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This book recalls the author's early upbringing and education on two Indian reservations. Davis assesses the policies of the United States government regarding the status of Indians in society, and relates the Indian struggle for survival, self-governance, and sovereignty. ... Read more

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This is the history of the Shasta Nation as told by the Shasta people to Betty Lou Hall, who has spent her life recording and verifying Shasta oral history with documents, photographs, and interviews. Now she presents this story of her people. Thousands of years before there was a California, the native Shasta Upper-Klamath people had a successful society in an area stretching from Crater Lake near Medford, Oregon, to just north of Redding, California. These people are far fewer today, but they are still there. Many early American settlers tried to eliminate, enslave, or forget them, and later anthropologists cut them into linguistic jigsaw-puzzle maps of origin. Meanwhile, the descendants of approximately 35 surviving families overcame both hatred and scientific scrutiny. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Shasta Nation
Arrived quickly and in good condition.Book is very detailed and an excellent record of the Etna area tribes

Interesting, but not very historical.
Like many Native American tribes, which did not keep written records during their aboriginal period, and whose cultures were largely destroyed in a single generation following contact with European-American civilization, the Shastas are mostly lost to the historical record. Nevertheless, despite the paucity of accounts, far more information exists about the Shastas than is presented in this book. The authors irresponsibly ignore most of the information that does exist in favor of an apparently romanticized oral history passed down by members and acquaintances of their own family, which reads more like a family-history album written by an amateur historian. Many doubtful claims are presented as if well-established (e.g. Shastas possessed a centralized government). Of especially doubtful veracity is the supposed poisoning of 3,000 warriors by US government agents at a feast following a land cession in 1851, a tale supposedly told by an old man on his deathbed, and otherwise primarily supported by the discrepancy between a federal agent's wild guess as to the native population and a subsequent census report listing only 27 resident Indians in the same county. While the most shameful treatment (including frequent incidences of rape and mass-murder) of Native Americans (mostly by white miners and settlers--not federal agencies or the US military) was general throughout Northern California during the 1850s, this alleged tradition, while possibly based on a real event, lacks the supporting evidence to be worthy of its presentation as history, and may be a corruption of an infamous 1852 incident in which members of the Modoc tribe were murdered by poisoning and/or gunfire at a parley and feast hosted by white "Volunteers" from Yreka, a class of men whose treatment of Indians did approach a veritable agenda of general extermination.

The book does have some value for its wealth of stories passed down within a very narrow group of individuals, and should be counted in with other accounts, although weighed accordingly. Betty Hall's standing as official historian of "the Shasta Nation" (a corporation essentially run by members of her family) is also misleading, since this organization presumes to speak for the Shasta tribe, which hasn't existed with any real cohesiveness or identity since the 1850s, and which probably existed with less cohesiveness than implied before that. Shasta Nation, Inc. is not a federally-recognized tribe (which doesn't necessarily mean they aren't legitimate), was (and maybe still is) financially interested in a proposed casino in Hornbrook (It tried to build its own, and opposed that of a rival tribal organization.), and stands curiously at odds with neighboring tribal organizations on political and environmental issues. Perhaps tellingly, the cover of the book has a photo of a native woman weaving a basket--most ethnological studies suggest that the Shasta weaved few of their own baskets, but usually traded for baskets made by other tribes, esp. Karuk downriver.

A comprehensive, and intimate look at the Shasta people
This book does an excellent job of showing the determination, resilience, and optimism of the Shasta people. To me, the pictures were the essence of the book. They explained for the first time the relationship between generations, families, and friends. I felt like I had made 100 new acquaintenances by the time I finished it. It also gave me an appreciation for history and how were are not really that distant from the tumultuous times of our ancestors. This is an uplifting and "must read" book for anyone wanting an intimate look at the life and times of Native Americans. ... Read more

