User:Cgao29/sandbox

PE Organization

The organization that I will be working with for my PE is the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES). It was initially a one semester project in a graduate-level course, however, over the last 10 years, CARES became an organization that collaborates with the Pinoleville Pomo Nation on community development. Some projects include creek restoration, culturally significant home designs, and waste management–all centered around sustainability in the ways of design and production. The organization's core focus is on cultural and environmental consciousness. During my time with CARES, I plan on working on renovations and repairs of the housing structures. More specifically, the job entails home maintenance workshops for the residents. I will be surveying and thinking about repair needs. Another thing that I will be doing is co-designing workshops on home maintenance.

Wikipedia Article Selection

Area

Native Americans in the United States

This article contains a variety of information about Native Americans in the United States, from their backgrounds, history, demographics, identity, culture, etc. I want to get an understanding of Native Americans' trajectory in the United States prior to starting my PE. Since the article spans many topics, I want to zero in on "Contemporary issues," specifically "barriers to economic development." This is because a lot of my research has provided me with historical context to understand the trajectory of Native Americans' standing in the U.S. In addition, I've done research that gives me modern context to write about Native Americans' barriers to economic development.

Sector

Sustainable Development

My PE focuses on four core projects that intersect at sustainability. Specifically, I will be working on sustainable housing projects, such as developing and designing practical and sustainable housing structures that the PPN see as spiritually and culturally fitting for them. The article I selected is a very general one about what sustainable development is, and how it could be. It mentioned how the sustainability element of development gained attention after the Brundtland Report. I want to expand on the "culture" subsection because I found my research on co-design and the emphasis of cultural significance to be very interesting, and it's a topic that's been neglected. Thus, I want to write about the correlation between the two, and possibly bring in the types of collaborative methodologies.

Article Evaluation

I evaluated Native Americans in the United States.

Evaluating Content

This article is the umbrella of most Native American issues in the United States. It is part of WikiProject Indigenous Peoples of North America, B-Class, top importance; WikiProject Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, B-Class, high importance; WikiProject Oklahoma, B-Class, high importance; WikiProject United States/American Old West, B-Class, high importance.The contents are robust, ranging from Native American origins, history, demographics, tribal sovereignty, civil rights movement, contemporary issues, society, language and culture, interracial relations, and racial identity. It seems to be the main content page that serves to also direct readers to other related, or more specific Wikipedia pages on certain topics of Native American history and culture. The "contemporary issues" section serves as a guide for readers to learn about currently relevant Native American issues which are under looked. The section is comprehensive in that it spans many aspects of Native American lives in society, pop culture, economics, etc. The subsection is categorized as a series on indigenous rights. The content is very compelling and thorough, backed by qualitative evidence, as well as sufficient data from credible sources.

Evaluating Tone

The over all tone of the article is encyclopedic, however, I did catch occasional hints of personal biases. This is especially evident in some statements were not backed up by sources, or failed to demonstrate evidence in the process of drawing certain conclusions about Native Americans.

Evaluating Sources

While the article had an abundant, and good balance of qualitative and quantitative sources, it was not diversified in the sense that they were similar types of sources, including census data and normative, qualitative evidence. I did not see that many scholarly sources being cited, so some content and nuances are questionable. On the more factual side when writing about the history of Native Americans, good sources were utilized. The contemporary sentiments in the contemporary issues section were backed by weak sources, such as unreliable news outlets.

Talk Page

The talk page was last active in February of 2019, thus most of the issues discussed were solved. I learned that the article talk page is automatically archived, and it is a level-5 vital article in society. It was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. One issue that got resolved was changing the tone from past-tense to present and active. There were debates around the Native American origin story of Beringia. The disagreement in that theory and origin of the earliest Native Americans led to a disagreement in the validity of the sources, thus there were disagreements on the validity of the content in that section. In July 2018, one user suggested that Native Americans in the United States should be the main article that directs to individual articles for specific subjects and topics. Hence why there is an article under almost every subsection.

