International Conflict Resolution Program at Kennesaw State U.

Kennesaw State University, one of the largest in Georgia , is offering a new doctoral degree in the fall of 2010 that specializes in international conflict management. The program addresses a growing need for understanding the political and economic roots of conflict as well as the intercultural dynamics that lead to resolution and the maintenance of peace.

Using Clay to Bridge Cultural Divides in 13th Century American Southwest

13th century Salado pottery reveals how indigenous women utilized a household craft to spread a message of cultural accord throughout the violent American Southwest. The particular style and design of pottery is found within three separate and often conflicting ethnic groups - a pattern that University of Missouri researchers say represents the infiltration of a unifying religion based on peace and accord between tribal nations.

“Conflict was defused through the direct action of women who sought to decrease the tensions that threatened to destroy their communities,” VanPool said. “The rise of the Salado tradition allowed threatened communities to stabilize over much of modern-day Arizona and new Mexico, altering the course of Southwestern prehistory. Given that the Salado system lasted from 1275 to around 1450, it was most certainly successful.”

Source: Kansas City Infozine, Wed. March 10, 2010

Rosier Book on Native American Culture's Contibutions to U.S.Politics

Paul C. Rosier's "Serving Their Country - American Indian Politics and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century" (Harvard University Press) makes the case for cultural accord. Indigenous people were utilized as "cultural ambassadors" during different conflicts throughout the 20th century. As part of a "cultural offensive" in Vietnam, indigenous people showed the face of patriotism to the South Vietnamese. To promote the idea of patriotic solidarity within the United States, indigenous soldiers represented a "hybrid American", blending tribal values with a duty to serve the country as a whole. But most of all, American Indians were vital to the effort to connect indigenous tribes of other countries to similarities found in the U.S. tribal cultures.

For excellent review see Washington Post.

Cultural Conflict Hardens Opposing Sides

Anna Haynes presents an argument that cultural conflict mars the climate change debate.