Alec Massey
Features Editor
Sewanee’s long and complicated history with Native Americans colors the school’s relationship with local Indigenous people as well as with the domain itself. The Indigenous Engagement Initiative (IEI) and domain management are two of the groups on campus that navigate Sewanee’s past with them to create a healthy relationship with local Indigenous people and the land Sewanee sits on. Dr. Stuart Marshall, professor of Indigenous History and IEI committee member, and Nate Wilson, head of domain management, both consider the presence of Native Americans in Sewanee and believe that to ignore them would be detrimental to Sewanee both socially and physically.
The IEI started mainly from conversations about a land acknowledgment statement which has now been created and references the many Indigenous groups that claim this land. In the early 19th century, the Cherokee and other travel nations lived in Sewane or passed through and claimed the land. Looking to other initiatives on campus, Marshall and other committee members have expanded the IEI to dealing specifically with Indigenous history and to continuing relationships with Indigenous communities. One of his biggest focuses, however, is research surrounding the Trail of Tears, and he says his priority is getting students involved and developing those human stories rather than just dates, events, and maps. He works closely with descendants of the Cherokee nation to get a clear understanding of the people who walked the Trail of Tears. Marshall also thought a program out of Western Carolina University is working on translating Cherokee syllabary documents which pushes toward language revitalization initiatives within the tribes. Marshall said his most fulfilling work is involving students with some of these initiatives. “I got here realizing that we have this difficult but remarkable and fascinating history of the Trail of Tears being so local and so relevant,” Marshall said, on his reason for creating a database for the Trail of Tears.
The IEI does not just work outside of campus but also heads events in order to center Indigenous people and history. In the fall, they hosted the Native Indigenous Film Festival where they invited various filmmakers to speak and played documentaries that were about or produced by Indigenous people. “There are plans to expand that for this next year as well,” which Marshall said points to a positive future for the IEI.
Domain management only became what it is now in 2012-13. Wilson looks over wildlife management, recreational infrastructure, controlled fires, etc. He got into his profession because of his frustration at the lack of biodiversity because of bad management, and he says that he wanted to work towards more sustainable ways to combat the consequences of North American consumption. “If I was going to make a positive change on what was happening, the easiest way was to do that from within,” he said, on how he became involved with natural resources. As far as working at Sewanee specifically goes, Wilson takes the opportunity the college provides by teaching the students that come through about how they impact the environment in hopes of creating a better future. “Most Americans are so divorced from the implications of resource consumption that we don’t know how to make good decisions,” Wilson said, and he hopes to educate the students and reduce the distance between our consumption and our effect on the environment.
When dealing with the land, Wilson does not neglect to look at the Native Americans’ management of the land to inform his decision on how to best manage the Domain. “The forests we have are largely a result and response to the Native American management,” he said, “…there was a lot of insight that the Native Americans brought to it.” He regularly works with his Native American partners, mainly the Cherokee nation, to identify the Trail of Tears and with the University archeologist to check for buried artifacts that belong to past Native Americans so that no damage comes to them. “We need to be aware and cognizant and working with our Native American partners on that,” he said, about the buried artifacts.
Domain management deals with Sewanee’s land and, therefore, is linked to the Native Americans who have history with the university as some of the history is literally buried on the Domain. The IEI seeks to inform about Native American history while Domain management actively works with it in their work on the domain. Domain management as well as the IEI have not neglected Sewanee’s history with Native Americans, and their past and continued presence here should continue to be acknowledged and considered.