JournalTOCs

Tapestries : Interwoven voices of local and global identities
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This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 2154-4301
Published by Macalester College

[5 journals]

#Landback: Northern Cheyenne to Reclaim Sovereignty
- Authors: Kaelene C. Spang
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose:As new movements emerge and become evermore relevant across Indian Country, I believe that it is important to address and document these movements and their themes in academic scholarship. Namely, the #Landback, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, and Indigenous Data Governance movements are significant. Proof of this significance lies within their purposes and the very fact that there is a lack of conversation regarding this discourse in the scholarly world. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to increase this discourse by exploring and discussing Indigenous activism, land reclamation, resurgence, sovereignty, and #Landback in the context of the So’taa’eo/Tsetsêhesêstâhase/Tsitsistas (Northern Cheyenne) Nation. I believe that through these movements the Northern Cheyenne people and other Indigenous nations have the opportunity to resurge, (re)enforce, and reclaim their sovereignty, on levels that concern the health and well-being of these nations – including that of humans, plants, and animal relatives. Lastly, on a more personal note, this essay was created in my interest to bring light to the persistence and resistance work that my people and nation continuously and consistently practice – that ultimately enables them to reject the broken promises of the coal and mining industry.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:50 PST
Control of Cultural and Bodily Reproduction; The Denial of Autonomy in the
United States, Peru and Globally
- Authors: Anna M. Schloerb
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose:This project seeks to look at the ways the state and hegemonic devices of power control cultural and bodily reproduction. It asks the question of how this control inhibits people's reproductive autonomy, cultural identity, language, and generational knowledge transmission. I offer specific examples of how this control has functioned in the US, with immigrants, Indigenous, Black people and other marginalized groups. My grandmother is from Lima, Peru and because of that connection, and the inspiration of this piece, I wanted to use the 1990s-2000s Sterilization in Peru as a case study of hegemonic control happening more globally. This incorporates the way governments co-opt movement autonomy, in this case co-opting progressive feminist rhetoric. I use the examples above to consider how the fight for reproductive autonomy in US should be framed, avoiding binary view of access to abortion that positions abortion as a choice, but looking to a longstanding intersectional Reproductive Justice Movement created by and centering Black feminists and other feminists of color. I will end using an abolition feminist framework and “Uses of the Erotic” as one possible image of a liberatory future where we can decolonize our bodies and resist the forms of control I frame at the beginning of my analysis.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:47 PST
Abolish the Body Mass Index: A Historical and Current Analysis of the
Traumatizing Nature of the BMI
- Authors: Franny M. Redpath
  Abstract: Statement of PurposeRage, change, and liberation; these are the concepts that our papers, collectively, embody. I was enraged. I am enraged. But even through the rage, I am choosing to center this paper around enacting change. Throughout maturation, I have increasingly been deeply affected by how the United States medical system and insurance industry treats patients with a Body Mass Index of over 30, as a young fem person whose doctors deny validity and respect. I have been sent the message that my body is not worthy of the same treatment that is afforded to other, smaller, patients. I have been sent the message that the lifesaving treatment I received, “lacked medical necessity.” I have been sent the message that the act of saving my life, my life that I live at a BMI that categorizes me as “obese,” is not worth living. That is why I am writing this, not just for myself; but for every other person who has been sent the message that they are not worthy of medical treatment.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:45 PST
Land, Belonging, and Relationality: Black & Indigenous Environmental
Justice Activism in the Twin Cities
- Authors: Angelina Papakee
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose:This essay is a culmination of my personal experience as an Afro-Indigenous person while living in the Twin Cities for the past few years. As a descendant of the Meskwaki Nation of Iowa and of African-American/Black ancestry, the formation of my identity has shaped the way I approach my research in views on culture, relationality, and past/present histories. I was often taught in my youth to attempt to separate these identities and communities, to not draw many parallels between the two. But, in my development in this new space, I have found the communities in the Twin Cities to be a perfect example of how Black and Indigenous peoples cannot be separated and we must work together in order to liberate ourselves and our people. Between being at Macalester during the George Floyd protests in 2020 and other subsequent protests, activism, and community action, I have found a passion for these connections and honed in on these real-life issues. The Twin Cities is filled with an immense amount of knowledge and history that has brought me to where I am now. I want to acknowledge and thank those that have been a guide during my time here and have welcomed me into their communities, knowledges, and stories: thank you to Kiri Sailiata in American Studies at Macalester who has been my advisor during my time here and has been such a solid figure; and thank you to Lisa, Prof Velez, and those at LPCP.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:42 PST
