A&S Research Proposal Template

(total word count no more than 1500; Chicago Style mandatory):

Your Name: Laura Del Hierro

Title of the Project: Native American

Part 1: Aims (Abstract of 200 words or fewer): As concisely as you can, state the objectives
of your project. Explain your project in terms that will be understandable to a general,
non-specialist audience.

Through my research I want to establish and explain the necessity for the integration of Native
American studies into the University of Richmonds curriculum. It is essential that college
students, specifically students attending liberal arts schools, are educated on Native American
history and issues. Native American history is central to the history of this country and it is vital
to understand how institutional racism continues to alienate the social and political issues that
Native tribes encounter in America today. In my research I want to focus on the political and
social issues that Native tribes located in the state of Virginia face. Issues regarding public health
such as access to healthcare, sexual violence against women and children, and education
discrepancies present in Native American students. I hope to address the issues that tribes
encounter in the state of Virginia due to lack of representation. I will also focus on the beliefs and
customs of the selected tribes in Virginia and learn from their culture and experience. Most of my
research will derive from the integration of pilot program that creates a learning community on
Native American experience and culture at the University of Richmond. I hope to incorporate
classroom knowledge through community engagement by students building a relationship with
local Native tribes.

Part 2: Background: Identify a context for your work and orient the reader/reviewer. What
knowledge frames this project? What should a reader know to understand your questions?
Give references to specific research that provides a context for your ideas and approach.

The context that would frame my research is the societal and political oppression towards Indian
tribes in the United States specifically in the state of Virginia. Through my work I want readers
to know that federal recognition is important for the sovereignty of the tribe. The book Were
still here by Sandra F. Waugman provide readers with personal accounts of Virginia Indians and
insights on current issues revolving reservation culture. Since I will be looking at the lack of
federal recognition and how the reservation system is set up. It is important to understand the
organization of the reservation system and the ramifications it has on Native Indians such as poor
healthcare and poor education. A strong knowledge on the importance of federal recognition
allows people to understand the benefits that tribes acquire from the federal government. I will
focus my research on the Pamunkey and Monacan tribes. It is important to be familiar with the
history of Virginias first people because it has created this lifelong system that fails to help
Indian tribes succeed. Links to government websites explaining the history will be attached in
my bibliography.

Part 3: Argument and Significance: State the point of your project. What issues will you be
examining? What specific question will be answered, problem solved, or hypothesis tested
through your research? Is there a controversial idea you propose to address or missing
information you propose to provide? What might this projects results add to our
understanding of a particular problem or area of study? Explain why your audience should
care about your work.

I will examine issues that are especially prevalent in Native Indians due to institutional racism
such as education inequality and access to healthcare. Specific questions that I will be
researching are; Why are these tribes state recognized but not federally recognized? What makes
a tribe eligible for federal recognition? How does federal recognition benefit Virginia Indians?
How is the reservation system organized? Why was it organized and what are its ramifications on
Native Americans? How does the alienation of reservations contribute to issues of poor
healthcare and education? What historical acts have perpetuated the dispossessing of Indians? It
is vital that we understand the history and the issues that Native Indians face because it is an
issues in history that has been disregarded for many years. The issues that Native American face
today is far more complicated than a few social, economical, and political discrepancies, it
begins with the dislocation of Indians and the colonization of America.

Part 4: Project Design/Methods/Results: State the research methods you will use, and
explain how these will address your questions. What will you do? Where will the work be
done? What will your results look like (quantitative, qualitative, creative)? What
methods will you use to analyze, interpret, and assess results? How will you communicate
your results to others? In cases that involve close work with a professor, it is important that
you indicate the ways in which you will make an independent or creative contribution.
While professorial oversight and support are essential in most cases, the summer
fellowships are not awarded to students who will merely be faculty research assistants.

I will read and analyze historical content. I will speak to Virginia Indians and contact people
from the Native American Museum in D.C. If possible I will try to get in contact with a tribe
member that can share its experience living on a reservation.

Part 5: Literature Cited: Provide a bibliography of any works referenced in the preceding
parts. References demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and with the scholarly
background of your research project.

Waugaman, Sandra F and Danielle Moretti-Langholtz. We're Still Here. 1st ed. Richmond, Va.:
Palari Publishing, 2006. Print.

http://virginiahumanities.org/page/2/?s=virginia+indian+history+

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/history/virginias-first-people/index.shtml

http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Racial_Integrity_Laws_of_the_1920s

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-renowned-virginia-indian-tribe-finally-wins-federal-
recognition/2015/07/02/40cc0dd4-200a-11e5-aeb9-a411a84c9d55_story.html?
utm_term=.777add1e2ad0

http://nmai.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/chesapeake.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/112th-congress/senate-report/201/1?q=%7B
%22search%22%3A%5B%22Thomasina+E.
+Jordan+Indian+Tribes+Of+Virginia+Federal+Recognition+Act%22%5D%7D