DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Leverette, Khadijah

In a Tonal Time

This poster reports the results of a 2017 survey of ILCCO member institutions that explored attitudes about OER

Jones, Kona

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
WHY DO FACULTY USE OER? WHY DON’T FACULTY USE OER?
INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR OER HELPFUL OER WEBSITES
SURVEY SAYS!
24
44% 36% 32%
576
39.06%
24.13%
18.75%
18.06%
SURVEY WAS COMPLETED BETWEEN NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2017
I L L I N O I S
COMMUNITY 
COLLEGES
ONL INE
in
COMMUNITY 
COLLEGES 
PARTICIPATED 
FACULTY 
RESPONSES
Do not utilize
OER in class
Enrich, 
enhance and 
supplement
learning 
materials
Reduce
financial 
burdens
on students
Provide 
up-to-date, quality, 
authentic and 
customizable 
content
Some assignments
use OER
Some chapters, units 
or modules use OER
Fully integrate 
OER in class
“OER allows the course to grow with changes in 
technology and I am not committed to a textbook.”
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
12%
36%
7% 9% 6%
15% 16%
Li
ke
 te
xt
bo
ok
s
La
ck
 o
f a
wa
re
ne
ss
De
pa
rtm
en
t r
eg
ul
at
io
ns
Qu
al
ity
No
 u
se
 fo
r t
he
m
No
t a
va
ila
bl
e
Ti
m
e
“I haven’t been able to find any that would work for my 
classes and I don’t have much time to look for them.”
GOVERNMENT WEBSITES
HAVE ACCESS TO DATABASES BY COURSE/SUBJECT
HOLD TRAINING SESSIONS/WORKSHOPS
PROVIDE RELEASE TIME FOR INSTRUCTORS
PROVIDE ASSISTANCE VIA LIBRARY/LIBGUIDES
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER FACULTY
SHARING MINDSET
HELPFUL OER WEBSITES
IllInoIs CommunIty Colleges onlIne (IlCCo)
ILCCO is a membership organization available to all Illinois community college districts for the purpose of 
promoting quality online learning and providing additional online learning opportunities for students through 
course sharing.
IlCCo oeR CommIttee membeRs
Lisa Dennis – Spoon River College
Kona Jones (Chair) – Richland Community College
Ray Lawson – Oakton Community College
Tim Moore – Elgin Community College
Sue Nugent – Lake Land College
Kishwaukee College
Lake Land College
Lincoln Land College
McHenry County College
Moraine Valley Community College
Oakton Community College
Parkland College
Prairie State College
Rend Lake College
Richland Community College
Sauk Valley Community College
Shawnee Community College
Southeastern Illinois College
Spoon River College
Triton College
Waubonsee Community College
Black Hawk College
Carl Sandburg College
City Colleges of Chicago
College of DuPage
College of Lake County
Danville Area Community College
Elgin Community College
Harper College
Heartland Community College
Highland Community College
Illinois Central College
Illinois Valley Community College
John Wood Community College
Joliet Junior College
Kankakee Community College
Kaskaskia College
Vicky Nieders – John Wood Community College
Min Pan – College of DuPage 
Scott Rial – College of Lake County
Frances Whaley – Illinois Valley Community College
Page Wolf – College of Lake County
IlCCo's membeR Colleges aRe:


English

Poster Session: OER in ILCCO

Cote, Denise

Wolf, Page


Awesome 
conversations
Your inbox
Our students
Hello Springfield.
2019 Summit!
YOU!
Questions?


