Harvard University Native American Program

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Brooks Publishes New Book: "The Common Pot: Indigenous Writing and the Reconstruction of Native Space in the Northeast".

Lisa Brooks (Abenaki), an Assistant Professor of History and Literature and of Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University, recently published her first book, The Common Pot: Indigenous Writing and the Reconstruction of Native Space in the Northeast (University of Minnesota Press, 2008), which focuses on the role of writing as a tool of social reconstruction and land reclamation in the Native northeast. Brooks’ builds on current conversations within the fields of American Studies, American Indian Literature, American Indian History, Indigenous Studies, and Geography to reconstruct the historical space of the northeast through the writings of its indigenous inhabitants. The project entailed intensive research and recovery of Algonquian and Iroquoian texts, and the development of a theoretical framework based on the language and oral literature from which these texts emerged. While most literary critics have portrayed early native writers either as individuals "caught between two worlds," or as "subjects" whom, even as they resisted the colonial world, struggled to exist within it, this study demonstrates the ways in which native leaders, including Samson Occom, Joseph Brant, Hendrick Aupaumut, and William Apess, adopted writing as a tool to reconstruct and reclaim "native rights" and "native land." In particular, it explores the operation of writing within the network of waterways and relations that constitutes the "Native Space" of the northeast.

From within these texts, a trope emerges that encapsulates this understanding of Native Space. The "Common Pot" is a metaphor that appears in stories, speeches, and written documents during the 18th and 19th centuries, embodying land, community, and the shared space of sustenance between relations. The "pot" can refer to the village, or to the networks of alliance on which people relied for support. Native leaders often invoked the metaphor to emphasize the need for unity and the reality of interdependence, especially as colonial control over Native lands increased. A central contention of the book is that the texts that emerged from within this space constitute an indigenous literary tradition. Far from being "corrupted" by writing, Native people frequently resisted the role designed for them by their missionary teachers, and used the skills they acquired to compose petitions, political tracts, and speeches; to record community councils and histories; and, most importantly, to imagine collectively the routes through which the Common Pot could survive. For more information, Harvard Gazette online.

Events

The Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) organizes and cosponsors academic, cultural, and social events that highlight and reflect Native American and indigenous perspectives. Past events include oral arguments by the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation (Spring 2006), a screening of Trudell and talk by John Trudell (Spring 2007) and a Native American Health Symposium (Fall 2007). All events are free and most are open to the public.

Colloquia

The HUNAP colloquia series (formerly known as the HUNAP Lunch Seminar Series) was created to provide a forum for students, faculty, and staff to share their research on Native and indigenous issues, build awareness of Native perspectives throughout the University, and promote scholarly work and curriculum development at Harvard on issues relevant to Native Americans. Our colloquia topics are fluid and reflect the range of scholarship being produced by our community. Previous topics include Native health issues, Native art, federal Indian law, and Native history.

2008-2009 HUNAP Colloquia Series schedule

Newsletter

During the academic year, HUNAP publishes a newsletter featuring information, news, and events that may be of interest to the greater HUNAP community. Our current newsletter was published October, 2008.

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