Background
Meredith, Howard Lynn was born on May 25, 1938 in Galveston, Texas, United States. Son of Howard and Lillian (Pitts) Meredith.
(Dance, a vital expression of community and spirituality f...)
Dance, a vital expression of community and spirituality for Native Americans, has been the traditional metaphor for resolving conflict among Southern Plains tribes. War, on the other hand, has been the metaphor for Anglo-Americans. Attacking conflicts in terms of dichotomies—us vs. them, friend vs. foe, civilized vs. savage—the European-influenced U.S. government has created battles out of almost every military, political, and social situation, from the Revolutionary War to the War on Drugs. Here lies a fundamental cultural difference, says Howard Meredith, that has led to mistrust, poor communication, frustration, and polarization. The Anglo-American assumption that analysis and argument are universal and permanent traits, he contends, is not only erroneous, but has proven detrimental, even devastating, for Native Americans who have not customarily shared those values. Historically, the U.S. government has tried to disintegrate tribes, alienate, assimilate, divide and conquer. And in the process, it has ignored the positive relationships the tribes had established among themselves and with their physical environment. Although conflicts have arisen among tribes, Meredith asserts, the Southern Plains peoples have spent the vast majority of their time in mutual support of one another rather than at war. The Wichita, Caddo, Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Apache, Arapaho, Delaware, and others brought together by choice or adversity achieved harmonious coexistence through imagination, mythology, art, dance, commerce, and conservation. In Dancing on Common Ground, Meredith uses tribal oral histories to describe alliances before the European infiltration and extensive archives, federal documents, and personal interviews to examine the evolution and attempted annihilation of native traditions through the past three centuries. Looking toward the future by assessing the past, he argues that the Southern Plains Indians need to re-establish self-determination, traditional practices and values, and their native languages to overcome the adverse effects of federal paternalism, strengthen tribal relations, and improve economic and social conditions for all people in the Southern Plains.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700606947/?tag=2022091-20
(This history of Native Americans covers the impact of dis...)
This history of Native Americans covers the impact of disease, commerce, new technologies, treaty relations, and sovereignty issues. It uses specific tribal frames of reference to understand relations with natural and cultural communities with a sense of landscapes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575241390/?tag=2022091-20
American Indian studies educator
Meredith, Howard Lynn was born on May 25, 1938 in Galveston, Texas, United States. Son of Howard and Lillian (Pitts) Meredith.
Bachelor of Science, University Texas, 1961. Master of Arts, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1963. Doctor of Philosophy, University Oklahoma, 1970.
Assistant professor of history, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, 1967-1971; executive Indian work, Executive Council Episcopal Church, New York City, 1971-1975; director, history president, Oklahoma History Society, Oklahoma City, 1975-1979; administrator, editor, Eco. Company, Ginn, C. Merrill & Bacone, Oklahoma City, 1979-1985; associate professor American Indian studies, U. Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha, since 1985.
(Dance, a vital expression of community and spirituality f...)
(This history of Native Americans covers the impact of dis...)
(Book by Meredith, Howard)
Board member, secretary Red Earth, Oklahoma City, 1988-1994. Board member National Indian Hall of Fame, Anadarko, since 1990. Board directors, chairman Pan-American Indian Humanities Center, Chickasha.
Married Mary Ellen Meredith. Married Lynn, Lee.