Moving Forward in Illinois

Bissonnette, Monalisa

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 32
Fall 12-1-2018
Baggage
Monalisa Bissonnette
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Bissonnette, Monalisa (2018) "Baggage," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 32.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/32
 Baggage
 She was frozen in stillness, like a miniature statue cemented in place. Her head
bowed, eyes closed. She was reverently posed, as if in prayer. I need to move, she
thought. She couldn’t seem to connect the thought with any action.
She stepped out of the car and leaned into her abandonment, curbside to the
entrance of Detroit Metro Airport. As she turned her head and watched the taillights of
the old brown Rambler disappear, she felt strangely relieved.
 A frenzy of activity buzzed around her. There were people stepping out of taxis,
walking with authority. There were voices booming from the overhead speakers.
Luggage on wheeled racks scurried about like urgently deployed soldiers.
In one hand she clenched her old Holly Hobby suitcase and in the other she held a
stuffed monkey (named Henry) close to her chest. Her Papa had proudly won Henry for
her at a local fair some years ago. At that moment, she wished she would have packed
 Henry in the suitcase. She imagined how silly she must look, clinging to an 
old stuffed animal. She was eleven, after all - much too old for such a childish indulgence.
The night before she had to determine which of her worldly possessions she
would take with her. She didn’t have many to begin with. Late into the night she
removed and added nominal items from the small suitcase, unsure of what to pack for the
journey. She decided on various items, clothing, her fluffy pillow, a pink polka dotted
piggy bank (holding $26.23), a few photos of her papa and brothers, her secret book (a
diary), and a bottle of perfume her papa had given her on her tenth birthday. 
 It was expensive and very grown-up-Chanel No. 5. The night her papa died in the
car crash,her mother had taken the perfume from her room and placed it upon her own 
dresser. Thelittle girl decided in the darkness that it was worth the risk of sneaking into 
her mother’s room, clinging to the shadows and grabbing the bottle. Luckily, in the 
morning her mother hadn’t noticed it was missing. 
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   32 1/3/19   4:35 PM
1
Bissonnette: Baggage
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2018
 Standing alone outside the airport, she was filled with questions about how
she would survive. How it would feel, what she would do. Fear began to embrace the
girl tightly. She bit her lip, this is how she held back tears. The taste of salt and sharp
pain always helped her resist the urge to cry.
 She could see rows of connected plastic chairs through the glass doors. She told
herself to walk through the doors and sit down. Then she could decide what to do next. 
She took a deep breath, mustered all the will within her small body and took one step
forward. Yes! Victory!
 She had freed herself from the invisible chains which held her in place. Over and
over again, she took a deep breath and then one step forward, a deep breath and then one
step forward…
 She didn’t sit down on the chair, but rather collapsed in it like a clump of snow too
heavy for a branch to hold up any longer. She was not merely shivering now, she was
shaking uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered and she felt nauseated, even though she
hadn’t eaten anything that day. Tears began rolling down her cheeks, she could no longer
hold back the torrent of emotions.
 She had not wept since learning of her Papa’s death four days earlier. Not even
when her mother had forced her to look at him as he lay in a black lacquered box lined
with white satin. Her mother had told the keeper of this place of death that the young girl
insisted on seeing him. That was a lie. Her mother lied often, but the girl knew better than
to say anything. They stood in front of the casket, the little girl rigid in front of the
inanimate body, so close that she could have reached out and touched it. Instead, she 
looked off to the side to avoid the sight that was too harrowing to see. Her mother placed 
a hand under the girl’s long dark hair, clutching at the nape of her neck, long nails digging 
into her skin. She leaned in close and whispered, “Look at him, you little bitch.” The young
girl knew that she had no choice and turned to face the coffin. She was expressionless.
No wincing, no tears. She had learned a long time ago that crying only made matters
Worse.
Monalisa Bissonnette
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   33 1/3/19   4:35 PM
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 [2018], Art. 32
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/32


Baggage

Johnson, Michael Lee

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 39
Fall 12-1-2018
Classic 70's Chick
Michael Lee Johnson
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Michael Lee (2018) "Classic 70's Chick," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 39.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/39
Classic 70's Chick
 
Classic 70's chick
scent of these times
gold digger want to be.
Poet & scholar stuck on
T.S. Eliot “The Waste Land.”
She tracks down a few stray men,
prospect hunks, & greenback dreams.
Her long legs stretched out beneath this dinette table, these
high wooden heels hang out
@ Dusty, Dingy Bar & Grill.
She's drenched— Charlie by Revlon 1973,
high hopes 4 sugar daddies,
fragile body, insecure but lean.
She wears that hot apple, sex red, jumpsuit.
That yellow bandana hangs
around her neck lowered downtown
below her bosom with a grin.
Her head stuff, insulated with cotton candy dreams
cramped in a Chinese fortune cookie aphorism.
G-String strung up itching @ her buttocks
positioned in spot her world for a change.
In action verbs flow,
this dance, these melodies,
Walt Disney world,
her magic pen, her ink that flows.
Michael Lee Johnson
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   4 1/3/19   4:36 PM
1
Johnson: Classic 70's Chick
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Classic 70\u27s Chick

Guerrero, Julio

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 46
Fall 12-1-2018
Nature vs. Garbage
Julio Guerrero
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Guerrero, Julio (2018) "Nature vs. Garbage," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 46.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/46
Nature vs. Garbage
Julio Guerrero
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   12 1/3/19   4:36 PM
1
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Nature vs. Garbage

