As one of the first places people turn to for information, Wikipedia is lacking articles about topics ranging from indigenous peoples to black history. Volunteer editors, primarily males in high-income countries with access to high speed Internet connections, create pages about people and events that are familiar to them, leaving gaps in coverage. To fill in the gaps, the Wikipedia foundation sponsors edit-a-thons; this past October was the Indigenous Peoples' Day edit-a-thon. During the San Diego, California event, volunteers from the United States, Canada and Mexico created pages about notable Native Americans, tribes and Indigenous historical figures to expand Wikipedia's coverage of disenfranchised peoples.
While Wikipedia continues to
Shoemaker, Nancy. “ Native-American Women in History.” OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 9, No. 4, Native Americans (Summer, 1995), pp. 10-14. 17 Nov. 2013
Some people love controversy; some despise it. Regardless of how one views a controversial topic, odds are he is fascinated by it and has his own thoughts on the matter. Journalist Leonard Pitts, Jr., who authors editorial articles for the Miami Herald, writes extremely opinionated pieces on current controversial topics targeting those who are not minorities. He writes with the goal of bringing to light issues that people would rather not discuss. Pitts’ style can be seen through pieces such as “Don’t Lower the Bar on Education Standards;” “Torture Might Work, but That’s Not the Issue;” and “If the Gunman is White, We’re OK With Mass Murder.
Sean Kamperman the author of “The Wikipedia Game: Boring, Pointless, or Neither” believes that wikipedia can be helpful with educational learning purposes. Wikipedia is known for plagiarism and fake information. People make Wikipedia have a bad reputation in schools especially in english classes. Wikipedia can be a source of entertainment and self improvement for some people. Some people might just research stuff on Wikipedia to find interesting articles. In “Wikihunt” many Wikipedia users have “discovered” a game of their own, this involves creativity so it brings out the creative qualities of people. Wikipedia is a educational game and it's also free it's convenient for people. The game “Wikihunt” involves two people in separate computers
As historians bring to light groups long excluded, or condescendingly treated only as victim, they are recovering the life stories of more and more “unknowns” and coming up with more and more unsung heroes and heroines.
There have been many influential cultural leaders throughout the history of the world. These leaders worked to change and improve society for those without a voice of their own. Minorities often suffer miserable conditions until someone takes a stand to demand change. In the United States, Native Americans are treated as second-class citizens who don’t have the equality that all persons in this country should have. Many well known Native Americans have worked to achieve better education, healthcare, housing, and jobs for their people. One of the few women in this group, Wilma Mankiller, made many important accomplishments in modern Native American society. As a member of the Cherokee tribe, Mankiller overcame many obstacles to become the first female Deputy Chief, as well as the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Wilma Mankiller has become one of the most important leaders in Native American history as well as an influential advocate for women's rights.
The limited presence of Native Americans translates to the limited possibility of Native Americans to voice their perspectives. In order to achieve a fuller picture of Native Americans, the media must stay away from misrepresenting the race when they are present. Presenting Native Americans as a race of savages only makes more people believe that misinterpretation. The media needs to become more informed about the culture of Native Americans, feature more Native Americans in their productions, and represent a clearer picture of a people that has suffered from portrayals as a primitive people. The media should never be responsible for interpreting the image of a particular race; it should serve to more accurately inform people.
Feminism and Indigenous women activism is two separate topics although they sound very similar. In indigenous women’s eyes feminism is bashing men, although Indigenous women respect their men and do not want to be a part of a women’s culture who bring their men down. Feminism is defined as “The advocacy of women 's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” In theory feminism sounds delightful despite the approaches most feminists use such as wrong-full speaking of the opposite gender. Supposedly, feminism is not needed as a result of Indigenous women being treated with respect prior to colonization. Thus, any Native woman who calls herself a feminist is often condemned as being “white”. This essay argues that Indigenous women may
"Native American Youth 101." Aspen Institue. Aspen Institues, 24 July 11. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
The speeches and writings from this week on Indian Removal truly shocked me. I have never been informed of the horrifying details of this event. The Indian Removal stories revealed information regarding the occurrences. In particular, I found “The Cherokee Removal Through the Eyes of a Private Soldier” by John G. Burnett the most interesting.
In the designated month of February, an annual celebration occurs for the achievements and contributions made by black Americans throughout our nation’s history. Most people consider Black History Month as one of the most important months in America, and I strongly agree with that. Several reasons occur to prove the importance of Black History Month, but the most important seems that it “connects literacy with history, and sustains the keen insight, ability, and enthusiasm of young children and their peers” (Shanahan 1).
After researching on the Cherokee tribe and Susannah Cordery’s family, I found out many interesting facts about the land my house was built on. I learned that the Cherokee tribe had a road that traveled right through where my back yard was that took them to the Chattahoochee River. This is where they would perform rituals, have meals, and sleep. I found it so intriguing that before I even existed there were Native Americans I had learned about in school, living where I lived now. People that had such a large impact in history are now just a page in a textbook and had a small portion of school’s
Two hours on that Tuesday morning are having enormous ripple effects. What if we called this the next level of diversity awareness training? How are we debriefing it? We need to continue. It is a case study for sensitivity training, for strategic planning, for risk assessment, knowledge management, religious understanding. I can't think of an activity that is not affected. Groups may need us to convene and moderate the discussion, to provide guidelines for interaction, to be facilitators. We have numerous opportunities. We can speak about the interconnectedness of people and cultures. We can help to define patriotism in a new way. We can offer ourselves as resources in forums, classes, religious services, panels, talkshows, to provide alternative ways of thinking and acting. We can assist people to learn and teach about different cultures, religions, nationalities. What have you been doing?
Most of the volunteers were male and being a female who found it hard to prove my “nerd card” in a world dominated by a mass amount of male characters in one building. I found it hard to stand out in my own with my limited knowledge. When I first started blogging in this culture, I started it as a fan of the BBC Show Doctor Who. I then found myself in a community of bloggers with similar interests. They became my inspirations on what I could do. Around this time we were only a small group that hid in the shadows the focused on female bloggers of the same genre.
During late April, St. Croix Educational Complex High School art students recently enjoyed the fruits of their creativity during a Virgin Islands Centennial themed art exchange excursion to St. John. Twelve National Art Honor Society and SCEC Art Club students traveled along with SCECHS Visual Arts educator, Danica David, and four parent chaperones. Before traveling, the group sold many Virgin Islands Cultural Contributors Calendars to raise monies for the trip. The Virgin Islands Cultural Contributors Calendar Project is a collaborative project devised during fall 2017 by Ms. David and fellow St. Croix Educational Complex Drama and Speech educator Sayeeda Carter. Ms. David’s students created artwork, while Ms. Carter’s students interviewed and wrote biographies about the selected participants. The calendar project is an interactive learning experience for SCECHS students and participants in the community who are actively contributing to Virgin Islands culture.