First Generation Africans in the 21st Century “A young Somali
American’s journey growing up in Atlanta, GA”
- Authors: Biibi A. Muse
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose“At the heart of this thinking is the realization by [B]lacks that the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” (Steve Biko, 1971). I have no desire to be sweet soft supple If I was to be either of these things, God would’ve made me a fruit, But instead, he made me a Black w o man
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:39 PST
Toward an Afrofuturist Landscape: A Refutation of the Deceptive Aesthetics
of Spatial Violence in Wynberg, Cape Town
- Authors: Benjamin Perry Levy
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose: This essay represents a continuation of work that I was fortunate enough to be able to begin while I was studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa during the spring 2022 semester. Beyond this, however, this paper represents an exploratory dive into the spatial humanities, particularly with regard to architecture, history, and landscape–an interest of mine that has developed (and which I hope to pursue more [in/ex]tensively in my graduate studies) as I have had the opportunity to learn from Professor Walter Greason, one of my mentors here at Macalester College. Throughout this work, I weave together anecdote and a broad host of theory in order to expose insidious spatial violences I saw and moved throughout during my time in South Africa, and to consider what alternative negotiations of space–which I also witnessed–refute these violences. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that this essay, as is the case with all writing, is a fundamentally collaborative project: I would not have been able to complete it if not for the support and brilliance of those who I have been fortunate enough to work with and learn from. I am indescribably grateful for my peers in the senior seminar; for my mentors at Macalester College (Professors Walter Greason and Duchess Harris; and Hana Dinku) and the University of Cape Town (Drs. Shari Daya and Natasha Vally); and for all of my family and close friends.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:37 PST
Mapping the Madness, Making a Method: A critical reflection on living,
learning, and organizing amidst chaos
- Authors: A.R.S. Lee
  Abstract: Statement of PurposeThis is my first attempt at synthesizing my experience as a student of race and power during a time of total system failure, mass resistance to systems of racial capitalism and state violence, and settler desecration of the Earth. As a pre-service educator at a time when schools are a site of contestation over whether our children should be taught about power and oppression, whether or not all of our children should be allowed to learn freely, whether transgender children have the right to exist at all. As an organizer, human being, and young person who is coming into himself during a period of immense change and inescapably visible suffering. It is my attempt at testimony.As my struggle to align my actions to my values continues, I hope I might return to this piece as a marker of my own development. At its core, I am taking this work as an opportunity to share what I have learned with all those who have aided me in the process of becoming more fully human; my mentors, educators, friends, and – most importantly – my family.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:34 PST
How To Build A Socialist Government: Milwaukee and The Sewer Socialists
- Authors: Nicholas Howland
  Abstract: Statement of PurposeAs someone who has grown up in Milwaukee, the history of the city has always been important to the story of my family. As a Socialist, historian, and avid urbanist, the topic of Sewer Socialism became an inevitable project for study. The purpose of this project is to highlight the history of change and liberation in the United States. I see the Milwaukee Socialists as a prime example of that history and what a truly representative coalition-based government can be. This paper aims to be an introductory overview to the study of the history of German immigration, the socialist press, socialism in Milwaukee, and more. The topics discussed in the paper are highlighted with the hope of possible inspiration for the modern socialist movement in building coalitions. In this current era of American life, there is currently the largest push for unionization in the last fifty years. As always true in the history of the United States there are large immigrant populations all over the country. The advent of social media has opened the door to the press being used to advance the socialist cause. Looking back upon the history of a movement like the Sewer Socialists can teach valuable lessons to the next generation of leaders.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:31 PST
Who’s Really the Imposter Here' An Examination of the Relationship
Between First-Generation College Students and Institutions of Higher
Education Through a Collection of Oral Histories