Scholarly Sources

Area

An Assessment of Native American Economic Development: Putting Culture and Sovereignty Back in the Models

This article assesses how U.S. government policies interfere with Native American communities' economic development. Further, the authors discuss the importance of understanding different cultures in order to holistically and successfully plan for development. This is important for my research because it is important to know a certain topic or area very well before doing the work. That being said, the PPN people are different than anything I've known or read, so having to adapt or change methods or practices will be necessary for my PE.

Duffy, Diane., and Stubben, Jerry. "An Assessment of Native American Economic Development: Putting Culture and Sovereignty Back in the Models." Studies in Comparative International Development., Winter 1998, Vol. 32, Issue 4, p. 52-78.

American Indian Landowners, Leasemen, and Bureaucrats

Van Winkle and Friedman studied and wrote about the exploitative lender-leaser relationship between a native community and white yeoman farmers in Southwest Oklahoma. The authors bring light on how the current leasing system benefits yeoman farmers, meanwhile hurts how the Native Americans own their land. While it's not directly pertinent to my PE, I noticed the discrepancy in indigenous land ownership on paper, versus how the system actually works against their favor.

VANWINKLE, TONY N., and JACK R. FRIEDMAN. “American Indian Landowners, Leasemen, and Bureaucrats: Property, Paper, and the Poli-Technics of Dispossession in Southwestern Oklahoma.” American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 42, Issue 4, p. 508-533.

Tribal Sovereignty and Tribal Lending

This law journal talks about how government regulations and lawsuits interferes with many Indian tribes' ability to lease their land in order to raise money for community development. I think this can, in some ways, explain how and why many Indian tribes cannot and do not get sufficient revenue from their land. Because of this, it sometimes could conflict with their independent sovereignty because they cannot be entirely financially independent.

Crepelle, Adam. “Tribal Lending and Tribal Sovereignty.” Drake Law Review, Vol. 66, Issue 1, 2018, p. 1-44.

The Failure of State-Led Economic Development on American Indian Reservations

This article discusses the issues around state-led economic development on Native American reservations. The author examines the top-down approach used by the state, and connects back to the nuances of the standing of Native Americans in America. The author concludes that the top-down approach does not suit Native American communities. This article is a critical source because it will provide area and general context for my area Wikipedia article. The wiki content is directly related to this scholarly source.

Mathers, Rachel L. "The Failure of State-Led Economic Development on American Indian Reservations". Independent Review, Vol. 17, Issue 1, Summer 2012, p. 65-80.

American Indian Poverty in the Contemporary United States

This article specifically and explicitly discusses Native American poverty by distinguishing their situations of poverty from "mainstream" poverty. They authors realize that there is not a lot of sociological attention and data to inform and publicize American Indian poverty issues, so their study aimed at exploring this nuance. The article evaluates how space, labor markets, and economic developmental approaches reduce or exacerbate inequality. I believe that this source can be really useful for my contribution to my area Wiki article because it examines a contemporary Native American issue.

Davis, James J.; Roscigno, Vincent J.; Wilson, George."American Indian Poverty in the Contemporary United States". Sociological Forum, Vol. 31, Issue 1, March 2016, p. 5-28.

Indian Country Poverty: Place-Based Poverty on American Indian Territories, 2006-10

K. Whitney Mauer talks about how Native American community reservations', or reservation-like environment can contribute to poverty. Mauer examines poverty in the context of a place or a space, which Michael Katz also talks about in What Kind of Problem is Poverty?. This will give a more comprehensive understanding of poverty in the Native American community, and also explain why their poverty is distinguishable.

Whitney Mauer, K. "Indian Country Poverty: Place-Based Poverty on American Indian Territories, 2006-10." Rural Sociology, Vol. 82, Issue 3, September 2017, p.473-498.

An Understanding of Native American Entrepreneurship

This article discusses how Native Americans' business philosophy differs from conventional and capitalistic entrepreneurship. Rick Colbourne asserts that Native American business people integrate history, tradition, and culture into their business practices. This type of spirit can empower and uplift others in their community and reduce poverty. I think I can use the contents in this source to explain how the acceptance of unconventional business philosophies can be beneficial in overcoming barriers to economic development.