Jarad, Bayan

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 61
Fall 12-1-2018
Beginnings
Bayan Jarad
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Jarad, Bayan (2018) "Beginnings," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 61.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/61
 Beginnings
The sky was white like a fresh, blank sheet of paper waiting to absorb the ink of a story. It 
stretched out as far as I could see, pure white everywhere. It reminded me of beginnings.
My hand no longer hovered over the white canvas in front of me, pen at the ready. It 
began to form words which began to form a story, about a beginning.
I’ve had many beginnings but this one was different. I wasn’t going home this time, I was 
leaving it. This place is not really my home. Not anymore.
I thought it’d be more familiar. It wasn’t. It was new to me again.
Sometimes when I watch the sunrise I remember getting up in the morning and looking 
out my bedroom window, the one overlooking the whole town. When I look out my win-
dow now I see my backyard and those of a few other houses. A small space of grass, some 
trees. Not the whole town though.
Sometimes when I’m at school and a teacher is endearing to their students I think of 
how—most of the time—my old teachers used to treat us like their daughters and would 
often stop whatever they were doing to just talk to us and give us advice.
Sometimes when I’m with my new friends and I’m enjoying myself, I think of my old 
friends and how we used to laugh and have fun, and all the inside jokes we had and the 
memories we made.
And, sometimes when I’m watching the sunset, I think of the people I used to share it 
with and I think, “My home is beautiful, and it has amazing people.” But then I think of 
the amazing people I’ve gotten to know here and the beauty that can be found in this 
new place. It may not be as beautiful as my home but that’s because my home is the most 
beautiful place in the world.
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   30 1/3/19   4:36 PM
1
Jarad: Beginnings
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And although I miss how even the air smelled different, even the breeze felt lighter, the 
soil softer, the sky bluer, the sun brighter, and even though I miss the soft rustle of the 
olive trees, my house on the hilltop, the paved curves of the hill I used to stroll around 
with a person I miss deeply, the very old and small school, the tiny minimarket the girls 
of the school would crowd in after school let out, my grandparent’s home and their 
gardens, all the cats and all the people… I know I can make a beautiful home here with 
my family, I know I’ll meet new people and see new sights, hear new sounds, taste new 
flavors, smell new scents, and feels new things.
I know that no matter where I am in the world, I’ll miss my home, but I’ll fill that 
white with all the stories I have and all the stories I create wherever I create them. 
Because you know what?
I know I can make it anywhere.
Bayan Jarad
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   31 1/3/19   4:36 PM
And although I miss how even the air smelled different, even the breeze felt lighter, the 
soil softer, the sky bluer, the sun brighter, and even though I miss the soft rustle of the 
olive trees, my house on the hilltop, the paved curves of the hill I used to stroll around 
with a person I miss deeply, the very old and small school, the tiny minimarket the girls 
of the school would crowd in after school let out, my grandparent’s home and their 
gardens, all the cats and all the people… I know I can make a beautiful home here with 
my family, I know I’ll meet new people and see new sights, hear new sounds, taste new 
flavors, smell new scents, and feels new things.
I know that no matter where I am in the world, I’ll miss my home, but I’ll fill that 
white with all the stories I have and all the stories I create wherever I create them. 
Because you know what?
I know I can make it anywhere.
Bayan Jarad
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   31 1/3/19   4:36 PM
And although I miss how even the air smelled different, even the breeze felt lighter, the 
soil softer, the sky bluer, the sun brighter, and even though I miss the soft rustle of the 
olive trees, my house on the hilltop, the paved curves of the hill I used to stroll around 
with a person I miss deeply, the very old and small school, the tiny minimarket the girls 
of the school would crowd in after school let out, my grandparent’s home and their 
gardens, all the cats and all the people… I know I can make a beautiful home here with 
my family, I kno  I’ll meet new people and see new sights, hear new sounds, taste new 
flavors, smell new scents, and feels new things.
I know that no matter where I am in the world, I’ll miss my home, but I’ll fill that 
white with all the stories I have and all the stories I create wherever I create them. 
Because you know what?
I know I can make it anywhere.
Bayan Jarad
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   31 1/3/19   4:36 PM
2
The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 [2018], Art. 61
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/61


Beginnings

Sikorski, Mary

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 67
Fall 12-1-2018
Light at the End
Mary Sikorski
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Sikorski, Mary (2018) "Light at the End," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 67.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/67
Light at the End
Mary Sikorski
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   37 1/3/19   4:36 PM
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Light at the End

Smith, Andrew

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 26
Spring 2018
The "Construction" of the American Indian in the
Early National Period [U.S.]
Andrew Smith
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Andrew (2018) "The "Construction" of the American Indian in the Early National Period [U.S.]," ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 26.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/26
70 
The “Construction” of the American Indian in the Early National Period [U.S.] 
 
