Amer-European settlement of the Great Plains transformed bountiful Native soil into pasture and cropland, distorting the prairie ecosystem as it was understood and used by the peoples who originally populated the land. Settlers justified this transformation with the unexamined premise of deficiency, according to which the Great Plains region was inadequate in flora and fauna and the region lacking in modern civilization. Drawing on history, sociology, art, and economic theory, Frances W. Kaye counters the argument of deficiency, pointing out that, in its original ecological state, no region can possibly be incomplete. Goodlands examines the settlers' misguided theory, discussing the ideas that shaped its implementation, the forces that resisted it, and Indigenous ideologies about what it meant to make good use of the land. By suggesting methods for redeveloping the Great Plains that are founded on native cultural values, Goodlands serves the region in the context of a changing globe."--Publisher's website.
Hiding the Audience examines how the development of Canadian prairie arts institutions in the context of an implicitly Euro- or Anglo-Canadian audience clashed with the creation of regional arts that needed to acknowledge a Native Canadian presence to flourish. It looks in detail at the regional versus international strains in the history of the Banff Centre, at the development of the Glenbow Museum and the controversy over the "Spirit Sings" exhibition, at the two decades of contention regarding statues of Louis Riel in Regina and Winnipeg, and at the contrasts in audience participation in two of 25th Street Theatre's productions, one about farmers and the other about Metis people. Primarily a work of cultural history, this study uses archival sources, post-colonial theory, and the theories implied in the fiction of Cherokee author Thomas King to probe the ways in which the whitestream assumptions of the individuals who institutionalized the arts on the Prairies hid both a Native audience and the kinds of issues and presentations such an audience might reasonably expect to see--and that might help make the settler audience understand the responsibilities of becoming native to this place. The interdisciplinary nature of the book makes it useful to scholars in Native Studies, Museum Studies, Art History, Theatre, and English, as well as to arts administrators and patrons, art lovers, and artists.
Amer-European settlement of the Great Plains transformed bountiful Native soil into pasture and cropland, distorting the prairie ecosystem as it was understood and used by the peoples who originally populated the land. Settlers justified this transformation with the unexamined premise of deficiency, according to which the Great Plains region was inadequate in flora and fauna and the region lacking in modern civilization. Drawing on history, sociology, art, and economic theory, Frances W. Kaye counters the argument of deficiency, pointing out that, in its original ecological state, no region can possibly be incomplete. Goodlands examines the settlers' misguided theory, discussing the ideas that shaped its implementation, the forces that resisted it, and Indigenous ideologies about what it meant to make good use of the land. By suggesting methods for redeveloping the Great Plains that are founded on native cultural values, Goodlands serves the region in the context of a changing globe."--Publisher's website.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.