- Authors: Abby Green
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose:Navigating an elite higher education institution has ignited a reaction of rage, a desire for change, and a hope for liberation for me and my peers. My last four years have been clouded by the exhausting cycles of struggling through college, drowning in imposter syndrome, and feeling the cold absence of honest conversation on the adverse layered realities of first-generation college students embedded in these institutions. These cycles left in a puddle of rage with no outlet. This paper is that outlet, grown from my efforts to speak up and bring awareness of the silenced students forced to navigate college in isolation. My hope is for liberation from the restraints of oppressive institutions, and I know that we cannot get there if we don’t discuss why we haven’t gotten there- while also honoring and validating those who are brave enough to do so. First-generation (first-gen) students deserve to have an equitable education, and I aim to address and shorten the dissonance between the facade the higher ed puts out and the lived experiences and sad truths of those navigating it through the practice of oral history. I hope to be able to build this paper to function as an alleviating source of honesty and support gifted to first-gen students currently at Mac, and those to come after. Lastly, I am writing this paper for myself. I feel that throughout my time at Mac I lost a piece of myself to this institution. This evoked the unrelenting need for me to investigate what role our college played in contributing to the loss of what used to be mine through institution-generated turmoil.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:29 PST
Challenging Medical Authority: Autonomous Health Movement and Contemporary
Harm Reduction Practices in Minneapolis
- Authors: Louise D. Bequeaith
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose: Sometimes, I find it difficult to comprehend the vast problems and systems of inequity that exist within the United States’ (US) healthcare system. The US’s profit-driven model of health is so deeply integrated into our society that it feels impossible to change. It is hard to imagine an alternative. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment where the health of our communities is brought to the forefront. It is a moment when as a society we are beginning to understand that health crises are not a sum of individual failures, but instead are systematically produced and reproduced by systems of control. This is a reality that marginalized communities have been facing throughout history, a reality that marginalized communities have been confronting and organizing around. One way these issues are addressed is through the creation of autonomous health movements. In this paper, I contextualize the history and interventions of autonomous health movements and harm reductions practices and provide a case study of Southside Harm Reduction Services. I approach this study through thick observation and interviews with harm reduction practitioners. I argue that exploring autonomous health movements is a way to see alternative and liberating ways to address health in our community. Historical and contemporary examples of autonomous health work demonstrate that models of health independent of medical social control already exist. These models are already saving lives and creating new possibilities.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:26 PST
Contextualizing Resistance in Minneapolis Post-George Floyd: Race, Class,
and the Paradox of ‘Nice’
- Authors: Muriel Ambrus
  Abstract: Statement of Purpose:As a Black Minnesotan, I feel stuck between the binary of hope and despair after the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests during the summer of 2020. I had never seen as much vocal support for Black lives. However, reflecting two years later makes me fear the support was simply appeasement and empty promises. While Derek Chauvin was convicted of killing George Floyd, there have been several Black men murdered by Twin Cities police in the two years since his death including, Dolal Idd, Daunte Wright, Winston Smith, and more. Poor Black people in the Twin Cities are still relegated to living in areas of concentrated poverty and subjected to unrelenting police surveillance and community violence. I was raised in a middle class Minneapolis suburb by a Black father and white mother. My family moved to the city at the beginning of my freshman year where I gained confidence in my identity as a Black woman from the Black teachers and classmates at my new high school. In this paper I seek to highlight the experiences of working class Black people in Minneapolis; that is not and has never been my identity or life experience. As a lighter-skinned Black person who benefits from systems of capitalism and colorism, my priority in the wake of the summer 2020 uprising is to call attention to the anti-Black violence embedded in Minnesota that particularly impacts working class Black Minnesotans.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:23 PST
A Note from the Art Collective of Tapestries
- Authors: Louise D. Bequeaith et al.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:20 PST
Timeline 2019-2022
- Abstract: Description: Timeline of events during the college experience of Macalester American Studies major 2022-2023 graduates.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:18 PST
We Will Not Yield to Change: A Note from the Editors of Tapestries
- Authors: Benjamin Perry Levy et al.