Colbourne, Rick. "An Understanding of Native American Entrepreneurship." Small Enterprise Research. Vol. 24, Issue 1, April 2017, p.49-61.

Sector

Tribal Housing, Codesign, and Cultural Sovereignty.

The second source was written by the professors who founded CARES. I would be able to use it to provide direct context to the PPN's concerns as well as my PE's projects.

David S. Edmunds., et al “Tribal Housing, Codesign, and Cultural Sovereignty.” Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 38, no. 6, 2013, p. 801.

Native American Storytelling Toward Symbiosis and Sustainable Design

This source thoroughly explains the reason behind why Native Americans value collaborate work and sustainability. I can use annotations to explain how sustainable design and cultural values are intertwined.

Saiyed, Z., Irwin, P. D. "Native American Storytelling Toward Symbiosis and Sustainable Design." Energy Research & Social Science, Vol.31, 249-252.

Thinking the Other: Towards Cultural Diversity in Architecture

Tania Martin is an architecture professor. Similarly to CARES, she and her graduate students worked with the First Nation people in Canada on codesign with cultural significance. The journal talks about the process of planning, collaborating, and some research methods. This source could be integral in that it'll give me something to compare with my PE org. I would also point out how generalization in development does not work because tribes are so different.

Tania Martin, and André Casault. “Thinking the Other: Towards Cultural Diversity in Architecture.” Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 59, no. 1, 2005, p. 3.

Energy Development and Native Americans: Values and Beliefs about Energy from the Navajo Nation

This article brings in the perspective of nuanced research and how traditional Navajo and other Native American beliefs can contribute to sustainable design. This source can provide more information on how exactly unconventional perspectives can be a feasible alternative method.

Necefer, Len., et al "Energy and Development and Native Americans: Values and Beliefs about Energy from the Navajo Nation." Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 7, p.1-11.

Living Lab: A Methodology between User-Centered Design and Participatory Design

This source will be useful for writing about the existing methodologies of sustainable development, specifically, user-centered design.

Dell’Era, Claudio, and Paolo Landoni. “Living Lab: A Methodology between User-Centered Design and Participatory Design.” Creativity & Innovation Management, Vol. 23, No. 2, June 2014, pp. 137–154.

An Approach to Conceptual and Embodiment Design within A New Product Development Life-cycle Framework

This source will be useful for writing about another sustainable development methodology known as life-cycle analysis, or LCA.

Vila, Carlos and Albinana, Juan Carlos. "An Approach to Conceptual and Embodiment Design within a New Product Development Life-cycle Framework." International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 54, no. 10, May 2016, p. 2856-2874.

Circular Product Design. A Multiple Loops Life Cycle Design Approach for the Circular Economy

This source will also be used to write about life-cycle analysis. I will relate this framework of sustainable development to my PE.

Mestre, Ana. and Cooper, Tim. "Circular Product Design. A Multiple Loops Life Cycle Design Approach for the Circular Economy." Design Journal, Vol. 20, 2017, p. S1620-S1635.

