Native Lands - Gabriella Sheffler

 This weeks reading and discussion on the topic of native land was insightful and thought-provoking. I have previously studied native American history, specifically religious history, but I have never read in depth on the injustice of land repossession from the native people. Of all the readings for this week, the most compelling was Stoffle's "American Indian's and the Nevada Test Site". This reading stuck out to me because it addressed an interesting point that I had not considered. Through this reading I learned of the interalized bias the United States government had against Native Americans. This bias was combated by the native American organizations emulating the practices of the United States government. This "corporate mentality" allowed them to move forward with proceedings to benefit the native people in the area. The lecture with Trafzer was very insightful as well and I learned a lot about the unfair treatment of the native americans. Trafzer's reading about the tribal environmental protection agency allowed me to gain a new perspectove on the level of organization that goes into policy making within the Native community. This reading also touched on the topic of the depth of tribal knowledge that is often overlooked by policymakers. This cultural science allowed the policymakers to consider fields of knowledge on the land that they had previously overlooked. To have the guest speaker be one of the authors in our weekly reading was very interesting and I am excited for more guest speakers. 

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