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From along the Oregon shore of the Columbia River -- Umatillas,Tenino, and Cascades Indians' myths, legends and tales. These toldnarratives take us into tribal imaginations where animals walkupright, speak, do marvelous deeds, where magic power and thesupernatural are employed in frightening ways. Also recounted areversions of the Oedipus folktale set now along the banks of theColumbia River. Included is a description of Tenino Indian culture byanthropologist G.P. Murdoch, written during the 1930's. ... Read more

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Spirit Wars is an exploration of the ways in which the destruction of spiritual practices and beliefs of native peoples in North America has led to conditions of collective suffering--a process sometimes referred to as cultural genocide. Ronald Niezen approaches this topic through wide-ranging case studies involving different colonial powers and state governments: the seventeenth-century Spanish occupation of the Southwest, the colonization of the Northeast by the French and British, nineteenth-century westward expansion and nationalism in the swelling United States and Canada, and twentieth-century struggles for native people's spiritual integrity and freedom. Each chapter deals with a specific dimension of the relationship between native peoples and non-native institutions, and together these topics yield a new understanding of the forces directed against the underpinnings of native cultures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review of Spirit Wars
Ronald Niezen. Spirit Wars: Native North American Religions in the Age of Nation Building. (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2000. Pp. xviii, 256. $ 19.95.)

In Spirit Wars, Ronald Niezen offers a fresh perspective on the state-sponsored destructive factors that disturbed native North American religions.By combining the tools of ethnohistory and ethnography, Niezen portrays the dynamic qualities of indigenous North American religions, as opposed to the static pictures presented by previous scholars (xiv).Niezen cites three life experiences that helped bring vitality to the project: a series of interviews with public service members in northern Quebec, work as a delegate to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations, and documenting how a large Cree community coped with the addition of a hydroelectric megaproject.With these experiences in mind, Niezen formulates his thesis on the premise that understanding native religions extends far beyond a brief investigation of ritual practices.He suggests that one must "consider the relationships between indigenous traditions and non-native institutions and belief systems," mainly that of evangelical efforts, formal education, biomedicine, legislation, and social research (4-5).Consequently, Niezen provides an alternative answer to the question: How was native North American religious thought and practice affected by the New World establishment during the age of nation building?Although Niezen does a masterful job of creating a narrative that describes negative western policies, at times, he fails to make the connections between the policies and their effects.
Spirit Wars is comprised of eight chapters, with the middle six chapters covering the bulk of Niezen's arguments and explanations.Each of the middle six chapters is followed by a brief essay that provides "contemporary perspectives on the historical material and a range of case explorations informed by personal experience and recent scholarly research" (xvii).Following a brief introduction, Niezen launches into a discussion of the Pueblo Revolt, catastrophic epidemics, and evangelistic efforts by the Puritans.In this chapter, Niezen lays the foundation for forthcoming arguments.He identifies a number of destructive factors that assist in the disassembling of Indian identity.In chapter three, Niezen describes how well intentioned philanthropic groups decided that the best way to assimilate the natives was to wed evangelism with education (46).Proponents of this practice included the infamous Richard Pratt. After experiencing moderate "success" civilizing adult Indians, Pratt developed a residential educational institution that would "Americanize" Indian children.His methodology entailed stripping Indians of their native identity and building them back up on American ideals (56-68).Pratt's educational model serves as a paradigm for understanding a broader move towards education as a means of assimilating Indians in the nineteenth century in the United States and Canada.
In chapter four, Niezen discusses how medical practices were a point of contact between early settlers and natives.This exchange of information quickly gave way to insidious charges against indigenous healing practices and brought about attempts by Christians to implement conventional European medical practices (92-95).Over a period of time, western medical techniques pushed traditional native practices to the margins of societal acceptance, thereby increasing the estrangement of natives to their ancestral forbearers and creating incongruities between one's belief and one's practice.In chapter five, state legislation becomes the culprit in suppressing native identity by trespassing on first amendment rights of religious freedom and by treading upon the sacredness of native rituals.
In the final two chapters, Niezen focuses on the more recent exploitation of Native Americans by academia and New Age spirituality.Western expansion and investigative scholarship led to the exploration of Indian geographical holdings as well as culturally sacred rituals and practices.These `academic endeavors' were motivated by the belief that the cultural uniqueness would soon disappear as Indians assimilated to American society or became extinct (162).The collection of information, religious artifacts, and human remains ransacked the sacredness of native spirituality and left it on display for all to see.Although practitioners of New Age spirituality may have sincere commitments to experiencing native religious rituals, their efforts are met with distrust and cynicism from the preservationists.The Universalists, who see native spirituality as an opportunity for all to achieve harmony, are in opposition with the traditionalists, who maintain a strict observance of exclusion. Niezen assesses that Native Americans disdain New Age spirituality because profound spiritual practices are reduced to simplified exercises available in printed form and marketed for profit.
Niezen does a number of things well in Spirit Wars.First, he does not reduce native religious destruction to strictly Christian hegemonic explanations; in fact, he includes other contributing factors such as education, medicine, and academic exploration.Second, he organizes the material in way that is easy to follow and access.Third, his ideas are well developed and exemplify a depth of knowledge and familiarity with the material.For example, he uses Frank Cushing as a model of how anthropologists inserted themselves in the middle of sacred rituals (165-169).Lastly, the scope of Niezen's inquiry spans across several centuries and yields a more contextualized understanding of the numerous legislative injustices enacted upon native North Americans.
Despite the many positive aspects, Niezen's chapter on "The Politics of Repression" leaves something to be desired.Niezen fails to make connections between the suppressive laws mandated by the state and their effects on the natives.Niezen certainly provides numerous pieces of legislation that was oppressive, yet he seldom discusses their adverse effects.In some cases, he does state that the laws resulted in distrust and resentment (136), but he does not elaborate on how the collective identity or beliefs were affected or how they contributed to native suffering. Despite this deficiency, there was much to enjoy about this book; I particularly liked the diversity of native groups that were represented in the text.Spirit Wars is a significant contribution to the academic community because it assesses and addresses the complexity associated with the destruction native North America religion in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This book would be valuable to anyone who is interested in native North America religious thought and development.

