Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Edward Dorn’s Idea of the Native American and His “Curious Paleface” Consciousness in The Shoshoneans

Year 2020, Issue: 54, 59 - 78, 01.11.2020

Abstract

In the field of Native American Studies, the politics of representation and research was recognized as late as the 1970s, as a result of
the countercultural challenge of the 1960s. Belonging to that moment
of challenge and change, Edward Dorn’s photo-essay or documentary
prose The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin Plateau (1966) is an
early example for critical understandings of race, culture and subjectivity from a geo-historical perspective. The text also testifies to the
poet’s quest for cultural origins and claimed ancestors, defining himself as “a curious paleface.” Its dialogic structure allows a space for
the African American photographer Leroy Lucas’ visual language and
Native American activist Clyde Warrior’s civic demands. Observing
the Western American geography as a colonized space, a “No Where,”
and its inhabitants reduced to day-to-day existence, evading the police,
Dorn contemplates his relation to his government, to the Shoshone and
registers his otherness. A forgotten text, until the publication of its expanded edition in 2013, Dorn’s Shoshoneans remains a geo-historical
examination of subjectivity and otherness, presenting a dialogic understanding of the idea of the Native American.

References

  • Barron, Patrick. “Unmasked Representations of Space in Edward Dorn’s ‘The Land Below’ and ‘Idaho Out.’” Paudeuma: Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics, vol. 36, 2007-2009, pp. 105-130, JSTOR, www.jstor.og/stable/24726684.
  • Champagne, Duane. “American Indian Studies Is for Everyone.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 181-189.
  • Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth. “American Indian Intellectualism and the New Indian Story.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 111-138.
  • Davidson, Michael. “‘To eliminate the draw’: Narrative and Language in Slinger.” Internal Resistances: The Poetry of Edward Dorn, edited by Donald Wesling, U of California P, 1985, pp. 113-149.
  • Deloria, Vine. Jr. “Research, Redskins, and Reality.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, 1991, 457-468, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/ stable/1185364.
  • Dorn, Edward. Ed Dorn Live: Lectures, Interviews, and Outtakes. Edited by Joseph Richey, U of Michigan P, 2007.
  • ---. The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 9-89. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • ---. “The Poet, The People, The Spirit.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp.141-159. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • ---. Edward Dorn: Collected Poems. Edited by Jennifer Dunbar Dorn, Carcanet, 2012.
  • Dresman, Paul. “Internal Resistances: Edward Dorn on the American Indian.” Internal Resistances: The Poetry of Edward Dorn, edited by Donald Wesling, U of California P, 1985, pp. 87-112.
  • Fixico, Donald L. “Ethics and Responsibilities in Writing American Indian History.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 84-99.
  • Hofer, Matthew. Introduction to the Appendix: “‘Few / People Are Lost As I Am’: Ed Dorn through the Great Basin-Plateau.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013. 97-110. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” American Rhetoric. 5 May 2010. Web.
  • Mannheim, Bruce and Dennis Tedlock. Introduction. The Dialogic Emergence of Culture, edited by Dennis Tedlock and Bruce Mannheim, U of Illinois P, 1995, pp. 1-32.
  • Mihesuah, Devon A. Introduction. Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 1-22.
  • ---. “Voices, Interpretations and the ‘New Indian History’: Comment on the American Indian Quarterly’s Special Issue on Writing about American Indians.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1, 1996, pp. 91-108. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1184945.
  • ---. “Activism and Apathy: The Prices We Pay for Both.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 1/2, 2003, pp. 325-332. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4138869.
  • Olson, Charles. “A Bibliography on America for Ed Dorn.” Collected Prose. Edited by Donald Allen and Benjamin Friedlander, U of California P, 1997, pp. 297-310.
  • Ortiz, Simon J. Foreword. The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 5-8. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu. edu/book/27896.
  • Smith, Dale. “Edward Dorn Out: Forms of Dispossession.” Chicago Review Special Issue Edward Dorn: American Heretic, vol. 49, no. 3/4, 2004, 100-114. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25699975. Edward Dorn’s Idea of the Native American and His “Curious Paleface”
  • Tedlock, Dennis. “Interpretation, Participation and the Role of Narrative in Dialogical Anthropology.” The Dialogic Emergence of Culture, edited by Dennis Tedlock and Bruce Mannheim, U of Illinois P, 1995, pp. 253-287.
  • Warrior, Clyde. “Poverty, Community, and Power.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 89-94. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • Whitt, Laurie Anne. “Cultural Imperialism and the Marketing of Native America.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 139-171.
Year 2020, Issue: 54, 59 - 78, 01.11.2020

