(University of Oregon, 2020-09-24) Gregory, Anne; Brown, Kirby
Chunkey, a traditional Native American sport, was a form of conflict resolution. The popular game was one of several played for millennia throughout Native North America. Indigenous communities played ball games not only for the important culture-making of sport and recreation, but also as an act of peace-building. The densely populated urban center of Cahokia, as well as its agricultural suburbs and distant trade partners, were dedicated to chunkey. Chunkey is associated with the milieu surrounding the Pax Cahokiana (1050 AD-1200 AD), an era of reduced armed conflict during the height of Mississippian civilization (1000-1500 AD). The relational framework utilized in archaeology, combined with dynamics of conflict resolution, will provide a basis to explain chunkey’s cultural impact. This thesis connects conflict resolution dynamics embedded in chunkey with its role in culture production while also centering an Indigenous worldview in an exploration of conflict resolution paradigms.
