Davina Two Bears, Doctoral Student in the IUB Anthropology Department, conducting research on the Navajo Reservation in summer, 2012
Two-Bears’ research will focus on the Old Leupp Boarding School, which represents an institution of forced assimilation for Navajo children in the early 20th century; and also a space of forced relocation and internment for Japanese American citizens during World War II.
Description of Davina Two Bears’ Research
In the late 19th and early part of the 20th century, the United States government built Indian Boarding Schools across the country for the purposes of educating Native American children. On the Navajo Reservation several Indian Boarding Schools were also built, since the education of Navajo children was stipulated in the Treaty of 1868. The institutions of Indian Boarding Schools on the Navajo Reservation represent colonizing spaces of forced assimilation. Today many of the historical sites on the Navajo reservation include 20th century Indian Boarding Schools, some of which are still standing, either refurbished or condemned, as disturbed historic sites with few remaining features, and in the collective memories of Navajo people. The historic Old Leupp Boarding School site contains a rich history, which has yet to be investigated, documented, and/or published. My dissertation research will focus on the Old Leupp Boarding School, which represents an institution of forced assimilation for Navajo children in the early 20th century; and also a space of forced relocation and internment for Japanese American citizens during World War II. My research investigates the colonizing forces of the United States Government in the institution of the Old Leupp Boarding School using Navajo oral history, archival records, and through archaeology. I am particularly interested in the experiences of the Navajo children, and how they were able to maintain their cultural identity through their boarding school education. Similarly, I am also interested in how the Japanese experience of forced internment on the Navajo Reservation impacted their lives, and how they interacted with the Navajo people. My goal is to fill a gap in archaeological research by Navajo archaeologists, which I hope will be used by Navajos and others for educational purposes for many years to come.
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Society for American Archaeology (SAA)
Native American Graduate Archaeology Scholarship
The Native American Scholarships Fund is an endowment established to foster a sense of shared purpose and positive interaction between archaeologists and Native Americans. Scholarships are open to all Native peoples from anywhere in the Americas, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders.
Since 1998, the SAA has used the endowment income to award the annual Arthur C. Parker Scholarship in support of archaeological training for Native Americans who are students or employees of tribal, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian cultural preservation programs. National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships for Archaeological Training for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians are also awarded through the Native American Scholarships Committee. In 2009, the SAA added two new awards in support of undergraduate and graduate archaeology education. Support for these scholarships comes in several ways: through individual donations, an annual silent auction at the SAA meetings, book royalties, and grants
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