Commemorative places, political spaces: Virginia Indians, the Jamestown Quadricentennial, and the quest for sovereignty. Issue 3 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Davis, Patricia
• Is Part Of: Journal of international and intercultural communication. Volume 9:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 222
• Page End: 239
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Memory -- intercultural communication -- Jamestown -- Native Americans -- sovereignty; Communication, International -- Periodicals; Intercultural communication -- Periodicals; 303.48205
• DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2016.1195008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-3057

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This essay examines the cross-cultural communication strategies deployed by a coalition of indigenous tribes in Virginia to leverage the Quadricentennial commemoration of the founding at Jamestown in support of their sovereignty campaign. The tensions between Jamestown's mythos as the "birthplace of democracy" and the natives' historical and contemporary lived experiences, combined with the national and international attention focused on the events, constructed the 400th anniversary "celebrations" as a compelling location for social action. The coalition employed intercultural communicative practices—particularly cross-cultural dialogue and negotiation—as means of mobilizing these tensions to renegotiate their relationship with the federal government, illustrating the intersection of intercultural communication, memory, and identity.