Abstract

References

  • Barron, Patrick. “Unmasked Representations of Space in Edward Dorn’s ‘The Land Below’ and ‘Idaho Out.’” Paudeuma: Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics, vol. 36, 2007-2009, pp. 105-130, JSTOR, www.jstor.og/stable/24726684.
  • Champagne, Duane. “American Indian Studies Is for Everyone.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 181-189.
  • Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth. “American Indian Intellectualism and the New Indian Story.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 111-138.
  • Davidson, Michael. “‘To eliminate the draw’: Narrative and Language in Slinger.” Internal Resistances: The Poetry of Edward Dorn, edited by Donald Wesling, U of California P, 1985, pp. 113-149.
  • Deloria, Vine. Jr. “Research, Redskins, and Reality.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, 1991, 457-468, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/ stable/1185364.
  • Dorn, Edward. Ed Dorn Live: Lectures, Interviews, and Outtakes. Edited by Joseph Richey, U of Michigan P, 2007.
  • ---. The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 9-89. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • ---. “The Poet, The People, The Spirit.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp.141-159. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • ---. Edward Dorn: Collected Poems. Edited by Jennifer Dunbar Dorn, Carcanet, 2012.
  • Dresman, Paul. “Internal Resistances: Edward Dorn on the American Indian.” Internal Resistances: The Poetry of Edward Dorn, edited by Donald Wesling, U of California P, 1985, pp. 87-112.
  • Fixico, Donald L. “Ethics and Responsibilities in Writing American Indian History.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 84-99.
  • Hofer, Matthew. Introduction to the Appendix: “‘Few / People Are Lost As I Am’: Ed Dorn through the Great Basin-Plateau.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013. 97-110. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.” American Rhetoric. 5 May 2010. Web.
  • Mannheim, Bruce and Dennis Tedlock. Introduction. The Dialogic Emergence of Culture, edited by Dennis Tedlock and Bruce Mannheim, U of Illinois P, 1995, pp. 1-32.
  • Mihesuah, Devon A. Introduction. Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 1-22.
  • ---. “Voices, Interpretations and the ‘New Indian History’: Comment on the American Indian Quarterly’s Special Issue on Writing about American Indians.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1, 1996, pp. 91-108. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1184945.
  • ---. “Activism and Apathy: The Prices We Pay for Both.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 1/2, 2003, pp. 325-332. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4138869.
  • Olson, Charles. “A Bibliography on America for Ed Dorn.” Collected Prose. Edited by Donald Allen and Benjamin Friedlander, U of California P, 1997, pp. 297-310.
  • Ortiz, Simon J. Foreword. The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 5-8. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu. edu/book/27896.
  • Smith, Dale. “Edward Dorn Out: Forms of Dispossession.” Chicago Review Special Issue Edward Dorn: American Heretic, vol. 49, no. 3/4, 2004, 100-114. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25699975. Edward Dorn’s Idea of the Native American and His “Curious Paleface”
  • Tedlock, Dennis. “Interpretation, Participation and the Role of Narrative in Dialogical Anthropology.” The Dialogic Emergence of Culture, edited by Dennis Tedlock and Bruce Mannheim, U of Illinois P, 1995, pp. 253-287.
  • Warrior, Clyde. “Poverty, Community, and Power.” The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau. Expanded Edition. Edited by Matthew Hofer, U of New Mexico P, 2013, pp. 89-94. Project MUSE, http://muse.jhu.edu/book/27896.
  • Whitt, Laurie Anne. “Cultural Imperialism and the Marketing of Native America.” Natives and Academics: Research and Writing about American Indians, edited by Devon A. Mihesuah, U of Nebraska P, 1998, pp. 139-171.
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects North American Language, Literature and Culture, Literary Studies
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Özge Özbek Akıman 0000-0002-8644-044X

Publication Date November 1, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Issue: 54

Cite

MLA Özbek Akıman, Özge. “Edward Dorn’s Idea of the Native American and His ‘Curious Paleface’ Consciousness in The Shoshoneans”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 54, 2020, pp. 59-78.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey