the cut)
Part 2: Mesoamerica
Question to consider: How could so few Spaniards conquer the vast population of Tenochtitlan and other Aztec cities?
Readings:
Camilla Townsend, Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs
Popol Vuh (translated by Allen J. Christenson)
Part 3: Aridoamerica/Oasisamerica
Question to consider: How did the Southwest region of the United States become so associated with the touristy image of the "peaceful Pueblo Indian"?
Readings:
Joe Sando (Jemez Pueblo), Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History
Kelley and Francis (Navajo), A Diné History of Navajoland, introduction
Severin Fowles, "The Pueblo Village in an Age of Reformation"
Part 4: The Midcontinent
Question to consider: How did the Five "Civilized" Tribes become so powerful, both historically and today?
Readings:
Alt and Pauketat, "Medieval Life in America's Heartland"
Christopher B. Teuton (Cherokee Nation), Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liar's Club
Part 5: The Great Lakes
Question to consider: What role did Indigenous peoples play in the French ultimately losing their North American colonies? (Why am I writing this in English and not French?)
Readings:
Georges Sioui (Wendat), Huron-Wendat: Heritage of the Circle (I can't find an online copy but it's extremely worth buying)
Kayanerehkowa: The Great Law of Peace (Kahnawake Mohawk)
Part 6: General Resources
I would also recommend these two handbooks, if you can get a hold of them for a non-outrageous price:
The Oxford Handbook of American Indian History (2016)
The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology (2011)
Meet the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). Growing up to 374.8 lbs (170 kg), this species is commonly found swimming in ice-free northern waters; it prefers to inhabit saltwater bays and estuaries, or even freshwater lakes and rivers. Its diet includes fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. While the harbor seal is awkward on land and moves with a bouncing crawl, it’s a graceful swimmer in water. This marine mammal can hold its breath for up to 30 minutes and can even snooze while submerged!
Photo: Pierce Louderback, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
it is evident that the general tumblr populous has written off most historically black art forms near entirely. this applies to music, film, art history, etc. rather, the art engaged with and popularized in tumblr spheres is that of "good representation" which usually takes the form of idk, a black side character on your tv show whose personality is a huge nothingburger, but is appealing because they are not "problematic."
i think alot of this comes down to people's inability to make judgement calls for themself about what is ethical and what is right. this can be seen in conversations about kink when people say "anything as long as it's legal," sorry but, that is an incredibly bad faith and spineless read. the law should not decide your morals, you should, because anything can be criminalized, and your distinction of a perverse harmful action versus an acceptable one hinges upon your ability to make a decision about what you think is right.
when white allegedly woke users don't engage with black art, what i see is this: a person who does not know how to engage with art in a critical way that is decided by what they think–because this art causes them to confront what they think. often, when white and engaging with black art, you will be confronted by your own racist presumptions, your own back-of-mind urges, and that is the most important part. everyone is racist, because we undeniably live under white supremacy and are thus subject to racist propaganda near constantly (insert sydney sweeney jeans ad).
i really do think some white tumblr users are afraid of engaging with content made outside of their culture because they could be "appropriating" or having "incorrect thoughts" about race. this thought police bullshit will only coddle your racism. you need to undo it yourself by engaging with black people and black art. nobody else will for you, you will not one day be cured, you are the only one who can dismantle your own racism. you cannot avoid your racism by pretending race does not exist (i.e. by [consciously or unconsciously] not engaging with the works of black people). that is the titular thing, really: do you really want to stay racist? you could be listening to tha carter ii, like
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