Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: American Indians
- All Subjects: Film Studies
- Creators: Brayboy, Bryan
- Status: Published
Description
Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribCrit) as a theoretical framework, this dissertation analyzes a contemporary cinematic film directed by an American Indian filmmaker about American Indians and answers the question of whether the visual texts are unmasking, critiquing, confronting, and/or reinforcing reductive and stereotypical images of American Indians. Using Critical Thematic Analysis as a process, this dissertation interrogates Drunktown’s Finest (2014) to understand ways a contemporary American Indian filmmaker engages in counterstorying as a sovereignist action and simultaneously investigates ways the visual narrative and imagery in the film contributes to the reinforcement of hegemonic representations—the static, constrained, White-generated images and narratives that have been sustained in the hegemonic culture for over a century. With an increase in the number of American Indian filmmakers entering into the cultural elitist territory of Hollywood, moving from the margins to the center, I believe Natives are now in a better position to apprehend and reconstruct a multidimensional and complex American Indian identity. I posit that the reshaping of these mass-mediated images can only be countered through the collective and sustained fostering of a more complex imagery of the American Indian and that authorship of the representation is crucial to changing the hegemonic imagery of American Indians.
ContributorsHoliday-Shchedrov, Dawna (Author) / Sandlin, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Swadener, Beth Blue (Thesis advisor) / Brayboy, Bryan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Belonging to a tribe or American Indian Indigenous group in the United States, even if one has already been enrolled or accepted into the community, is a lifelong endeavor. Belonging may be achieved by meeting specific criteria during one life stage yet one must continue to behave and act in ways that align with community expectations to maintain a sense of belonging throughout all life stages. This descriptive qualitative case study presents the findings of in-depth interviews, with five individual tribal members, two male and three female participants, ranging in age from 25 to 55, who are college graduates and tribal members. The study aimed to understand the different forms and ideas of belonging for tribal members, how the notion of belonging is understood and achieved over the life course, and how phenotypic arguments, blood quantum, the role of schooling and demonstration of tribal knowledge influences the extent to which belonging is earned and how that can change over time. The study sought to answer the following questions: How do tribal members define “belonging”? How and in what ways do tribal members learn how to become members of the community? And, what can tribal communities and tribal members do to foster a sense of belonging for members who have left to obtain professional or academic training and seek to return to serve the nation?
The study focused on participants the Gila River Indian Community, a tribal community in southwest Arizona with approximately 23,000 enrolled members, who completed a higher education degree and sought to return to serve as professionals and/or leaders at their tribal nation. Interviews were conducted off-reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan area within a 30-day window and held during the month of September
2015. Interviews were analyzed using three iterative levels of content analysis. Findings suggest there can be three methods of belonging within Gila River: belonging by cultural practices, belonging by legal definition, and belonging by both cultural and legal definition. However, the three methods of belonging do not automatically equate to being accepted by other tribal members.
The study focused on participants the Gila River Indian Community, a tribal community in southwest Arizona with approximately 23,000 enrolled members, who completed a higher education degree and sought to return to serve as professionals and/or leaders at their tribal nation. Interviews were conducted off-reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan area within a 30-day window and held during the month of September
2015. Interviews were analyzed using three iterative levels of content analysis. Findings suggest there can be three methods of belonging within Gila River: belonging by cultural practices, belonging by legal definition, and belonging by both cultural and legal definition. However, the three methods of belonging do not automatically equate to being accepted by other tribal members.
ContributorsMolina, Mario (Author) / Brayboy, Bryan (Thesis advisor) / Moore, Elsie (Committee member) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The beginnings of this paper developed from the initial question of: how can tribal nations create private economies on their reservations? Written and researched from an undergraduate student perspective, this paper begins to answer the question by analyzing the historical and current states of Indian Country's diverse tribal economies. Additionally, this paper will identify various tribal economic development challenges with a specific emphasis on education attainment as a key factor. Then, a solution will be presented in the form of a tribal business program modeled within the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University located in Tempe, Arizona. The solution is grounded in the idea that a highly qualified workforce is the best resource for economic development.
ContributorsTso, Cora Lee (Author) / Miller, Robert (Thesis director) / Hillman, Amy (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / American Indian Studies Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Media is a powerful tool used to reflect and affect change in society. Within this study, a brief historical context is provided of roles African Americans in film were traditionally cast in. By employing Critical Race Theory (CRT), cultural capital, and NewBlackMan frameworks, I analyzed how Black male film directors and producers depicted race, class, gender within the Black film boom of the early 2000s. I examined the depictions of educational outcomes of the characters within films utilized in this study. My results display progress that still needs to be made in breaking down traditional gender roles, how race needed to be more critically examined, and how educational outcomes of the characters were not realistic. I also provide suggestions for conducting media studies through the discipline of education in the future.
ContributorsWilliams, Jernine (Author) / Margolis, Eric (Thesis advisor) / Brayboy, Bryan (Committee member) / Sandlin, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010