Summarizing and Synthesizing

Area

1. Duffy and Stubben talk about how inconsistencies in government policies affect Native American tribes' ability to be financially independent with what they own, be it land or businesses. Additionally, they talk about how the U.S. government-Native American dynamic is different and more complicated than the colonizer-colonized analysis that is used to study the conditions of third world countries. Some key takeaways from this article was that culture is ingrained in many practices, even economic transactions. Tribal ownership is important in helping many tribes succeed. Another takeaway is that not all tribes develop the same, because they are all culturally different. I think that this article gave a lot of insight on the negativities of generalization when trying to solve issues of poverty. It is ineffective to compare the trajectories of third world countries and Native American tribes and try to come up with one type of solution to alleviate poverty. It is also ineffective when grouping Native Americans as a whole to alleviate poverty. This calls for holistic research and methodologies.
2. The lend-lease relationship that the Native Americans in SW Oklahoma have with white yeoman farmers is one that negatively affects Native Americans when it is intended to do the opposite. Van Winkle evaluates how leasing systems created by the agency of the BIA makes it more difficult for natives to access their own property; some attention and discourse are drawn to inadequate and regressive Indian land policy, but not enough. The author even compares this lend-lease system to feudalism, but the other way around, because Native American landowners have little control. This is especially interesting because it shows the tribal sovereignty paradox. While legally Native Americans have tribal sovereignty that is supposed to benefit them financially and makes them independent, the loopholes in federal policies actually turns them into victims. For a lack of better words, the neo-colonial dynamic is there.
3. This is another article which shed light to the unfair outcomes of policies that are supposed to benefit the indigenous communities but instead hurts them. Many tribes' main source of revenue for development purposes comes from leasing their land. This becomes difficult when they face government regulations and lawsuits, which are attempts to undermine tribal sovereignty. As a result, some indigenous tribes do not have adequate funds to elevate their communities, creating a cycle of poverty.
4. This article talks about how state-led development focuses attention and resources on international issues, when poverty in Native American reservation communities is a big domestic issue. The author discusses why more state resources and attention should be focused on reservation development. Some reasons being that geographically, politically, and economically it is more feasible to make progress than if the U.S. tried to work on development projects internationally. The problem is not the lack of resources devoted towards reservation development, but actually that the U.S. government lacks the knowledge to address reservation poverty. Since the system is so bureaucratic, everyone in the state is very far removed from the situation that they are trying to solve. The author analyzes the ineffectiveness of top-down approaches of development. She identifies two factors: the state’s inability to perform economic calculation, and the political allocation of resources. I think this source will be extremely useful in my drafting. Poverty in the Native American community is largely a political economy issue. Bureaucracy and ignorance are huge factors that perpetuate poverty on reservations.
5. This article (Davis et al) pays special attention to poverty experienced by Native Americans. The authors used labor market analysis of poverty while considering two factors: the urbanization of Native American population and the rise in casino ownership. The article explored how areas, labor markets, and economic development affect inequality and poverty. I think it’s great to have found a scholarly source that pays sociological attention to contemporary Native American issues. That way, I can apply the material in direct context and framework. The data would be more accurate since the authors explicitly did research on this demographic.
6. K. Whitney Mauer examines poverty in Native American communities, with central focus on how poverty manifests in certain places. She uses quantitative data along with her analysis on how the structures (not just physical) of a place can exacerbate or perpetuate poverty. By specifically examining how poverty is a place issue, Mauer thinks that tribal governments can better adapt federal policies while tailoring them to reservation conditions. This source will be integral to my drafting because not only is it specifically about Native American territories, but acknowledging that the structures of place is a poverty issue makes less abstract to people. This reminds me of Michael Katz’s essay, “What Kind of Problem is Poverty?” but more in depth as it zeros in on the place factor.
7. Rick Colbourne sees the nuance in Native American entrepreneurship in the sense that their business philosophy differs from mainstream capitalism. When Native Americans do business, they also consider history, tradition, culture, etc. Unlike the traditionally individualistic and self-served system of capitalism works, Native Americans do business with the consideration of empowering others in their communities. This is an extremely relevant source that is critical in understanding that people are different even in their business practices. It shows that generic frameworks of business or development is not a one-size-fits-all. By understanding that effective poverty action and development should actively include the most vulnerable, since they understand their situations the best, I can compare it to Rachel Mathers’ article on state-led development. The contrast between the two models would show that while there are ideal solutions to begin to address Native American poverty, bureaucracy is still in the way.

