The Conqueror Meets the Unconquered: Negotiating Cultural Boundaries on the Post-Revolutionary Southern Frontier

On December 26, 1785, A group of 127 bedraggled Choctaw Indians arrived at Hopewell, Andrew Pickens's home on the Keowee River in South Carolina. They had trekked for over two months and traveled hundreds of miles from their central Mississippi homeland to represent the Choctaw people in a meeting with representatives of the United States government. Several days of negotiations resulted in the first treaty between these two powers. This encounter in the southern backcountry (which was the second in a series of three consecutive meetings at Hopewell during the winter of 1785-1786 between the U.S. and the Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, respectively) reveals several issues vital to an understanding of intercultural relations in the post-Revolutionary War South.

Making the Mississippi River Over Again: The Development of River Control in Mississippi

When Mark Twain wrote those words in the 1870s the United States government was just beginning to forge a massive river control system on the Mississippi River. The post-Civil War period witnessed an explosion in levees, wing-dams, dikes, jetties, and other constructions. This colossal project along more than 2,300 miles of the river continues to this day. It has had a major impact on the economy and the natural environment of the State of Mississippi and the Mississippi River Valley

Gideon Lincecum (1793-1874): Mississippi Pioneer and Man of Many Talents

Gideon Lincecum moved to Mississippi in 1818. He brought his family, which included his wife Sarah Bryan, two small children, his parents, some siblings, and a few African-American slaves. They settled initially along the Tombigbee River and helped establish the town of Columbus, Mississippi

Chickasaws: The Unconquerable People

The Chickasaw Indians were Mississippi’s second largest Indian group after the Choctaws. Before the United States government forced their removal in the 1830s, the Chickasaw resided in north Mississippi with their villages centered between the headwaters of the Yazoo and Tombigbee rivers around present-day Tupelo. They also claimed lands covering present-day western Tennessee. Their population numbers fluctuated over the 18th century between 2,000 to 5,000 people

Downsizing Hits Home

On a gloomy October day in 1995, the chair of the University of Wyoming's history department summoned all graduate students in the department to a meeting. He announced that the doctoral program no longer existed. To say that we were shocked would be an understatement. Graduate students had no warning of this decision; had we known this was coming, some of us would have attempted to transfer before the semester began. Twelve PhD students faced a tough choice—either finish the requirements under a "grandfather" clause and risk losing funding, or leave the school. Despite reassurances that all assistance possible would be given to those of us who wished to transfer to another university, the department refused to pay even for postage on letters of inquiry to other schools. Such a contradiction between words and actions characterized the entire affair

Parenting and the decline of physical activity from age 9 to 15

Background: There is a rapid decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during middle childhood and adolescence. Information on the environmental factors implicated in this decline is limited. This study focuses on family factors associated with the rate of decline in objectively measured physical activity during middle childhood and adolescence. Methods: Longitudinal analysis of 801 participants from 10 US sites in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development whose data included accelerometer-determined levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) between ages 9 and 15 years, as well as family process, BMI and demographic information. The sample included an even split of boys (49%) and girls (51%), was predominantly white (77%), and contained about 26% low income and 19% single parent families. The outcome measure was mean MVPA. It was based on 4 to 7 days of monitored physical activity. Results: Boys with lower parental monitoring scores and more days of parental encouragement had significantly more minutes of MVPA at age 9 years. The effect of parental monitoring, however, was moderated by early puberty. High parental monitoring was associated with decreased activity levels for boys experiencing later puberty and increased activity for boy experiencing early puberty. Minutes of MVPA for boys living in the Midwest decreased at significantly faster rates than boys living in any other region; and boys in the South declined faster than boys in the West. Girls in the Midwest and South declined faster than girls in the West and Northeast. Among girls, more days of parental exercise and transportation to activities were associated with more MVPA per day at age 9. However, more parental transportation to activities and less monitoring was associated with faster linear declines in daughters' MVPA between the ages of 9 and 15 years. For girls who experienced puberty early, parental encouragement was associated with more MVPA. Conclusions: Parenting processes, such as monitoring and encouragement, as well as the parents' own level of physical activity, showed significant, but small, gender-specific associations with MVPA levels at age nine and the linear rate of decline in MVPA between ages 9 and 15