Outstanding!
The author is an historian with an excellent knowledge of anthropology who has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork with native communities in Canada. In this outstanding book he gives us a brilliant and hard-hitting history of native North American (U.S. and Canada) religion or spirituality under siege, from the Spanish conquistadors to the present.The book is tightly organized and well-written.There are seven major topics. The main topic, addressed explicitly in the first and final chapters, is the right of indigenous peoples to practice and preserve their languages, religions, and cultures, which have been under constant assault. The other six topics are the evangelical colonialism of missionaries, focusing on Spanish Franciscans in the Pueblo Southwest; boarding schools; Western medicine and the suppression of native medicine; state suppression, focusing on the Ghost Dance, the Potlatch, the Peyote Religion, and sacred spaces; amateur and professional collectors of native artifacts and cultural knowledge, with a discussion of NAGPRA; and the spiritual imperialism of New Age "healers." We learn that native religions have been, of course, transformed by a long history of Western oppression, but they are alive and dynamic and have served as forms of resistance to assimilation as well as healing wounds of cultural genocide.This is probably the best book I have read on native North America. It should be highly regarded by scholars and by native peoples alike. After reading it, there is no mystery why "despondency and despair" and "hopelessness and self-destruction" are such common experiences in Indian Country. The big question is, what can we do about it? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nations Within
This is a fantastic book.It clarified much of my confusion about the various tribes. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: B.F. Mussey & Co. in 1851 in 286 pages; Subjects: History / North America; History / Expeditions & Discoveries; Juvenile Nonfiction / History / Exploration & Discovery; Literary Collections / American / General; Literary Criticism / American / General; Literary Criticism / Books & Reading; ... Read more