by Andrew Smith 
 
(History 2820) 
 
 
 
nn Durkin Keating, in her book Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn 
and the Birth of Chicago, states, “Without a doubt, the fur trade led most non-Native people 
into Indian Country [of the western Great Lakes]” and “[as of 1785], the fur trade had been 
an integral part of the western Great Lakes for more than a century” (23-24); indeed, for “the French 
and British periods in the western Great Lakes, . . . [the] fur trade fostered a rich Indian Country” 
(16). In her focus on the life of British fur trader John Kinzie (1763-1828), Keating argues, “Kinzie 
was part of a majority at Chicago who wished to see Indian Country maintained” (18), as Kinzie, and 
the other non-natives like him, had established a mutually beneficial relationship of trade with the 
Indians of Indian Country, often including marriage to Indian women and starting families with 
them. For the Americans, though, Keating said the Northwest Ordinance of 1787—which created the 
first organized territory of the United States, the Northwest Territory, covering present-day Ohio, 
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and northeastern Minnesota—“assumed that the U.S. 
government would be acquiring Indian land and turning it into real estate. To do so would replace the 
diverse mix of native and non-Native settlements that constituted Indian Country with farmers and 
settlers” (33). About her book, Keating says, “Most centrally, the book is concerned with the transfer 
of the western Great Lakes from Indian to American control through a combination of treaties and 
military conquest” (16). In conjunction with treaties and military conquest, a specific “construction” 
of the Indian was created by Americans to rationalize and facilitate the processes of displacing 
Native Americans out of Indian Country – or killing them outright – in order to acquire their land. 
 Evidence of the “construction” of the Indian can be seen even in the U.S. Declaration of 
Independence. In a list of “facts” proving the king of Great Britain’s desire for “the establishment of 
absolute tyranny” over his American colonies, the 27th and final piece of evidence listed states, “He 
[the king] has excited domestic insurrections amongst us [colonials], and has endeavoured to bring 
on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.” This short sentence reveals the 
“construction” of the Indian was already well under way in North America by 1776. In portraying the 
Indians as merciless, they are constructed as cruel, with no capacity for mercy, including all of the 
Christian connotations of the word mercy. By characterizing the Indians as savages, the Indian is 
constructed as animal – read: not human. In describing the Indians’ “rule of warfare” as 
“undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions,” the Indian is constructed as immoral, 
especially by contrast to white-European sensibilities about war. 
 Another piece of evidence that the Indian was being “constructed” as cruel, animal, and 
immoral by white Americans can be seen in a corollary construction: the Indian Hater. Edward 
Watts, professor of English and American Studies at Michigan State University, said, “The story of 
the white man who transforms from pursuing a personal vendetta to slaughtering all Indians was a 
very popular trope between the [U.S.] Revolution [1775-1783] and the Civil War [1861-1865]” (qtd. 
in Hall xiii). Based loosely on actual frontiersmen who lived during the eighteenth-century, Watts 
said, “the Hater story was told by [a wide range of writers, including] Charles Brockden Brown in the 
1790s [Brockden being the most important American novelist before James Fenimore Cooper in the 
1820s]” (qtd. in Hall xiii). According to Watts, that wide range of writers during the 1790s “told 
strikingly similar stories, indicating a narrative often recycled in the oral culture of the frontier” (qtd. 
A
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71 
in Hall xiii). The existence of the Indian Hater narrative – prior to and including the 1790s – was a 
corollary to the construction of the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral, and acts as evidence of the 
prior construction of the latter: in order to construct the “Indian Hater narrative,” one first needs to 
construct an Indian that produces the need for – and justifies – an Indian Hater. 
 This construction of the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral would serve the nascent United 
States during its first three decades. Keating says, “[First U.S. President] George Washington [in 
office 1789-1791] fully supported the acquiring of Indian land and turning it into real estate for 
farmers and settlers” (33). Keating notes, “Populations continued to expand into... [the Northwest 
Territory]. These settlers demanded that the U.S. government protect their interests. President 
Washington helped to organize a U.S. Army whose purpose was to protect... American settlers” (33). 
Independent historian Gillum Ferguson, author of the book Illinois in the War of 1812 published by 
University of Illinois Press, said, “In 1812, the Illinois Territory... had about 12,000... [settlers] in it” 
(“Illinois”) and “was on the verge of explosive [settler] growth..., but first the public lands [of the 
Illinois Territory] had to be put on sale and the Indians removed” (14). Kerry Trask, professor of 
history at the University of Wisconsin Manitowoc, said, “After 1822, ...white people swarmed into 
the [Illinois Territory] region” (3), and, with them, a “pattern of violence that had been repeated 
again and again... since the very beginning of the English encounter with America” (4). Trask links 
the “construction” of the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral to that beginning: 
 
