Arrivals/departures

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community onlyArrivals / Departures is a chapbook-length collection of flash fiction connected by the fact that all stories center around the physical displacement of their characters. Thus, my project has travel as a thematic core. The flash pieces are differentiated in the significance of that movement and in their structural and formal qualities. While some stories display travel as luxurious vacation, as it is commonly viewed in contemporary society, in others the movement of the characters signifies conquest and empire. In yet other cases, the journeys take on metaphorical significance. Furthermore, the stories employ a variety of formal techniques inspired from a comprehensive study of flash fiction, including authors such as Cristina Peri Rossi, Jorge Luis Borges, and Julio Cortázar. These include traditional story arcs, appropriated forms, and elements of prose poetry. In summary, the collection thematically coheres around movement while showcasing my ability to work with different forms, narrative perspectives, and voices.Thesis (M.A.

“It’s Our Country”: First Nations’ Participation in the Indian Pavilion at Expo 67

This paper traces the history of Aboriginal people’s participation in national spectacle and argues that the Indian Pavilion at Expo 67 was unique in its assertion of the portrayal of Native/Newcomer relations. Historians have interpreted the impact of the Indian Pavilion as an event that awakened non-Native Canadians to both the plight of Aboriginal peoples and their increasing unwillingness to suffer in silence. The controversy over the contents and general argument of the Indian Pavilion followed soon after the release of the two-volume Hawthorn Report on the social and economic conditions First Nations faced, and operated just as the federal government was initiating a series of talks with First Nations leaders to forge a new policy towards First Nations. At the same time, there is little evidence that the Indian Pavilion, whatever succès de scandale it enjoyed, had a lasting impact on public opinion or policymakers. Where the experience of mounting, operating, and defending the Indian Pavilion did matter, however, was with First Nations themselves. Whether causation or coincidence, the newfound confidence and pride that underlay the creation of the Indian Pavilion was completely consistent with the positive demeanour of Aboriginal political leaders from the late 1960s on.Cet article relate l’histoire entourant la participation des Autochtones au spectacle national et soutient que le pavillon Indiens du Canada à Expo 67 était unique quant à sa façon de tracer le portrait des relations entre les Autochtones et les nouveaux arrivants. Les historiens ont perçu l’influence du pavillon comme une occasion de sensibiliser les Canadiens non autochtones à la piètre situation des Autochtones et à leur réticence croissante à souffrir en silence. La controverse sur le contenu du pavillon Indiens du Canada et l’argumentation générale à son sujet ont suivi de près la publication du rapport Hawthorn en deux volumes sur les conditions sociales et économiques auxquelles les Premières nations devaient faire face. Au même moment, le gouvernement fédéral entreprenait une série de discussions avec les chefs des Premières nations afin d’élaborer une nouvelle politique les concernant. Parallèlement, rien de permet d’affirmer que le pavillon Indiens du Canada – quel que soit le succès de scandale dont il a pu profiter – a eu une incidence durable sur les façonneurs d’opinion ou sur les décideurs. Par contre, l’expérience de construire, de gérer et de défendre le pavillon importait tout d’abord aux Premières nations elles-mêmes. Que ce soit une relation de cause à effet ou une coïncidence, la confiance et la fierté récemment découvertes qui étaient à la base de la création du pavillon indien concordaient tout à fait avec le comportement positif des dirigeants politiques autochtones de la fin des années 1960