Indigenous peoples / Indigeneity Books

Book SynopsisMexican history comes to life in this “fascinating” work by the author of Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans (The Christian Science Monitor).Fire & Blood brilliantly depicts the succession of tribes and societies that have variously called Mexico their home, their battleground, and their legacy. This is the tale of the indigenous people who forged from this rugged terrain a wide-ranging civilization; of the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec dynasties, which exercised their sophisticated powers through bureaucracy and religion; of the Spanish conquistadors, whose arrival heralded death, disease, and a new vision of continental domination. Author T. R. Fehrenbach connects these threads with the story of modern-day, independent Mexico, a proud nation struggling to balance its traditions against opportunities that often seem tantalizingly out of reach. From the Mesoamerican empires to the Spanish Conquest and the Mexican Revolution, peopled by the legendary personalities of Mexican history—Montezuma, CortÉs, Santa Anna, JuÁrez, Maximilian, DÍaz, Pancho Villa, and Zapata—Fire & Blood is a “deftly organized and well-researched” work of popular history (Library Journal).

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Book SynopsisPeter S Harrison is Senior Lecturer in Law (Associate Professor) at the University of York, UK.

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Book SynopsisDavid E. Wilkins is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in leadership studies at University of Richmond. A citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina, Wilkins earned his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His academic work concentrates on Native politics and governance, with particular attention to the transformations that Indigenous governments have both coercively and voluntarily engaged in from pre-colonial times to the present. Wilkins in the author or editor of numerous books, including mostly recently Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933 to Present; Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.; American Indian Politics and the American Political System, fourth edition; Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights; The Navajo Political Experience, fourth edition; and Hollow Justice: A History of Indigenous Claims in the United States.Wendy Greyeyes (Diné) is assistant professor of Native American studies at The University of New Mexico. She earned her PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and her research focuses on political sociology, organizational analysis, Indigenous education, tribal sovereignty, and Native Nation building. Before entering academia, she was a tribal liaison for the Arizona Teacher Excellence Program and Homeland Security, a grassroots manager for the Indian Self Reliance Initiative in Arizona, a statistician for the Department of Diné Education, and a program analyst/chief implementation officer for the Bureau of Indian Education. She formerly served as the co-chair for the National Indian Education Association's Advocacy Committee and a former faculty for the Institute for American Indian Education. She currently serves as the Navajo representative member for the New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council (IEAC), president for the Diné Studies Conference, Inc., a member of the American Indian Studies Association (AISA), faculty advisor for the UNM Native American Alumni Chapter, and faculty advisor for Kiva Club. She is the author of A History of Navajo Education: Disentangling Our Sovereign Body. Lloyd L. Lee (Diné) is professor and faculty graduate director in the department of Native American studies at The University of New Mexico, where he is also director of the Center for Regional Studies and editor of the journal,Wicazo Sa Review. He earned his PhD in American Studies from The University of New Mexico and his research focuses on Native American identity, masculinities, leadership, and Native Nation building. He is the author of Diné Identity in a 21st Century World and Diné Masculinities: Conceptualizations and Reflections; co-author of Native Americans and the University of New Mexico; and edited Navajo Sovereignty: Understandings and Visions of the Diné People and Diné Perspectives: Reclaiming and Revitalizing Navajo Thought. He currently sits on the Council for the American Indian Studies Association (AISA). Lee earned the Presidential Teaching Fellow Award 2017-2019 at the University of New Mexico. Tiffany S. Lee (Diné/Lakota) is professor and chair of the Native American studies department at The University of New Mexico. She earned her PhD in sociology of education from Stanford University and researches Native youth perspectives with regard to language reclamation and identity, as well as socio-culturally centered educational approaches. She has published numerous articles and book chapters in scholarly publications, as well as community-based research and government reports. She is the former President of the Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. and a former high school social studies and language arts teacher at schools on the Navajo Nation and at Santa Fe Indian School. She is also a member of the New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council for the New Mexico Office of Indian Education.