  PubDate: Fri, 27 Jan 2023 12:11:13 PST
We Come from the Stars: Genealogies of Black and Indigenous Co-Resistance
in Mni Sota Makoce
- Authors: Zoe V. Allen
  Abstract: In this paper, I reflect on my experiences as an Anishinaabekwe, Sicangu Oyate queer woman organizing at Macalester College and beyond–that have shaped my major research interests on the convergences of Indigenous intergenerational healing, art, and youth organizing. From the fight to assert Anishinaabe sovereignty against the Line 3 oil pipeline in Northern Minnesota to honoring the lives of Black relatives who were stolen by Minnesotan police forces, 2020-2021 have been years of massive social upheaval. What does Black and Indigenous solidarity/co-resistance look like today, in the past and how can it continue here in Mni Sota Makoce' How is this work limited at a predominantly white institution such as Macalester College' Building on the work of Macalester Alum Guy Chinang ’20 how do institutions that practice neoliberal multiculturalism constrain radically emancipatory futures' What are the possibilities opened through intergenerational healing, art, and youth organizing' I argue that the collaborative community space opened through Powwow X: Expanded Cinema here at Macalester College–presented by Missy Whiteman and organized by P.I.P.E. and the DML on November 19th, 2021–models the abilities of art, activism, and ceremony to help Black and Indigenous peoples heal and generate new worlds. The beauty of Black and Indigenous solidarity work needs to be recognized and celebrated, while also practicing truth-telling and accountability.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:19 PST
Chinese Immigrant Women as Home Care Workers: Performing and Disrupting
Narratives Through Labor Practices
- Authors: Sophie Mark-Ng
  Abstract: This article explores how labor practices perpetuate narratives, or stereotypes, which produce various forms of anti-Asian violence. By looking at labor trends of Chinese immigrants in America, specifically on the current increase of Chinese immigrant women home care workers, the author argues that labor trends are guided by narratives surrounding certain demographics while simultaneously reinforcing these narratives. For Chinese immigrant women, the stereotype of the hardworking and subservient worker, paired with their hypersexualization and association with sex work, combine to justify their increased presence in the domestic work or home care industry. These harmful narratives create violence both within and beyond the workplace. Use of collective organizing practices by workers not only leads to better working conditions, but also counters narratives of Chinese immigrant women as submissive and silent. Labor organizing has the immense power to transform stereotypes which guide labor practices and perpetuate violence. Despite its deprioritization in mainstream Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) political organizing spaces, labor organizing should be seen as an essential site for the future of AAPI organizing.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:15 PST
Complicating the Constructed Narrative of Minnesota’s Iron Range
- Authors: Sara Rukavina
  Abstract: In this essay, I aimed to deconstruct the way that the history of Minnesota’s Iron Range is remembered and reveal how it supports an exploitative and harmful mining industry and system of capitalism. I identify how harm against Indigenous people and land is not a part of this collective memory of Iron Range’s history and neither is the way that racial division and racism were used as tools to exploit and suppress workers. I both complicate the narrative by revealing these histories and imagine how different the world and the Range would be if we honestly confronted and reckoned with our history.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:12 PST
Confirmation and not Revelation: The Radical Imagination and Visions for
the Future
- Authors: Nicole V. Salazar
  Abstract: The imagination is not a foil to reality, but holds potential for re-envisioning an existing one. The term “radical” in radical imagination implies action. We cannot just imagine and stop there. In order for the imagination to become a tool for (personal/ communal/ global) liberation, it needs to be paired with action. There is no such thing as the “standard” or the “conventional” because it is constructed by those in power. Because of this, the radical imagination has existed for years in the language of the oppressed. Drawing from Black and Indigenous thought and practice, personal experience and work, we can see how the radical imagination is born out of necessity. There is no one way of imagining so this is a collection of various imaginations.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:08 PST
Decentering the Gendered Whiteness of the Iconic American Cowboy: Media,
Performance, and Race in the Rodeo World
- Authors: Louise A. Blair
  Abstract: Throughout American history, cowboys have been a cultural fascination and iconic symbol of strength and masculinity. To this day, cowboys are readily present in popular culture and imagery, but are nearly always portrayed as an exclusively white character. This paper explores the historical inaccuracies of this portrayal, while decentering the whiteness of the cowboy by discussing media, performance, and race. Through this, case studies such as the Bill Pickett Rodeo, 21st century popular images of black cowboys, and the presence of horses in recent protests come to light as alternative images for a new American cowboy emerging in American culture. These images simultaneously represent a fruitful yet rarely discussed history, as well as a changing perception of who belongs as a cowboy in America.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:04 PST
Sprouting SEAD: Exploring Youth Southeast Asian Leadership Towards
Abolitionist Futures
- Authors: Haley Le-Vien
  Abstract: After a whirlwind summer with the Southeast Asian Diaspora Project, I reflect on my experiences there as a young Southeast Asian woman who is in youth work. Through analyzing the potential of queer activism, the history of Asian activism, the Stop AAPI Hate movement, and Asian solidarity with other BIPOC specifically right after the murder of George Floyd, I aim to provide suggestions for how Southeast Asian youth organizing could look like in the future to maintain an abolitonist vision and a strong dedication to the community. I emphasize the importance of grounding future activism outside of identity, the potential of horizontal leadership, and why youth must be the leaders of these future movements. I also provide examples of current Southeast Asian or BIPOC and queer organizations like PrYSM and Freedom Inc that are youth led that are good signs for the future. This is only the beginning of a much longer conversation and I intend to take my findings from this paper to apply to my own curriculum building for youth leadership programming.
  PubDate: Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:32:00 PST