Fear of the “other,” and fear of what they themselves might become in the New 
World wilderness, drove Englishmen to lash out in angry violence against the native 
people, making Indian war a defining characteristic of the Anglo-American colonial 
experience, and resulting in... [the First Indian War of 1675-78] becoming, as... 
historian [Richard Slotkin] observed, “the archetype of all the wars which followed.” 
(4) 
 
Trask says the early United States’ “ideological self-image” was a mask of sorts: 
 
On the one hand, there were the human and life-affirming republican values with 
their strong emphasis on human rights and personal freedom, all of which had been 
the primary justification for the [U.S.] Revolution. On the other, there were the 
powerful imperialistic drives and ambitions and a seemingly insatiable appetite for 
new territory, usually acquired by armed aggression with little regard for the rights 
and interests of the continent’s indigenous people. (5) 
 
 Trask’s observation brings up an interesting aspect of the “construction” of the Indian, and, 
by corollary, the Indian Hater: a psychological one. Herman Melville, in his ninth and final novel, 
The Confidence Man: His Masquerade, satirizes how Americans preserved this “ideological self-
image” Trask refers to – through the “construction” of the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral, and 
through its corollary construction, the Indian Hater – by portraying those constructions as necessary 
and justified. In the novel, Melville has the confidence-man character repeat a story told to him by 
his father’s friend, a judge, to satirize the “construction” of both the Indian and the Indian Hater: 
 
The backwoodsman is… a thoughtful man. He is strong and unsophisticated… If in 
straits, …he must depend on himself… The backwoodsman is not without some 
fineness to his nature… the backwoodsman… [is a] captain in the vanguard of 
conquering civilization… Pathfinder, provider of security to those who come after 
him, for himself he asks nothing but hardship. (ch. 26) 
 
2
ESSAI, Vol. 16 [2018], Art. 26
https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/26
72 
 Here, Melville is satirizing the “construction” of the Indian-hating frontiersman as a noble, 
almost holy, man. By contrast, Melville also has the confidence-man relay the story of the judge 
telling how the frontiersman “constructs” the Indian for the benefit of frontiersman’s own son, and, 
by extension, the confidence-man is “constructing” the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral for the 
overwhelming majority of American readers who live far from the frontier, back east: “In youth the 
backwoodsman… hears little… but histories of Indian lying, Indian theft, Indian double-dealing, 
Indian fraud and perfidy, Indian want of conscience, Indian blood-thirstiness, Indian diabolism” (ch. 
26). 
 Reflecting on the “construction” of the Indian going all the way back to the First [U.S.] 
Indian War of 1675-78, Trask invokes Melville’s own phrase to describe that construction: “the 
metaphysics of Indian Hating” (qtd. in Trask 4). From 1675 on, Trask says the “construction” of the 
Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral “persisted in the very identity of white America, perpetuated 
and made stronger by the frequent shedding of Indian blood and the constant retelling of heroic tales 
... amid… the continent’s wild regions against the monstrous savages” (Trask 4). Watts provides 
evidence that the “construction” of the Indian – and of its corollary, the Indian Hater – persisted over 
the next century and a half: “In the decades after the War of 1812, dozens of versions of the [Indian 
Hater] story would appear in print... [Writers Flint, Hentz, Paulding, Irving, Snelling, Bird, and 
Bennett, among others] all celebrated [Indian] Haters as doing the necessary dirty work of clearing 
the forest of savages, usually aided by ‘Providence,’ an assumption of divine blessing. (qtd. in Hall 
xiii). 
 It’s clear that “constructing” the Indian as cruel, animal, and immoral – and its corollary 
construction, the Indian Hater – both rationalized and facilitated the process of white Americans 
displacing and killing Native Americans for the Indians’ land, land that was needed for individual 
concepts of “freedom” which white Americans aspired to, or as the result of the more structural 
causes – as Trask frames it, “the powerful imperialistic drives” (5) – of capitalism. Smith 7 
 
 
  
 
Works Cited 
 
Declaration of Independence, (US, 1776). 
Ferguson, Gillum. Illinois in the War of 1812. Urbana, U of Illinois P, 2012.  
Hall, James. “The Indian Hater” and Other Stories. Edited by Edward Watts, Kent State U P, 2009. 
“Illinois in the War of 1812.” C-Span, 10 June 2012, www.c-span.org/video/?306454-2/Illinois -war-
1812. 
Keating, Ann. Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and The Birth of 
Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. 
Melville, Herman. The Confidence-Man: A Masquerade. New York, Ox, Edwards, 1857. 
Trask, Kerry A. Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America. New York, Holt, 2006 
 
 
 
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The  Construction  of the American Indian in the Early National Period [U.S.]