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The Ojibway Nation
Born near Trenton, Ontario, George Copway, despite limited formal education, became a minister in the Methodist church, and advocate on the behalf of all Native Americans.The Ojibway Nation is one of several books that he wrote, in which he attempted to inform Euro-Canadians/Americans about the history and culture of the Ojibway people.Included are chapters dealing with the Ojibway language, government and religious practices, as well as their conflicts with the Souix and Iroquois.He speaks of the Ojibway as a noble and dignified people who have risen to become one of the great Indian nations.Yet he is a man influenced by his association with Europeans, and is not above referring to Natives in general as "backward heathens" for resisting attempts at Christianization and continuing to hunt instead of becoming agriculturalists.Copway rightly believed, however, that by this time (the 1850s) it was clear that European colonization was irreversable, and that in order for Indians to survive, they had to settle their differences and unite.He proposed that land should be set aside between the north bank of the Missouri river and the state of Wisconsin.Here all the Indian peoples of North America could settle; the territory would be barred to Europeans to allow for the Indians to educate themselves and form a government.When this was accomplished, the territory would them petition to enter the union as a state.A bold but logical plan, but as we all know, the American government had other plans for the West.Although this last aspect revolves more around the United States, the majority of the book deals with Canada, in particular the Ojibway of Canada West (how Ontario).The Ojibway Nation is therefore an important piece of Canadiana. ... Read more

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The major commanding looked up from the morning report and surveyed the post adjutant with something of perturbation, if not annoyance, in his grim, gray eyes. For the fourth time that week had Lieutenant Field requested permission to be absent for several hours. The major knew just why the junior wished to go and where. The major knew just why he wished him not to go, but saw fit to name almost any other than the real reason when, with a certain awkward hesitancy he began:

"W--ell, is the post return ready?"

"It _will_ be, sir, in abundant time," was the prompt reply.

"You know they sent it back for correction last month," hazarded the commander.

"And you know, sir, the error was not mine," was the instant rejoinder, so quick, sharp and positive as to carry it at a bound to the verge of disrespect, and the keen, blue eyes of the young soldier gazed, frank and fearless, into the heavily ambushed grays of the veteran in the chair. It made the latter wince and stir uneasily.






Download A Daughter Of The Sioux Now! ... Read more

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Explores how the "first nations" have understood the world and their place in it, from the first migrations to North America, through Western colonization, to the roots of modern spiritual revival. The author presents the diversity of many peoples, with their own language, mythology and traditions. ... Read more

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This book goes beyond documenting the impacts of resource-based development to examine five key themes in contemporary disputes between indigenous peoples, nation states, and resource developers: the complex relationships between resources, identity and sovereignty; culture and gender issues in resource projects; marginalization of and negotiations with indigenous interests; compensation and the monitoring of agreements; and the role of governments in mediating relations between resource industry and indigenous groups. ... Read more

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Pueblo Nations is the story of a vital and creative culture, of a people sustained by ages-old traditions and beliefs, who have adapted to the radical challenges of the modern world. Written by a respected writer, educator, and elder of the Jemez Pueblo, this rare, insider's view of the history of the 19 Indian Pueblos of New Mexico illuminates Pueblo historical traditions dating from millennia before the arrival of Columbus and chronicles the events and changes of the European era from the perspective of those who experienced them.
Drawing on both traditional oral history and written records, Sando describes the origin and development of Pueblo civilization, the Spanish conquest and occupation, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and the response of the pueblos to Mexican independence and conquest by the United States. Sando offers several portraits of notable Pueblo leaders whose contributions have helped shape the history of their people. He looks at internal developments in Pueblo government and presents a detailed account of the unremitting struggle to retain sovereignty, land, and water rights in the face of powerful outside pressures.

This new edition is fully indexed and updated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A beautifully written history from a unique perspective.
As a member of the Sun Clan of the Jemez people, Joe Sando was in a unique position to research and write this history. As a scholar trained at Eastern New Mexico State and at Vanderbilt, he developed his skills as an historian. As a person he retained his empathy and humanity while confronting the unjust policies that have been visited on the Pueblo peoples by the Spanish, Mexican and United States governments.If you are interested in a well-balanced, incisive history of the New Mexico Pueblo people (the Hopi are not covered here), this book is worth the money to buy, the effort to read and the time to understand. ... Read more

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The years between 1922 and 1961, often referred to as the "Dark Ages of Northwest Coast art," have largely been ignored by art historians, and dismissed as a period of artistic decline. Tales of Ghosts compellingly reclaims this era, arguing that it was instead a critical period during which the art played an important role in public discourses on the status of First Nations people in Canadian society.

