George Mann was not a Cowboy: Rationalizing Western versus Aboriginal Perspectives of Life and Death 'Dramatic' History
| Database ID | 28164 | |
| Institution | University of Saskatchewan Libraries Special Collections | |
| Fonds/Collection | University of Saskatchewan Library Theses and Dissertations | |
| File/Item Reference | etd-10302007-112704 | |
| Date of creation | 2007 | |
| Physical description/extent | 1 thesis; 144 pgs | |
| Number of images | 1 | |
| External URL | http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10302007-112704/ | |
| Scope and content | This thesis examines the dramatic history of the 1885 Riel Rebellion which has been revisited and reinterpreted countless times by hundreds of amateur and professional historians from all cultural backgrounds. From 1885 to the mid-twentieth century and beyond the tendency of many historians was to create melodramatic narratives, a writing style that began in various English theatrical traditions, dating back to the Middle Ages. Of particular interest to this study were the eyewitness narratives whose melodramatic style included a desire to codify and define the roles of Aboriginal people, another British tradition of defining the dark skinned 'other' that was debated in London theatres from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. The Canadian historical myth was created by gifted writers who captured the broader public's imagination with their dramatic style, a hegemonic force which eclipsed many Aboriginal versions of similar historical events. One such event was the George Mann family's dramatic Âescape to Fort Pitt, as remembered by descendants of Mann and those of Nehithawe (Wood Cree) treaty Chief Seekascootch, whose family aided the Mann family in their escape. Through a variety of methods that have included historiographical analysis, literary analysis, playwriting, microhistory, and interviews with members of both families, this paper engages an interdisciplinary approach to the academic areas of drama, history and anthropology as a means of creating a broader picture of history that is hopefully interesting and accessible to people from multiple cultural backgrounds. This project concludes that single discipline western academic narratives do not sufficiently problematize their archival sources, and often underestimate the complexity of Aboriginal epistemologies. | |
| Restrictions on access | There are no restrictions on access. | |
| Contributer | Long, Alan (author) University of Saskatchewan. Interdisciplinary Studies (Supervisory department / submitted to) | |
| Other terms governing use and reproduction | Permission given for on-line access. | |
| Type | Theses | |
| Primary Media | Textual documents | |
| Provenance Access Point | University of Saskatchewan Library. Theses and Dissertations | |
| Place | Onion Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada Frog Lake, Alberta, Canada | |
| Treaty boundaries | Treaty 6 | |
| Cultural region | Plains | |
| Names | Long, Alan Mann, George Seekascootch | |
| Subject | Warfare Northwest Resistance Northwest Resistance -- Biographies External representations -- Art External representations -- Culture External representations -- Romanticized External representations -- Literature External representations Government officials -- Indian Agent Community Histories Cree | |
| Date Range(s) | 2000- 1880-1889 | |
| Permanent Link | https://digital.scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/permalink/28164
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