Zaffer, Gabriella

ESSAI
Volume 16 Article 32
Spring 2018
Effects of Geospatial Factors on Male Red-Winged
Blackbird Territorial Behavior and Abundance
Gabriella Zaffer
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Zaffer, Gabriella (2018) "Effects of Geospatial Factors on Male Red-Winged Blackbird Territorial Behavior and Abundance," ESSAI:
Vol. 16 , Article 32.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol16/iss1/32
90 
Effects of Geospatial Factors on Male Red-Winged Blackbird 
Territorial Behavior and Abundance 
 
by Gabriella Zaffer 
 
(Biology 1152) 
 
 
 
 Abstract - Male red-winged blackbirds are a territorial species that form a polygynous 
relationship with a harem of females. Territorial displays such as song-spread and chasing of 
other male red-winged blackbirds precipitate the chance of maintaining an abundant habitat 
in which females will want to mate. This study was conducted within the parameters of the 
greater DuPage area of Illinois. Observations were made at three separate wetlands within ten 
kilometers of the College of DuPage Campus. Territoriality and abundance of male Red-
winged blackbirds in comparison to geospatial pressures, proximity to roads and percent 
coverage of vegetation, was determined to be inconclusive upon data analysis. 
 Key Words:  Territoriality; Polygamous; Territory; Geospatial; Red-winged blackbirds 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
he red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is the subject of observational study in this 
experiment. This species of bird forms a polygynous relationship, in which one male mates 
with several females. The primary habitat types that these birds occupy are marshes in upland 
areas in the North American region. Male red-winged blackbirds are an aggressive species that 
defend their territory atop cattails and other habitat landmarks such as larger trees through song-
spread and the display of their red and yellow epaulets (Smith 1976). Determining the abundance of 
territorial displays and number of individuals among male red-winged blackbirds, based upon 
specific geospatial pressures, is what this experiment entails. 
 The nesting sites for these birds consist of several males, each of which obtains a harem of up 
to fifteen female red-wing blackbirds (Lennington 1980). It is important to note that more prominent 
perches lead to a greater display of territorial defense among male red-wing blackbirds (Newhouse 
1977).  Since there is one male to many females, he must be able to present himself as an 
experienced territory owner, due to the female mating preference of a male territory owner over a 
non-territory owner (Searcy 1979).  Avian stressors that are caused by humans include, but are not 
limited to: pollution, habitat destruction, and loud noises are connected to urban development. As the 
amount of human interference increases, a decrease in nest development can be observed, and thus 
lower reproductive success in the species (Tozer et al. 2010). In accordance with this, we hypothesize 
that male red-winged blackbirds, when occupying habitats in closer proximity(meters) to roads, will 
be present in lower abundance, due to a lower nesting potential which could affect female preference 
when choosing a mate. 
 During early spring, the marshy habitats consist only of male red-wing blackbirds, that will 
establish territories in anticipation of the mating season. When the female red-wing blackbirds arrive, 
studies show that they will select the male that presents the best physical characteristics and holds the 
most advantageous territory for reproductive success (Harrison 2003). Territorial behaviors among 
male red-wing blackbirds can be seen at a constant rate in areas with an abundance of male red-
winged blackbirds.  Male red-wing blackbirds use the song-spread as a territorial sign of aggression 
against other males that might encroach upon its territory in an attempt to mate with the harem of 
females within his territorial boundary (Yasukwa 1981). Population density and habitat quality are 
T
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91 
negatively correlated due to the favorability of red-wing blackbird to habitats with greater cattail 
coverage (Vierling 1999). Population density in high quality habitats is lower than the population 
density of a lower quality site. This is the result of the non-territory holding male red-wing blackbirds 
being chased away from the dominant male’s harem and taking territory in less favorable habitats 
(Holm 1973).  Due to the increased competition for limited resources and abundance of males, we 
hypothesize that wetlands with a lower vegetative cover are areas in which territorial displays of 
aggression, specifically song-spread, is increased. 
 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
 
