Witnessing the Reversal of Indigenous Erasure: My Undergraduate Experience

Abstract

This essay addresses how eighteenth-century studies can be more inclusive of Indigenous scholarship and knowledge, and the possibility of decolonizing the field. It follows an autobiographical narrative of undergraduate courses and a research project concerning the oral traditions and history of the Osage Nation. My experience shows that individual professors’ mentoring and their inclusion of Native American literature, authors, and topics in course offerings are crucial to advancing the decolonization and reversal of Indigenous erasure in university settings. In the field of Indigenous studies and literature, the previous work of ethnologist Francis La Flesche, anthropologist Garrick Bailey, and historian Louis F. Burns on the Osages provides a foundation for future scholarship on this tribe. My conclusion is that the willingness of professors to offer courses on Indigenous literature, or considerations of how Native American issues relate to and influence their field of study, are key to developing BIPOC inclusion in literary academia.