Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
ALCOA Foundation of American Indians Research Trip
Name: Traut,
Advisor: Jill Craven
Department: ENGL
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: Grassroot movements are illuminating the inherent power western institutions have constructing the historical narrative in the United States. Shifting discourse in Euro American and Native American museums-Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Royal British Columbia Museum, and Shako:wi Cultural Center-illustrate how incorporating visual artifacts into indigenous exhibits emphasizes the Native Voice over the colonizer's voice, subverting the "relative invisibility" Native Americans traditionally experience when the media relegates their diverse cultural identities into stagnant, stereotypical characters (Quareshi 2016*). Replacing English-language text artifacts with indigenous visual artifacts empowers responsible Native identity construction without impediment from the colonizer mindset imposed by the English language while also enabling audience members from all backgrounds to engage with the exhibit.
(*Quereshi, Farah. "Native Americans: Negative Impacts of Media Portrayals, Stereotypes." The Journalist's Resource, The Harvard Kennedy School, Shorenstein Center, 10 Feb. 2016)