American Philosophical Society Organizes Two Native American and Indigenous Studies Webinars

The American Philosophical Society’s Library and Museum is hosting two different webinars in the coming weeks on Native American and Indigenous Studies. See the details below for more information. Note that because they are separate events, the registration links are different.

Indigenous Studies Seminar with Mary McNeil, “’The Factory of Genocide’: Black and Native Confinement on Boston Harbor’s Deer Island”

Friday, February 12, at 3:30pm ET

The fourth Indigenous Studies Seminar of 2020-2021 will feature a presentation from Mary McNeil (Mashpee Wampanoag). Mary is a Ph.D. candidate in the American Studies Program at Harvard University whose research interests broadly lie at the intersections of Black studies, Native American and Indigenous studies, geography, social history, and Black and Indigenous feminism(s). Her dissertation examines Black and Native claims to space in Boston and surrounding areas during the Black Power/Red Power area. She will be presenting a chapter from her dissertation titled “’The Factory of Genocide’: Black and Native Confinement on Boston Harbor’s Deer Island”; the chapter will be circulated in advance of the seminar.

To learn more and to register, visit: https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/indigenous-studies-seminar-factory-genocide-black-and-native-confinement-boston-harbors-deer

Race and Nation in Puerto Rican Folklore: Franz Boas and John Alden Mason in Porto Rico, A Virtual Discussion with Dr. Rafael Ocasio

Wednesday, February 17 at 1:00pm ET

Join us for a virtual discussion with Dr. Rafael Ocasio about his new book Race and Nation in Puerto Rican Folklore: Franz Boas and John Alden Mason in Porto Rico (Rutgers University Press, 2020), which explores the founding father of American anthropology’s historic trip to Puerto Rico in 1915. A component of the Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Boas intended to perform field research in the areas of anthropology and ethnography, while other scientists explored the island’s natural resources. Native Puerto Rican cultural practices were also heavily explored through documentation of the island’s oral folklore. A young anthropologist working under Boas, John Alden Mason, rescued hundreds of oral folklore samples, ranging from popular songs, poetry, conundrums, sayings, and, most particularly, folktales. Through extensive excursions, Mason came in touch with the rural practices of Puerto Rican peasants, Jíbaros, who served as both his cultural informants and writers of the folklore samples. These stories, many of which are still part of the island’s literary traditions, reflect a strong Puerto Rican identity coalescing in the face of the U.S. political intervention on the island. 

To learn more and to register, visit: https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/race-and-nation-puerto-rican-folklore-franz-boas-and-john-alden-mason-porto-rico-virtual