As American Indian communities face the new century, they look to the
future armed with confidence in the indigenous perspectives that have
kept them together thus far. Now five premier scholars in American
Indian history, along with a tribal leader who has placed an indelible
mark on the history of her people, show how understanding the past is
the key to solving problems facing Indians today.
Edited by Albert L. Hurtado and introduced by Wilma Mankiller, this book
includes the insights of Colin G. Calloway, R. David Edmunds, Laurence
M. Hauptman, Peter Iverson, and Brenda J. Child--scholars who have
helped shape the way an entire generation thinks about American Indian
history. Writing broadly about twentieth-century Native history, they
focus on themes that drive this field of study: Indian identity, tribal
acknowledgment, sovereignty, oral tradition, and cultural adaptation.
Drawn from the Wilma Mankiller Symposium on American History, these
thoughtful essays show how history continues to influence contemporary
Native life. The authors carve a broad geographic swath--from the
Oneidas' interpretation of the past, to the perseverance of the jingle
dress tradition among the Ojibwes, to community persistence in the
Southwest. Wilma Mankiller's essay on contemporary tribal government
adds a personal perspective to understanding the situation of Indian
people today.
