Description
This course examines the history and culture of the Mandan from pre-contact, through contact, to the present. Through the letters, reports, writings, and journals of early explorers, traders, merchants, and missionaries, and through the oral literature and teachings of the Mandan, the course will explore the Mandan way of life and the subsequent changes wrought by the immigrations of other peoples to Mandan territory. The Okipa and its central importance to the Mandan culture will be explored. The Earth Lodge as a symbol of the extended family and a woman's power of ownership will be examined, as will the economically beneficial agrarian practices of the Mandan women.