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Book Synopsis Drawing on themes from John MacKenzie's Empires of Nature and the Nature of Empires (1997), this book explores, from Indigenous or Indigenous-influenced perspectives, the power of nature and the attempts by empires (United States, Canada, and Britain) to control it. It also examines contemporary threats to First Nations communities from ongoing political, environmental, and social issues, and the efforts to confront and eliminate these threats to peoples and the environment. It becomes apparent that empire, despite its manifestations of power, cannot control or discipline humans and nature. Essays suggest new ways of looking at the Great Lakes watershed and the peoples and empires contained within it. Table of Contents The Nature of Empires and the Empires of Nature, edited by Karl S. Hele Preface Karl S. Hele Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: A Meditation on Environmental History John MacKenzie 2. Tricky Medicine: Something Old for Something New Heather Marie Annis 3. Rediscovering Relationships Alesha Jane Breckenridge 4. Learning to Relate: Environmental and Place-Based Education in Northern Ontario Lori-Beth Hallock 5. Bridging Academia and Indigenous Environmental Science: Is It Too Late? Brian Rice 6. Empire Revisited: The Convenant Chain of Silver, Land Policy, and the Proclamation of 1763 in the Great Lakes Region, 1760-1800 Karen J. Travers 7. Lines on the Land: Surveying Townships after the 1790 Treaty Rhonda Telford 8. Poisoning the Serpent: The Effects of the Uranium Industry on the Serpent River First Nation, 1953-1988 Lianne C. Leddy 9. Divided Spaces, Divided Stories: Animal Control Programs in Canada's Indigenous Communities Maureen Riche 10. First Nations Diasporas in Canada: A Case of Recognition María Cristina Manzano-Munguía 11. Assessing Environmental Health Risks through Collaborative Research and Oral Histories: The Water Quality Issue at Walpole Island First Nation Christianne V. Stephens and Regna Darnell 12. Landscape and Mindscape Conjoined: The Empire of Nature and the Nature of Empires in the Journals of Ezhaaswe (William A. Elias) (c.1848-1929) David T. McNab 13. A World of Beauty: The Spirits within Nature in the Writings of Louise Erdrich Ute Lischke 14. Settler Narrative and Indigenous Resistance in The Baldoon Mystery Rick Fehr 15. The Great Indian Bus Tour: Mapping Toronto's Urban First Nations Oral Tradition Jon Johnson Bibliography The Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisMost activities in our lives involve electricity. Yet, how often do we recall that even the simple act of turning on a light is supported by a long history of debates over group vs. individual rights, environmental impact, political agendas and technological innovations? Using the image of cross-currents as the organizing metaphor, this book details the many and often turbulent interactions and interconnections that occurred among the various people and events during the building of the northeastern Ontario hydroelectric system. Special focus is on Native and non-Native interests; southern business and political elites; northern natural resources and the interactions between technology and the environment. Manore concentrates on the co-operation that existed among the various interest groups during periods of expansion and amalgamation. In today's environment of limited energy resources, respect for the rights of First Nations and ecological concerns, this book is a reminder that co-operation rather than conquest is a more realistic approach to development.

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Book SynopsisEssential Song: Three Decades of Northern Cree Music, a study of subarctic Cree hunting songs, is the first detailed ethnomusicology of the northern Cree of Quebec and Manitoba. The result of more than two decades spent in the North learning from the Cree, Lynn Whidden's account discusses the tradition of the hunting songs, their meanings and origins, and their importance to the hunt. She also examines women's songs, and traces the impact of social change - including the introduction of hymns, Gospel tunes, and country music - on the song traditions of these communities. The book also explores the introduction of powwow song into the subarctic and the Crees struggle to maintain their Aboriginal heritage - to find a kind of song that, like the hunting songs, can serve as a spiritual guide and force. Including profiles of the hunters and their songs and accompanied (online) by original audio tracks of more than fifty Cree hunting songs, Essential Song makes an important contribution to ethnomusicology, social history, and Aboriginal studies.

