The Alabama-Coushatta:
Sovereignty and Identity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
The pages on this site depict the research projects of twelve undergraduate students enrolled in a seminar titled “A History of Native Americans” at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, in the spring of 2013. Throughout the course of the semester the students read and analyzed a wide array of primary and secondary sources that attempted to describe the experience of Native Americans from before contact with Europeans to the restoration of tribal status in the late twentieth century.
The students learned not only how the interpretation of the history of Native Americans changed over time, but also how divergent the perspectives of Native Americans and other non-indigenous Americans can be.
Each student developed a research project that focused on the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, which is one of only three recognized indigenous groups remaining within the state. Instrumental to the choice of the Alabama-Coushatta was the fact that the James Ludwell Davis Sylestine Papers are housed at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission located in Austin. Sylestine was an Alabama; the son of Chief Bronson and Mossane Sylestine.[1] These contain what for researchers is a treasure-trove of newspaper clippings, histories, and correspondence with Congressional representatives, as well as his own writings on the Alabama-Coushatta.
Every student visited at least one archive and was encouraged to employ the methods of current historians of Native Americans in their research and analysis. Interpreting the actions of the Alabama-Coushatta, extrapolating their significance, and displaying their work in a public venue gave them the opportunity to employ the historians’ craft.
In the end it appeared that each student’s project dealt in some way with issues of identity or sovereignty. Therefore it became the theme of the website. We hope you enjoy it and perhaps learn a bit, too!
The students learned not only how the interpretation of the history of Native Americans changed over time, but also how divergent the perspectives of Native Americans and other non-indigenous Americans can be.
Each student developed a research project that focused on the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, which is one of only three recognized indigenous groups remaining within the state. Instrumental to the choice of the Alabama-Coushatta was the fact that the James Ludwell Davis Sylestine Papers are housed at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission located in Austin. Sylestine was an Alabama; the son of Chief Bronson and Mossane Sylestine.[1] These contain what for researchers is a treasure-trove of newspaper clippings, histories, and correspondence with Congressional representatives, as well as his own writings on the Alabama-Coushatta.
Every student visited at least one archive and was encouraged to employ the methods of current historians of Native Americans in their research and analysis. Interpreting the actions of the Alabama-Coushatta, extrapolating their significance, and displaying their work in a public venue gave them the opportunity to employ the historians’ craft.
In the end it appeared that each student’s project dealt in some way with issues of identity or sovereignty. Therefore it became the theme of the website. We hope you enjoy it and perhaps learn a bit, too!
Images courtesy of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, TX
Endnotes
[1] “James Ludwell Davis Sylestine: An Inventory of Papers at the Texas State Archives, [17--]-1989 (bulk 1900-1980s),” http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40072/tsl-40072.html, accessed 1 May 2013.