Sector

1. The CARES founders write about the start of the organization. The goal of creating sustainable housing is to maintain cultural sovereignty, while also being cognizant of political, environmental, and economic factors. The PPN wants to maintain and preserve all the attributes but welcome improvements. The co-design aspect is comprised of active influence from both the PPN and CARES volunteers. They do this by having icebreaker sessions and citizen participation. It's interesting how the collaboration manages to be inclusive and accommodating in ways that don't compromise the PPN's values or beliefs. I don't think it's just about emotional respect, it really gets conveyed into the work and design.
2. The article is interesting because it connects Native oral traditions and their relationship with nature to contemporary aspects of sustainability and design. Furthermore, it helps develop research methods based on storytelling by surveying the dwellers of current homes. Native Americans' relationship with nature and their experiences are conveyed into design. Their oral traditions also makes them innately more collaborative, as they use reflective learning in the design process. The sustainability comes into play because their respect for nature and resources is ingrained in their cultures.
3. Tonya Martin and her graduate architecture students worked with the First Nation tribe of Canada on a co-design project similar to that of CARES, except it was not a long-term partnership for them. Their exercises and research showed the practicalities of including cultural diversity in design.
4. Necefer et. al examines the Navajo Nation’s values and beliefs about energy and how it applies to sustainable development. The researchers concluded that sustainable energy development could be profitable and alleviate poverty without compromising cultural values. This can apply to the PPN as well. Generally, we think that economic development and sustainability are mutually exclusive, but it is not the case in this article and it doesn’t have to be. Additionally, it shows that sustainable economic development is a possibility for indigenous communities because there can still be emphasis on cultural significance.
5. Dell’Era and Landoni analyze a new sustainable design methodology called Living Lab, which is a hybrid of user-centered design and collaboration. User-centered design is a newer methodology which refines based on user-specific needs. This is useful for my research because my PE entails co-design and participatory work. Knowing more about user-centered design can help me understand how it can be sustainable.
6. Vila and Albinana talk about another methodology of sustainable design/product development called Life-cycle Analysis, or LCA. LCA takes into consideration the degree of reuse and longevity of a project or product. That is the other aspect of sustainable design. My PE org, specifically the environment and housing team will be using LCD and human-centered design methodologies in the process of brainstorming, planning, and implementing our designs.
7. Ana Mestre and Tim Cooper discuss life cycle analysis in the context of sustainable development. The article talks about the recent history of the LCA and how it emerged after the European Commission introduced the framework when they initially tried to work on energy efficiency for electrical and electronic goods. The information provided can be a guide for my team and I when when are in the design process. According to the abstract, this methodology can promote sustainable design solutions by addressing the UN’s SDGs. Since my sector article mentions SDGs and how it is directly applicable to 21st century sustainable development, this source will be critical in my understanding of LCA in economic development.

Drafting

Bold: my contributions

Italicized: Existing information on articles

Area: Native Americans in the United States

Section: Affirmative action issues

Federal contractors and subcontractors, such as businesses and educational institutions, are legally required to adopt equal opportunity employment and affirmative actionmeasures intended to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of "color, religion, sex, or national origin".^[171][172] For this purpose, a Native American is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment". The passing of the Indian Relocation Act saw a 56% increase in Native American city dwellers over 40 years. The Native American urban poverty rate exceeds that of reservation poverty rates due to discrimination in hiring processes. However, self-reporting is permitted: "Educational institutions and other recipients should allow students and staff to self-identify their race and ethnicity unless self-identification is not practicable or feasible."^[173]

Self-reporting opens the door to "box checking" by people who, despite not having a substantial relationship to Native American culture, innocently or fraudulently check the box for Native American.^[174]

The difficulties that Native Americans face in the workforce, such as lack of promotions and wrongful terminations are attributed to racial stereotypes and implicit biases. Native American business owners are seldom offered auxiliary resources that are crucial for entrepreneurial success.

Barriers to Economic Development

Edit into "Barriers to Economic Development"

One of the bullets listed:

• The instability of tribal government keeps outsiders from investing. (Many tribes adopted constitutions by the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act model, with two-year terms for elected positions of chief and council members deemed too short by the authors for getting things done)

The lack of international recognition also weakens Native American legitimacy.

This would allow students to learn the essential elements of entrepreneurship from a young age and encourage them to apply these elements throughout life".^[206] Rez Biz magazine addresses these issues.

