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First Nation Research Paper
FNS 225 – Spring – 2024
* Keep in mind that this project serves as your final synthesis of the course.
This project will provide you the opportunity to research a First Nations people. The paper will
consist of a 4-6 page paper in which you will discuss themes that we will have explored during
the sesssion’s discussions, readings, and written assignments
.
* You will need to choose a specific Indigenous community in North America. This means
that you can look at a list of the federally and state recognized tribes and look for a specific
people (and reservation-community to research):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/28/2022-01789/indian-entities-recognized-
by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of An example is the Catawba
Indian Nation of South Carolina: https://www.catawba.com/ Most First Nations today are tied
to a land base, so you will need to discuss one of those First Nation communities. Keep in
mind that your proposal must be community specific, an example is the Akwesasne Mohawk
Nation, if you submit just “Mohawk,” your proposal will be denied as there are several Mohawk
communities.
You must submit a proposal of the First Nation you wish to research to the Instructor via e-mail.
You may wish to work in a pair or as a maximum group of three. If working in a group of 2-3,
each student will achieve the same grade. Any student or group who does not e-mail the
Instructor their proposal, and get approval of their proposed First Nation to research, will
not get their paper graded. If you find a First Nation you want to research that is not on the list
above, please discuss this with the Instructor via e-mail. Topics will be approved on a first-come
first-serve basis. Each student/group will research a different First Nation community. A list
of approved topics will be posted in Canvas content area next to this assignment. Please check
the list of topics (that have been approved by the professor and no longer available) before you
submit your topic proposal. Once the First Nation is approved by the professor and published on
the list, it is then no longer available to other students/groups.
First Nation Research Paper is due Monday, 5-6-24 in Canvas by 11:59 pm. You are
required to submit a topic proposal via e-mail to the professor (or two or three possible
topics, listed in order of your preference) as soon as you are able. You should begin the
research as soon as you have an instructor-approved topic, but you must think about the
course concepts as you write your final paper.
The First Nation research paper will be worth a total of 40 total points:
First Nation Research Paper Requirements and Scoring:
Topic Possible points
Introduction 2 pts.
Sovereignty 5 pts.
Reservation/Land status 5 pts.
Language Status 5 pts.
Clan/Social Structures 5 pts.
One additional contemporary topic of your choice. 5 pts.
Reflection on Prior Knowledge assignment 5 pts.
Conclusion 5 pts.
Sources cited (Minimally 5 sources) Points will be
taken if less than five sources are cited.
3 pts.
Format points. Additional points may be taken if
format is not adhered to.
Paper Total: 40 pts.
Format Requirements: APA writing style, with headings, parenthetical (in-text) citations, a
cover page, reference page, 12 point font, double-spaced, 4-6 written pages (cover page and
reference page are not included in this total). An abstract and author’s note are not required for
this assignment. Must also be submitted as Microsoft word document. Final paper will not
be graded if not submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
Notes and sample questions to think about that will help you when you researching each
topic area for your paper:
Introduction:
You will need to introduce the First Nation people you will be researching. You must include
basic information about them. This includes where they are located currently and descriptions of
how they define themselves as a people.
Sovereignty:
Sovereignty is a defining structure for a First Nation. Sovereignty is the ability to govern one’s
own affairs. Here are some questions to think about when talking about this topic:
How does the First Nation define who they are? What services do they provide their people? (Do
they have housing, elderly and youth services, etc?) What type of government do they have?
Reservation/Territory Status:
A reservation or nation territory is a piece of land that they have acquired or preserved for the
future use of their people. You must include information on how and when their
reservation/territory was formed.
Language Status:
Many First Nation languages are either completely gone are in danger of becoming lost forever.
What is the status of the language of the nation you are researching? Do they have programs to
teach or preserve their language?
Clan/Social Structures:
Does the First Nation have a clan (or family) system? Is it still functioning today? Is their clan
system tied to their decision-making systems? Do they have marriage and ceremonial rules tied
to their clans? If the First Nation does not have a clan system, what other structures do they have
which guide their people’s social interactions? Do they utilize elders as sources of knowledge?
Do they have schools that they use to teach their culture? What kinds of social programs do
they offer their people?
One Additional contemporary topics of your choice:
As you research a specific Indigenous community, you may find that there are other topics that
you wish to write about. You must choose one contemporary issue/topic that effects the
community today. A few examples are; diabetes, library services, schools, and health issues of
the community.
Self-Reflection of Prior Knowledge:
In this section you will choose one image from your prior knowledge assignment, and you will
discuss if that image is a contemporary image, if it fits that specific Indigenous community you
are researching, and you will give your self-reflection of how you see that image after learning
about the topics of the course.
Conclusion:
This is where you will include your summary of your topic. You should also include your best
thoughts about the topic. It is imperative that you remind yourself that you are researching a
contemporary people that still exist today. It is fine to talk about some of their history; however
your paper (and presentation) must focus on the First Nation as being a contemporary people
with contemporary issues.
Sources cited:
Make sure that you give proper credit to the sources where you found your information. You will
also need to find and cite sources beyond the First Nation’s website (you are welcome to use
their information, but you must find at least three sources outside of their website to support
the information you found on their website). You must also utilize sources outside of simple
internet searches, you might use sources such as Google Scholar, Google Books, or Cofrin
Library, but any project that simply uses internet searches will lose points here.