Hawker’s insightful examination focuses on the complex functions that Northwest Coast objects, such as the ubiquitous totem pole, played during the period. He demonstrates how these objects asserted the integrity and meaningfulness of First Nations identities, while simultaneously resisting the intent and effects of assimilation enforced by the Canadian government’s denial of land claims, its ban of the potlatch, and its support of assimilationist education.

Those with an interest in First Nations and Canadian history and art history, anthropology, museology, and post-colonial studies will be delighted by the publication of this major contribution to their fields. ... Read more

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The heart of the traditional legal order of the Lake Babine Nation of north-central British Columbia is the grand ceremonial feast known as the balhats, or potlatch. Misunderstood and widely condemned as a wasteful display of pride, the balhats ceremonies were outlawed by the Canadian government in the late nineteenth century. Throughout the years that followed, the Lake Babine Nation struggled to adapt their laws to a changing society while maintaining their cultural identity.

Although the widespread feasting and exchange practices of the balhats have attracted continuous academic and political interest since the nineteenth century, little consideration has been given to understanding the legal practices embedded within the ceremonies. Cis dideen kat, the only book ever written about the Lake Babine Nation, describes the customary legal practices that constitute "the way."

Authors Jo-Anne Fiske and Betty Patrick use historical and contemporary data to create a background against which the changing relations between the Lake Babine Nation and the Canadian state are displayed and defined, leading to the current era of treaty negotiations and Aboriginal self-government.

Through interviews with community chiefs and elders, oral histories, focus groups, and archival research, Fiske and Patrick have documented and defined a traditional legal system still very much misunderstood. Their findings include material not previously published, making this book essential reading for those involved in treaty negotiations as well as for those with an interest in Aboriginal and state relations generally.

Cis dideen kat was shortlisted for the 2001-2002 Harold Adams Innis Prize. AUTHORBIO: Jo-Anne Fiske teaches in the departments of Anthropology and Women’s Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Betty Patrick is chief of the Lake Babine Nation. ... Read more

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The Catawba Indians are aboriginal to South Carolina, and their pottery tradition may be traced to 2,400 B.C. When Hernando de Soto visited the Catawba Nation (then Cofitachique) in 1540, he found a sophisticated Mississippian Culture. After the founding of Charleston in 1670, the Catawba population declined. Throughout subsequent demographic stress, the Catawba supported themselves by making and peddling pottery. They have the only surviving Native American pottery tradition east of the Mississippi. Without pottery, there would be no Catawba Indian Nation today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Catawba Indian Nation of the Carolinas (SC)
Lot of misinforamtion in this one. With no hope of having corrective addition being printed. ... Read more

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Many argue that the Lubicon, a small Cree nation in northern Alberta, have been denied their unalienable right to self-determination by the Canadian government. In a country such as Canada, some see the plight of the Lubicon people as an enduring reminder that certain democratic principles and basic freedoms are still kept from minorities, indigenous groups in particular.

The Lubicon Lake Nation strives, through a critique of historically-constructed colonial images, to analyze the Canadian government's actions vis-à-vis the rights of the Lubicon people. Dawn Martin-Hill illustrates the power of indigenous knowledge by contrasting the words, ideas, and self-conceptualizations of the Lubicon with official versions of Lubicon history as documented by the state. In doing so, she offers a genuine sense of the gravity of their lived experiences. By giving voice to the Lubicon, this study seeks to develop an exclusively indigenist framework in which the circumstances facing the people can be described and analyzed more accurately than they can using popular conceptions of native rights as put forth by the government.

The Lubicon Lake Nation is a story of one culture and the pursuit of indigenous rights in Canada as told from the perspective of those who know the situation best, the Lubicon themselves.