Southern Cheyenne orthodoxy: A study in materiality
by Lukavic, John Paul, Ph.D., THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, 2012, 344 pages; 3493840

Abstract:

The study of materiality teaches us that the connections between objects and subjects express themselves in a variety of ways. Focusing on historic and contemporary challenges of knowledge transmission, this study explores the materiality of Southern Cheyenne moccasins through the lens of religious orthodoxy. Based on research conducted with Southern Cheyenne consultants in Oklahoma, I demonstrate how moccasins serve as the material manifestation of religious ideology and actively circulate within an orthodox Cheyenne system of cultural values. I explore the indexicality of moccasin designs to highlight the didactic function of moccasins as religious art and provide a detailed analysis of an orthodox Cheyenne system of indigenous knowledge and issues of design ownership. The research I present here contributes to anthropological understandings of knowledge transmission, regimes of value, symbolic capital, indexicality, and indigenous knowledge systems. This study, when coupled with earlier work by anthropologists who worked with the Southern Cheyenne, also contributes to a longitudinal study of cultural change and knowledge transmission.

 
AdviserDaniel C. Swan
SchoolTHE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
SourceDAI/A 73-05, p. , Feb 2012
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsCultural anthropology; Native American studies
Publication Number3493840
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» This is an open access dissertation.
  Use the link below to access the full text PDF of this graduate work:
  http://gradworks.umi.com/3493840.pdf
  Use the link below to search and retrieve all open access dissertations:
  http://pqdtopen.proquest.com

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.