 This study was done at three locations in the greater DuPage area. The sites for observation 
included the Russell R. Kirt Prairie and East Campus Marsh, both of which are located on the 
College of DuPage Campus in Glen Ellyn Illinois, and a third location, Lincoln Marsh, is located in 
Wheaton Illinois. We separately collected observational data on red-wing blackbirds in the three 
aforementioned marshes, during a time frame of six to eight in the morning, on Thursday, April 5th, 
2018. The weather was cold but sunny. The parameters for choosing an observational site was based 
on the site having at least three different male red-wing blackbirds. Each observer used both 
binoculars with a 7x30 range and the naked eye when bird watching. Observation at the Russel R. 
Kirt Prairie consisted of a habitat that was 1.23 hectares. The area of the body of water was 0.48 
hectares. This location was 143.7 meters from the east road, 25.03 meters from the west road, and 
143.8 meters from the nearest building.  The north, south, east, and west areas of the marsh were 
observed during a thirty-minute time period, split equally among each directional point (ten minutes 
each). These were the chosen observational directions due to the east of access to all areas of this 
site. Both the Russell R. Kirt and East Campus sites were surrounded by both graminoid and woody 
vegetation such as: cattails, cottonwood trees, and dogwood shrubs. The East Campus pond was 1.04 
hectares large and 34.41 meters away from the nearest road. The body area of the water was 0.25 
hectares. The pond was situated 118.19 meters away from the Mac building on the College of 
DuPage campus. This study consisted of an observational period of thirty minutes with three points 
of observation at the north, south, and west corners split up equally in time (ten minutes each). 
Observations were not made at the east side of this prairie because the accessibility was not 
conducive to observation. The third observation area, Lincoln Marsh, is .93 hectares large, has a 
body of water that is .75 hectares, and 354.79 meters from a nearby road to the south of the pond. 
This area was observed from two docs in which we were able to visualize all areas of the marsh with 
a three-hundred and sixty-degree viewpoint. Lincoln marsh was surrounded by both graminoid and 
woody vegetation, specifically cattails, cottonwood trees, and oak trees. Data was collected based on 
the frequencies and the type of vegetation (woody vs. grassy) where territorial displays occurred. The 
category of territorial displays observed included the frequency male Red-winged blackbird song-
spread at each observational point. Individual males were counted at each point of observation. The 
use of these two types of data collection allowed for further analysis of territorial behavior among the 
male red-wing blackbirds. We used the Chi-squared function to appropriate our data for statistical 
analysis. Significance was determined at α﹦0.05. 
 
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RESULTS 
  
 Figure 1. The effects of  percent coverage of vegetation in accordance to the number of male 
red-winged blackbirds among the three wetlands. Percent Coverage was determined through 
mathematical ratio of the area of the entire wetland to the area of the wetland not occupied by water. 
Song-spread was calculated through the average frequency of male red-winged blackbird calls at 
each particular site. 
 
  
 Figure 2. Effects of each wetland’s distance from the closest road on the abundance of male 
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Zaffer: Effects of Geospatial Factos on Male Red-Winged Blackbirds
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93 
red-winged blackbirds at each observational site. The distance of the wetland to the nearest road was 
measured with the use of Google Earth Pro, and the abundance of territorial male red-winged 
blackbirds was obtained through visual observation. 
 Table 1. Red-winged blackbird habitat metrics, number of territorial males, and song-spread 
among wetlands in the greater DuPage area. 
 
       
       
OBSERVATION 
SITE 
SIZE 
(HECTARES) 
AREA OF 
WATER 
(HECTARES) 
 
PERCENT 
VEGETATION 
TERRITORIAL 
MALES 
SONG-
SPREAD 
DISTANCE 
FROM ROAD 
(METERS) 
LINCOLN 
MARSH 
.93 .75 80.6 13 37 354.79 
EAST CAMPUS 
POND 
1.04 .25 75.9 8 27 34.41 
RUSSEL R. KIRT 
PRAIRIE 
 
1.23 .48 60.9 25 56 25.03 
 
 The results from Figure 1 demonstrate that there are no correlations between the proximity to 
roads and the abundance of male Red-winged blackbirds. Lincoln Marsh was the greatest distance 
from the nearest road and was in the second in regard to the abundance of male Red-winged 
blackbirds (Table 1). The East Campus pond had the second farthest length from the nearest road 
with the lowest abundance of males, and the Russel R. Kirt Prairie had the closest proximity to the 
nearest road with the greatest amount of male Red-winged blackbirds (Table 1). The abundance of 
male Red-winged blackbirds was varied among the three wetlands and did not correlate with the 
proximity of their habitat to roads (X2=9.97, df= 2, P< .05). Secondly, Figure 2 indicates that there 
are no correlations between the percent coverage of vegetation and the frequency of song-spread 
among male Red-winged blackbirds. This result is followed by the frequencies at Lincoln marsh 
which had the greatest percent coverage of vegetation, and the East Campus Prairie which had the 
intermediate percent coverage of vegetation(Table 1). The frequency of song-spread in comparison 
with the percent coverage of vegetation did not correlate (X2=10.79, df= 2, P< .05). 
 