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Book SynopsisThe Wyandot were born of two Wendat peoples encountered by the French in the first half of the seventeenth century - the otherwise named Petun and Huron - and their history is fragmented by their dispersal between Quebec, Michigan, Kansas, and Oklahoma. This book weaves these fragmented histories together, with a focus on the mid-eighteenth century. Author John Steckley claims that the key to consolidating the stories of the scattered Wyandot lies in their clan structure. Beginning with the half century of their initial diaspora, as interpreted through the political strategies of five clan leaders, and continuing through the eighteenth century and their shared residency with Jesuit missionaries - notably, the distinct relationships different clans established with them - Steckley reveals the resilience of the Wyandot clan structure. He draws upon rich but previously ignored sources - including baptismal, marriage, and mortuary records, and a detailed house-to-house census compiled in 1747, featuring a list of male and female elders - to illustrate the social structure of the people, including a study of both male and female leadership patterns. A recording of the 1747 census as well as translated copies of letters sent between the Wyandot and the French is included in an appendix.Trade Review"John Steckley's detailed research on the Wyandot/Wendat clan system is the culmination of a lifetime pursuit to unearth and untangle the complicated history of North America's Indigenous peoples. This book is a goldmine for all those interested in exploring the organic and evolutionary nature of First Nation communities and will contribute greatly to our understanding of Indigenous strategies of resistance and survival against colonial regimes." -- Kathryn Labelle, University of Saskatchewan, author of 'Dispersed but Not Destroyed: A History of the Seventeenth-Century Wendat People' (2013)"Steckley's central thesis is that clans kept the Wyandot strong, enabling them to survive forced migration and the splitting up of ancestral villages and tribes. Steckley demonstrates that the Wyandot clan structure was dynamic in nature, despite its static depiction in classic anthropological literature. The author's uniquely personalized writing style makes this work accessible to interested readers outside of academia.... This work makes an invaluable contribution to a better understanding of Wyandot history. Summing up: Highly recommended." -- B.F.R. Edwards, ALA -- Choice, 20141001"Using documentation about clan structure, residences, and history, as well as individual stories, Steckley peers deeply into Wyandot/Wendat culture, especially their political systems, gender roles, relations with various Jesuits, and interactions with non-Wyandot/Wendat First Nation People throughout the Great Lakes, from the Iroguoian Confederacy in the east to the Fox Nation to the west. Steckley's book is most significant in two areas for which he is particularly well-known and professional esteemed. The first is his singular understanding and interpretation of the Wyandot/Wendat language.... Steckley's easy to understand orthography of the Wyandot/Wendat language literally keeps the language alive. Secondly, Steckley's use of individual case studies, both male and female, keeps the memory of individuals alive, people who otherwise would have been 'lost to history.' In other words, Steckley's book is extraordinarily dynamic on many accounts. It is not surprising therefore that Steckley, who has devoted his life's work to understanding and unravelling the cultures and kinship of Great Lakes native cultures, was adopted by the Wyandot people of Kansas--a compliment of brotherhood that is unquestionably the greatest accolade of his professional life; more importantly, Steckley, as a human being, is helping to counter the terrible effects of cultural genocide and ethnocide that occurred throughout the Great Lakes, and all of the Americas, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.The Eighteenth-Century Wyandot makes major contributions to the academic fields of Great Lakes and Native American history, anthropology (and archaeology), sociology, and anthropological linguistics. Indeed, Steckley's book is the best kinship/clan based historical study I have ever read." -- Kenneth C. Carstens -- Michigan Historical Review, 20141103Table of Contents The Eighteenth-Century Wyandot: A Clan-Based Study by John L. Steckley Preface Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Two Questions Chapter Three: Five Wyandot Strategists of the Late Seventeenth Century: Sastaretsi, Kandiaronk, Sk8tache, the Baron, and Quarante Sols Chapter Four: Other Nations and the Clans of the Wyandot: Missionaries and Other Strangers Enter Their Midst Chapter Five: Wyandot Participation in ""Christian"" Rituals Chapter Six: Wyandot Leadership: Male Political Roles Chapter Seven: The Political Roles of Wyandot Women Chapter Eight: A Summary Appendices Appendix A: The Census Appendix B: Wyandot Correspondance B1: Father Richardie's Introduction to Father Potier B2: Govenor Longueuil B3: The Wendat Response B4: Father Richardie to the Huron of Wendake B5: Father Richer to Father Potier Appendix C: N'endi Appendix D: Festin des Noces Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisAmong the few historical documents by or about early Native American history are pre-Columbian Mayan manuscripts and stone graphs, documents written by Indians and Mestizos from the Andes and Mesoamerica in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Spanish. The Spanish texts beginning with Father Bartolome de Las Casas (1474-1566) reflect a Eurocentric view that was carried on by the colonialists and criollos, the white elites after independence. The indigenista movement, which urged a revival of Indian culture, did not begin until the twentieth century. Because so many sources were destroyed over the centuries, and memories suppressed, an ethno-history of the Amerindians needs to gather information from many sources and disciplines including linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, agriculture, migration studies, and religion. The author provides an indigenous history without bypassing westem historiography. In the pre-Columbian period the author concentrates on the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas, but broadens out to an analysis of all Amerindians. The second part includes post-conquest indigenous adaptations, co-existence and struggle against colonial rule and subjugation by the Catholic Church and states.

