After working and researching
around the world, Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Raymond Orr accepted
a position as an associate professor of Native American studies
at the University of Oklahoma. He wanted to be back in the United
States and closer to CPN following six years of teaching in Australia.
"There are few better
places to study Native American politics than in Oklahoma," he said.
He earned his doctorate
in political science at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Toupin family descendant then decided to write a book about
his dissertation research. The University of Oklahoma Press published
Reservation Politics: Historical Loss, Economic Development and
Intratribal Conflict at the beginning of 2017.
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Raymond
Orr, University of Oklahoma associate professor of Native
American studies
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Writing about
tribal politics
Orr concluded his research
five years ago at the end of his time at Berkeley, and he interviewed
approximately 50 people. Reservation Politics focuses on the Pueblo
peoples, Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Citizen Potawatomi Nation. He intended
them as examples, but not representative samples, of how all American
Indians think about politics.
"I tried to
make
this book both a gentle introduction into the ways political scientists
think about ideology, preferences and what people want," Orr said.
"But then also, the book is designed to be interesting and about
Indigenous peoples and how they live their lives politically."
"I'm not writing it from
a sense of who's right or who's wrong or what is, it's just how
people are seeing the world."
According to Orr, the
study of political science centers on choice how people determine
the ways they live both their individual and collective lives. He
examined the history of colonization and the effect it had on Native
American societies and their choices.
"There was a long period
of history where there wasn't much choice about what they could
do. I think we live in a time with greater choice, though there
are always going to be constraints," he said. "Greater choice for
tribes is an interesting feature of the time period that we're living
in, and we hope it continues and people are making good choices,
but it's up to them to decide what that is. But that's worth thinking
about how they arrive at those choices."
Native American
political science
Orr's interest in Native
American political science began when he lived with Native students
from across the U.S. while earning his bachelor's degree at Cornell
University. The different viewpoints surrounding a wide variety
of things taking place at tribes everywhere inspired him. He wanted
to fill what he saw as a gap in political science by studying how
and why tribes arrive at their conclusions.
"If tribes vary a great
deal about both how they make political decisions but also perhaps
what they want, the book is about how to both understand divisions
between those categories of want and then also how different experiences
might inform those wants," Orr said.
Part of the book explores
the dynamics of economics and historical trauma. He suggests the
two influence each other, and tribes face difficult decisions while
attempting to balance excelling in modern business and honoring
ancient traditions. In some groups, the rejection of today's economic
practices stems from ancestral reverence.
As an example, Orr highlights
the United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians. The court case ended
in the rejection of a settlement from the federal government as
compensation for illegally obtaining the Black Hills, as decided
by the U.S. Supreme Court. The interest-bearing account established
in 1980 now holds $1.2 billion that remains unclaimed.
"Some people say, 'No,
no, we're focusing on something other than historical wrongs.' That
we need to go forward," he said. "Some other people are saying,
'We need to go back and think about the way we were wronged before
we can go forward.' And that's a pretty big distinction about what
you think a tribe is, what you think politics are, what you think
your experiences are, and how you understand what's going on."
Research
and findings
The varying ways tribes
organize politics and the depths and kinds of expectations members
held surprised him. Orr said the difficulty of meeting those expectations
exists at any level of politics by nature.
Specifically, he found
some Native Americans agree with their tribe's focus on economic
development. On the opposite end of the spectrum, others expressed
their opinion that culture should come first or their view of tribes
as a route to social services.
"Some people see a tribe
as a place that they want to find healing from emotional
comfort or a sense of togetherness," he said. "Tribes like to be
able to offer all these things, but that is difficult."
He also found Native
Americans viewpoints, desires and thoughts about their governments
and societal structures vary as much as any other cultural or ethnic
group. The interviews broke stereotypes about what indigenous people
want or think they need more than Orr anticipated.
Orr described interacting
with and learning from CPN members as part of his research as "fantastic."
He enjoyed meeting others and finding out what they consider important.
"It has been wonderful
and a rare opportunity I didn't anticipate having," he said.
Find Raymond Orr's book
at: cpn.news/rayorr.
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