DISCUSSION 
 
 We can conclude from this study that both of our hypotheses were not supported. The first 
hypothesis, that the wetlands with a lower percent vegetative coverage will be areas where territorial 
displays of aggression, specifically song-spread, is increased due to the limitation of resources was 
rejected. As seen in Figure 1, there is no correlation between the number of territorial calls of male 
red-winged blackbirds and the percent coverage of vegetation. This could be the result of several 
factors, mainly the burning of the Russel R. Kirt Prairie in February 2018. Accordingly, Red-winged 
blackbirds prefer shrubby areas with rich vegetative cover (Johnson 1997). Because the Russel R. 
Kirt Prairie was an outlier for the number of birds present, we concluded that the burning was a 
possible external force driving male red-wing blackbirds from the burned territory to inhabit the 
unburned portion of the Russel R. Kirt Prairie. This is because the unburned site, rich in resources, 
was able to provide the red-winged blackbirds with a territory to obtain nourishment and attract 
females. 
 The second hypothesis presented in this study expressed that male red-winged blackbirds, 
when occupying territories in closer proximity(m) to roads will be present in lower abundance due to 
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the increased disturbance from human development, leading to a lower female preference of that 
male. As seen from Figure 2, this hypothesis was refuted. The main cause of this was the presence of 
fourteen other bird species, such as tree swallows and the common grackle, at Lincoln Marsh. When 
exposed to grackles male Red-winged blackbirds aggressively defend their territory. Interspecific 
competition among these birds results in a lower nest success for that mating season (Wiens 1963). 
The male red-winged blackbirds at this specific location were found chasing other species from their 
territory at a more frequent rate than chasing males of its own species. Even though this site was the 
greatest distance from the nearest road, the presence of other bird species could be seen as increased 
competition for nesting and resources and could have directly correlated to the lower abundance of 
male red-wing blackbirds at this site. Also, as mentioned previously, the Russel R. Kirt Prairie (the 
site in closest proximity to roads) had a man-made the prairie fire, which drove more birds to the 
observation site. The abundance of male Red-winged blackbirds at the observed, unburned site, 
which was closer to the road had the most birds present. This could have resulted from the abundance 
of resources in comparison to the stripped habitat, that the immigrant birds were exposed to.  
 The study of multiple wetlands and a greater sample size of male Red-winged blackbirds 
over many observational days would be a route for further observational investigation on the 
abundance and territoriality of male Red-winged blackbirds when exposed to specific geospatial 
pressures. 
 
 
  
 
LITERATURE CITED 
 
Harrison, G. 2003. The lord and master: the flashy red-winged blackbird is a joyful songster, a 
master weaver, and one of our most easily recognized birds. Birder’s World 42. 
Holm C.H., 1973. Breeding Sex Ratios, Territoriality, and Reproductive Success in the Red-Winged 
Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus): Ecology 54:2. 
Johnson D.H., 1997. Effects of Fire on Bird Populations in Mixed-Grass Prairie: ECOLSTUD 125: 
181-206. 
Lenington S., 1980. Female choice and polygyny in red-winged blackbirds. Animal Behavior 28:2. 
Newhouse, C. 1977. Territoriality in the red-winged blackbird. The American Biology Teacher 39:3. 
Searcy, W. 1979. Female choice of mates: a general model for birds and its application to red-winged 
blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). The American Naturalist 114(1), 77-100. 
Smith D.G., 1976. An experimental analysis of the function of red-winged blackbird song. Behavior 
1:2. 
Tozer D.C, 2010, Erica Nol, and Keith F. Abraham. Effects of local and landscape-scale habitat 
Variables on abundance and reproductive success of wetland birds. Springer Science and 
Business Media 18:679-693. 
Vierling, K. T. (1999). Habitat quality, population density and habitat-specific productivity of red-
winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) in Boulder County, Colorado. The American 
Midland Naturalist 142:2. 
Wiens J.A., 1965. Behavioral Interactions of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles on a 
Common Breeding Ground. The Auk 82:3: 356-374. 
Yasukawa K., 1981. Song and territory defense in the red-winged blackbird. AUK 98. 
 
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