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, the voices of Eastern Band Cherokee women receive their proper due. A watershed event, this book unearths three centuries of previously unknown and largely ignored speeches, letters, and other writings from Eastern Band Cherokee women. Like other Native American tribes, the Cherokees endured numerous hardships at the hands of the United States government. As their heritage came under assault, so did their desire to keep their traditions. The Eastern Band Cherokees were no exception, and at the forefront of their struggle were their women. Eastern Band Cherokee Women analyzes how the women of the Eastern Band served as honored members of the tribe, occupying both positions of leadership and respect. Carney shows how in the early 1800s women leaders, such as Beloved Nancy Ward, battled to retain her people’s heritage and sovereignty. Other women, such as Catharine Brown, a mission school student, discovered the power of the written word and thereby made themselves heard just as eloquently. Carney traces the voices of these women through the twentieth century, describing how Cherokees such as Marie Junaluska and Joyce Dugan have preserved a culture threatened by an increasingly homogenous society. This book is a fitting testament to their contributions. Eastern Band Cherokee Women stands out by demonstrating the overwhelming importance of women to the preservation of the Eastern Band. From passionate speeches to articulately drafted personal letters, Carney helps readers explore the many nuances of these timeless voices.

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Book SynopsisThis book is an updated edition of Jefferson Chapman's 1985 account of one of the most productive and significant research efforts in the eastern United States. For fourteen years (1967–1981), archaeologists from the University of Tennessee conducted excavations and surveys in the Little Tennessee River Valley, which was being inundated by the TVA's creation of the Tellico Reservoir. The project produced a wealth of new information about more than 12,000 years of Native American history in the region. This revision retains the full text and illustrations of the original edition, with its compelling descriptions of ancient ways of life and the archaeological detective work that was done to obtain that knowledge. The new material, contained in a postscript, summarizes the discoveries, research methods, and other developments that have, over the past ten years, further enhanced our knowledge of the Native Americans who occupied the area. Included, for example, are details about some fascinating new techniques for dating human remains, as well as discussions of burial practices, native crops, new archaeological laws, and the "Bat Creek Stone," a controversial artifact that, according to some claims, gives evidence of migrations of Mediterranean peoples to the New World during Roman times. The Author: Jefferson Chapman is director of the Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a research associate professor in the department of anthropology.

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Book SynopsisThe Delaware Valley is a distinct region situated within the Middle Atlantic states, encompassing portions of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. With its cultural epicenter of Philadelphia, its surrounding bays and ports within Maryland and Delaware, and its conglomerate population of European settlers, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans, the Delaware Valley was one of the great cultural hearths of early America. The region felt the full brunt of the American Revolution, briefly served as the national capital in the post-Revolutionary period, and sheltered burgeoning industries amidst the growing pains of a young nation. Yet, despite these distinctions, the Delaware Valley has received less scholarly treatment than its colonial equals in New England and the Chesapeake region.In Historical Archaeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850, Richard Veit and David Orr bring together fifteen essays that represent the wide range of cultures, experiences, and industries that make this region distinctly American in its diversity. From historic-period American Indians living in a rapidly changing world to an archaeological portrait of Benjamin Franklin, from an eighteenth-century shipwreck to the archaeology of Quakerism, this volume highlights the vast array of research being conducted throughout the region. Many of these sites discussed are the locations of ongoing excavations, and archaeologists and historians alike continue to debate the region’s multifaceted identity.The archaeological stories found within Historical Archeology of the Delaware Valley, 1600–1850 reflect the amalgamated heritage that many American regions experienced, though the Delaware Valley certainly exemplifies a richer experience than most: it even boasts the palatial home of a king (Joseph Bonaparte, elder brother of Napoleon and former King of Naples and Spain). This work, thoroughly based on careful archaeological examination, tells the stories of earlier generations in the Delaware Valley and makes the case that New England and the Chesapeake are not the only cultural centers of colonial America.

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