Mushulatubbee and Choctaw Removal: Chiefs Confront a Changing World

One of Mississippi's and the United States' most inhumane actions was the forced removal of American Indians from the South to lands west of the Mississippi River in the early 1800s. Removal occurred because of an incessant demand for Indian lands. Demands for Indian land resulted from Anglo-American population growth in the South, the expansion of the short-staple cotton industry after Eli Whitney's cotton gin became widely available in the 1790s, the discovery of gold and other minerals on some Indian land, and simple racism. It did not help Indians that the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 provided lands to the west to which the United States could banish them, or that by 1815 there was no longer a viable European ally in the area who could counteract American demands

Pushmataha: Choctaw Warrior, Diplomat, and Chief

Few Choctaws from the early 1800s are better known than Pushmataha. He negotiated several well-publicized treaties with the United States, led Choctaws in support of the Americans during the War of 1812, is mentioned in nearly all histories of the Choctaws, was famously painted by Charles Bird King in 1824, is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and, in April 2001, a new Pushmataha portrait was unveiled to hang in the Hall of Fame of the State of Mississippi in the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi. Early twentieth-century ethnologist John Swanton referred to Pushmataha as the “greatest of all Choctaw chiefs.”1 Despite his seeming familiarity, Pushmataha's life is not as well documented nor as well known as a careful biographer would like. What is known suggests that Pushmataha was an exceptional man and charismatic leader. He had deep roots in the ancient Choctaw world, a world characterized by spiritual power and traditional notions of culture. In addition, Pushmataha effectively confronted a rapidly changing era caused by the ever-expanding European and American presence

The Relationship of Body Mass Index and Behavior in Children

Objectives- To examine reciprocal relations between body mass index (BMI), internalizing problems and externalizing problems from infancy through middle childhood with a focus on sex and history of overweight. Study design- Data from 1254 children in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used to conduct longitudinal analyses of relations between BMI and scores on the Child Behavior Checklist from age two through 6th grade. Results- BMI and behavior problems showed stability across the 7 measurement occasions. No consistent relation between BMI and behavior problems was evident prior to school entry; but being heavier was associated with later internalizing problems beginning in 1st grade for boys and girls. Higher BMI was not associated with increased conduct problems. Conclusions- As children move into middle childhood, higher BMI is associated with increased likelihood of developing internalizing problems. Health care providers should monitor BMI as children enter school and to provide guidance to parents regarding emerging symptoms of anxiety and depression

The kids are not all right: LGBTQIA+ student identity and introductory film studies curriculum

In attempting to address a broad range of students, introductory film studies curriculum serves to reinforce the marginalization of certain student identities that do not conform to hegemonic ideals reinforced through traditional, canonical analysis. In this study, I argue that marginalized students perform José Esteban Muñoz’s disidentification as a way to move through the traditional curriculum. Through a multi-method approach that includes content analysis, critical discourse analysis, and comparative analysis, this dissertation considers the organizational structure, language, and examples used in five mass-market, introductory film studies textbooks. The study revealed four cartographic rules of knowledge construction that guide introductory film studies curriculum. These cartographic rules illuminate how traditional, canonical, introductory film studies curriculum privileges western, white, patriarchal, heteronormative ideologies within critical film literacy. A reconsideration of the traditional, canonical approach is needed in order to provide a more inclusive and interdisciplinary curriculum. I posit a revision of the traditional, canonical view that, rather than privileging the filmmaker and filmic text as eminent maker of meaning, focuses instead on individual student meaning-making. Lastly, I provide examples, readings, and activities that move toward a more inclusive, student-centered curriculum