New paragraph, subheading(?): Discourse in Economic Development

Some scholars argue that the existing theories and practices of economic development are not suitable for Native American communities—given the lifestyle, economic, and cultural differences, as well as the unique history of Native American-U.S. relations. Most economic development research were not conducted on Native American communities. The federal government fails to consider place-based issues of American Indian poverty by generalizing the demographic.In addition, the concepts of economic development threatens to upend the multidimensionality of Native American culture.The dominance of federal government involvement in indigenous developmental activities perpetuates and exacerbates the salvage paradigm.

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Edit into “Landownership Challenges”

Past efforts to encourage landownership (such as the Dawes Act) resulted in a net loss of Tribal land and are considered racist. After they were familiarized with their smallholder status, Native American landowners were lifted of trust restrictions and their land would get transferred back to them, contingent of a transactional fee to the federal government. The transfer fee discouraged Native American land ownership, with 65% of tribal owned land being sold to non-Native Americans by the 1920s.

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Title/placement: New section -> "Land Ownership and Bureaucratic Challenges in Historical Context"

State-level efforts such as the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act were attempts to contain tribal land in Native American hands. However, more bureaucratic decisions only expanded the size of the bureaucracy. The knowledge disconnect between the decision-making bureaucracy and Native American stakeholders resulted in ineffective development efforts.

Traditional Native American entrepreneurship does not prioritize profit maximization, rather, business transactions must have align with their social and cultural values.In response to indigenous business philosophy, the federal government created policies that aimed to formalize their business practices, which undermined the Native American status quo.Additionally, legal disputes interfered with tribal land leasing, which were settled with the verdict against tribal sovereignty.

Often, bureaucratic overseers of development are far removed from Native American communities, and lack the knowledge and understanding to develop plans or make resource allocation decisions.The top-down heavy involvement in developmental operations corrupts bureaucrats into further self-serving agenda. Such incidences include fabricated reports that exaggerate results.

New section below "Barriers to Economic Development": Geographic Poverty

While Native American urban poverty is attributed to hiring and workplace discrimination in a heterogeneous setting,reservation and trust land poverty rates are endogenous to deserted opportunities in isolated regions.

Sector: Sustainable Development

Bold: My draft and notes

Italicized: Existing information on article...since I'm contributing entirely to new subsections, there will probably be no contributions to existing sections.

since there's nothing specific, be general but detailed about element of cultural emphasis on sustainable development. Creation of new section under "Culture" on Cultural Elements in Sustainable Development Frameworks: Life Cycle Analysis and Human Centered Design

Recently, human-centered design and cultural collaboration have been popular frameworks for sustainable development in marginalized communities.These frameworks involve open dialogue which entail sharing, debating, and discussing, as well as holistic evaluation of the site of development.Especially when working on sustainable development in marginalized communities, cultural emphasis is a crucial factor in project decisions, since it largely affects aspects of their lives and traditions.Collaborators utilize articulation theory in co-designing. This allows for them to understand each other's thought process and their comprehension of the sustainable projects.By using the method of co-design, beneficiaries' holistic needs are considered.Final decisions and implementations are made with respect to sociocultural and ecological factors.

Human Centered Design

The user-oriented framework relies heavily on user participation and user feedback in the planning process.Users are able to provide new perspective and ideas, which can be considered in a new round of improvements and changes.It is said that increased user participation in the design process can garner a more comprehensive understanding of the design issues, due to more contextual and emotional transparency between researcher and participant.A key element of human centered design is applied ethnography, which was a research method adopted from cultural anthropology.This research method requires researchers to be fully immersed in the observation so that implicit details are also recorded.

Life Cycle Analysis

Many communities express environmental concerns, so life cycle analysis is often conducted when assessing the sustainability of a product or prototype.The assessment is done in stages with meticulous cycles of planning, design, implementation, and evaluation.The decision to choose materials is heavily weighted on its longevity, renewability, and efficiency. These factors ensure that researchers are conscious of community values that align with positive environmental, social, and economic impacts.