anthropology with no apology

[Jan Tucker]

anthropology with no apologyRichard, thanks for your story, I'd like to
share it with my applied anthropology class and race and ethnic relations
class ....with your permission of course. More of your perspective needs to
be heard and this story is a great way to share your perspective. I agree
with you, and I can certainly talk to some of your points, however since
this is a language and technology discussion group, I'm respectfully not
going to. Let me however apologize for those who aren't willing to even have
dialogue and share this quote by John Kenneth Galbraith Oct 15 1908-Apr 29th
2006. "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises
in moral philosophy;
that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." and
"People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than
surrender any material part of their advantage."

Jan Tucker

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Indigenous Languages and Technology
[mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]On Behalf Of Richard Smith
  Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 3:26 PM
  To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
  Subject: [ILAT] anthropology with no apology





    Kweh omateru,
    (greetings friends.)
    thanks for all these resources
    this is a language egroup with very great leads and info!
    but culture and language are really inseperatable so anthropology will
wade in
    and sometimes set its OWN standards. As tribal members we need to be
careful.
    Sometimes all this “professional intelligence” creates its own language,
laws and bi-laws.

    Years ago visiting Chaco Canyon one weekend I was curious about the
pottery found in the area.The
     resource person I asked stated no one was certain if pottery was
actually made in the canyon .
    Later that day, I scooped out a handful of clay out of a park rangers
muddy tire track,
    sat on a boulder and made a pot...since its what I do anyway.Camping
that evening I burnished it with
    a socket from my socket wrench set,and by morning it was dry ...hey,
great clay!
    I went to the visitors center and looked for someone to talk to.
    I set it on the desk ...and for the next hour I was interogated with
suspicion and rudeness.
    I had hoped to converse with an archaeologist, but he would not even
show his face.
    He only would send instructions to the desk as to what to do with this
“situation”.
    Finally, I was told I would NOT be prosecuted if I returned to the place
where I picked out the mud
    and place the little pot where it could erode back into the soil.
    I am a very patient person,even my wife will tell you! But I was burning
up.
    So...i realized something that day
    Anthropology/Archeaology can create a culture of its own.
    It can set itself up to be only correct view to observe and learn and to
even to teach.
    even set up its own ”police force” to deal with nonconformists

    I’m not against anthropology(some of my best friends are
anthropologists! seriously!)
    But as a science it tends to set up its own grids from which to pass OUR
cultures through.
    Anthropology itself, as an alien science needs to be
studied...evaluated...by native peoples
    “what makes an anthropologist” might make a good study ..turn the tables
a little.
    what makes outsiders come study us?
    NOW, that would make an interesting thesis!

    Oh ,I know,no need to remind me,
    I know why Chaco Canyon must be strict,its obvious,because of all the
tourists coming through.
    ”if everyone came and took a piece of mud out of the tire track...”
yeah...yeah...

    this is not meant to stir up arguments or justifications,
    paint one people good and another bad
    no , I just want to share a little
    from experiance and cautions gained
    richard




















    I want to share something that happened to me that makes me worry
sometimes












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