Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2007.

The treatment of American Indian tribes native to the Black Hills throughout American history led to a meeting in 1968 at Bear Butte, which became a catalyst for American Indian activists and organizers to fight for the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) in 1978 and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Act in 1989. By providing the space for remembrance and the space for native voices, the NMAI in turn contributes to a strengthening and continuation of collective memory for Native Americans. Through applying Halbwachs’ understandings of collective memory to be distinct from history and based in the present, this research examines the strengthening of traditional native practices as a contribution to collective memory. Through the NMAI facilities, there is space for the revival of collective memory; carried on by the survival of the Native American population through years of oppression, violence, and genocide. Not only does strengthening Native collective memory help to preserve and restore culture that faced extinction, but it also provides a more holistic view to American history and a collective memory where the voices of American Indians are included. The NMAI ensures that the strands of Native American memory are continued to be woven into the broader braid of the nation’s collective memory.

No description available.