Oberg (seen above) is a history professor at Geneseo, specializing in Native American studies.
(Photo courtesy of Michael Oberg).
Michael Oberg is a distinguished professor of history at Geneseo whose interest in Native American studies has driven him to publish numerous books and teach multiple classes devoted to these studies. Oberg is looking to publish a new book in 2022 that will discuss the history of the Onondaga nation located in central New York.
Oberg said his interest in Native American studies stemmed from his time in graduate school.
“I went through history as an undergraduate major and had interests all over the place. But then in my first semester of graduate school, I had to find a research paper topic and stumbled across some Supreme Court cases involving Indians,” Oberg said in an interview conducted over Zoom. “That's been really the subject I've been pursuing ever since.”
In total, Oberg has published seven books on Native American history and is working on publishing an eighth book about the history of the Onondaga nation which resides south of Syracuse.
When conducting research for these projects, Oberg said he first looks for a question to answer. After finding this question, he conducts his research.
“I tell all my students, historical writing is an attempt to answer a question. So, a question comes to mind and that's where I start and I do the work necessary to answer that question,” Oberg said.
Along with these publications, Oberg has a website which is meant to be a compliment for students who use the recently updated version of his Native America: A History textbook.
Featured on his website is a manual which students and instructors can utilize as well as a blog which Oberg tries to publish on at least four times a month.
“The blog is just an opportunity to write about things in Native American history that strike me as important or have things that may complement the educational efforts of other people who are using the books over for a time,” Oberg said. “I broaden that, and I write about things in higher education and related to teaching more generally and occasionally about politics as well and other political issues.”
Oberg’s latest effort to publish a history about the Onondaga nation will require significant effort. Not only does his work require him to travel to Albany and Washington D.C. to acquire primary sources, but he also must reference secondary sources and travel to the places he is studying and interview the people there.
“The research involves collecting all the material that's necessary to answer that question [including] secondary sources, the work that other historians and anthropologists and archeologists have written on a topic,” Oberg said. “Also travel[ing] to the archives to look at the primary source documents. And then finally, I'm speaking with the people in the community to get their perspectives on that history.”
Oberg’s book also looks to be a historical account for all of the Onondaga nation’s history.
“It's a big history from the beginning of time up to the present. It is going to be a very big book and I hope to finish it in 2022 or thereabouts,” Oberg said.