This guide to Native American history and culture outlines new ways of understanding American Indian cultures in contemporary contexts. "Native American Studies" covers key issues such as the intimate relationship of culture to land; the nature of cultural exchange and conflict in the period after European contact; the unique relationship of Native communities with the United States government; the significance of language; the vitality of contemporary cultures; and the variety of Native artistic styles, from literature and poetry to painting and sculpture to performance arts. This thematic approach places history, culture, and intellectual production in the contexts of politics and power. Using specific examples throughout the book, the authors portray the culture of Native Americans from the viewpoints of Native people as well as from those of non-Native Americans.

The present-day Choctaw communities in central Mississippi are a tribute to the ability of the Indian people both to adapt to new situations and to find refuge against the outside world through their uniqueness. Clara Sue Kidwell, whose great-great-grandparents migrated from Mississippi to Indian Territory along the Trail of Tears in 1830, here tells the story of those Choctaws who chose not to move but to stay behind in Mississippi.

As Kidwell shows, their story is closely interwoven with that of the missionaries who established the first missions in the area in 1818. While the U.S. government sought to "civilize" Indians through the agency of Christianity, many Choctaw tribal leaders in turn demanded education from Christian missionaries. The missionaries allied themselves with these leaders, mostly mixed-bloods; in so doing, the alienated themselves from the full-blood elements of the tribe and thus failed to achieve widespread Christian conversion and education. Their failure contributed to the growing arguments in Congress and by Mississippi citizens that the Choctaws should be move to the West and their territory opened to white settlement.

The missionaries did establish literacy among the Choctaws, however, with ironic consequences. Although the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 compelled the Choctaws to move west, its fourteenth article provided that those who wanted to remain in Mississippi could claim land as individuals and stay in the state as private citizens. The claims were largely denied, and those who remained were often driven from their lands by white buyers, yet the Choctaws maintained their communities by clustering around the few men who did get title to lands, by maintaining traditional customs, and by continuing to speak the Choctaw language. Now Christian missionaries offered the Indian communities a vehicle for survival rather than assimilation.

The early decades of the nineteenth century brought intense political turmoil and cultural change for the Choctaw Indians. While they still lived on their native lands in central Mississippi, they would soon be forcibly removed to Oklahoma. This book makes available for the first time a key legal document from this turbulent period in Choctaw history. Originally written in Choctaw by Peter Perkins Pitchlynn (1806-1881), and painstakingly translated by linguist Marcia Haag and native speaker Henry Willis, the document is reproduced here in both Choctaw and English, with original text and translation appearing side by side.

A leader and future chief of the Choctaw Nation, Pitchlynn created this record in the wake of a series of Choctaw Council meetings that occurred during the years 1826-1828. The council consisted of chiefs and other tribal statesmen from the nation's three districts. Their goal for these meetings was to uphold traditions of Choctaw leadership and provide guidance on conduct for Choctaw people "according to a common mind."

Featuring an in-depth introduction by historian Clara Sue Kidwell, this book is an important foundational source for understanding the evolution of the Choctaw Nation and its eventual adoption of a formal constitution.

Volume 2 in the American Indian Law and Policy SeriesThe Choctaws in Oklahoma begins with the Choctaws' removal from Mississippi to Indian Territory in the 1830s and then traces the history of the tribe's subsequent efforts to retain and expand its rights and to reassert tribal sovereignty in the late twentieth century. As Clara Sue Kidwell tells it, the Choctaws' story illuminates a key point in contemporary scholarship on the history of American Indians: that they were not passive victims of colonization and did not assimilate quietly into American society. Adapting to the very structures imposed on them by their colonizers, tribal politicians quickly learned to use the rhetoric of dependency on the government, but they also demanded justice in the form of fulfillment of their treaty rights. Adroitly negotiating with the United States, the Choctaws have created the Choctaw Nation that exists today.

In this collection, Champagne and Stauss demonstrate how the rise of Native studies in American and Canadian universities exists as an extraordinary achievement in higher education. In the face of historically assimilationist agendas, institutional racism, and structural opposition by Western educational institutions, collaborative programs continue to grow and promote the values and goals of sovereign tribal communities. The contributors show how many departments grew significantly following the landmark 1969 Senate report, 'Indian Education: A National Tragedy, A National Challenge.' They evaluate the university efforts to offer Native students intellectual and technical skills, and the long battle to represent Native cultures and world views in the university curriculum. In twelve case studies, Indian and non-Indian teachers provide rich, contextual histories of their programs through three decades of growth. They frankly discuss successes and failures as innovative strategies and models are tested. Programs from University of California-Davis, Harvard, Saskatchewan, Arizona and others provide detailed analyses of academic battles over curriculum content, the marginalization of indigenous faculty and students, the pedagogical implications of integrating native instructors, the vagaries of administrative support and funding, Native student retention, the vulnerability of native language programs, and community collaborations. A vision of Indian education that emerges from these pages that reveals the university's potential as a vehicle for Indian nation-building, one in which the university curriculum also benefits from sustained contacts with tribal communities. As Native populations grow and the demand for university training increases, this book will be a valuable resource for Native American leaders, educators in Native American studies, race and ethnic studies, comparative education, minorities in education, anthropology, sociology, higher education administration and educational policy.

Incorporating previously overlooked materials, including tribal council records, oral histories, and reservation newspapers, ""Ruling Pine Ridge"" explores the political history of South Dakotas Oglala Lakota reservation during the mid-twentieth century. Akim D. Reinhardt examines the reservations transition from the direct colonialism of the pre-1934 era to the indirect colonial policies of the controversial Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) and the advent of the tribal council governing system still in place today on Pine Ridge and on many other reservations. Reinhardt demonstrates how conflicting political values foregrounded by the new governing format led to an aggravation of social divisions on the reservation and eventually came to a head in 1973 with the occupation and siege of Wounded Knee. The siege is best understood, he claims, not as a political stunt of the American Indian Movement (AIM) but as a spontaneous, grassroots protest at least forty years in the making.

Reinhardt furnishes revealing portraits of Gerald One Feather, Dick Wilson, Russell Means; he offers a telling indictment of Pine Ridges economy. He is one of the few historians who understands the distinction DArcy McNickle made decades ago between loss and defeat. He and the late Vine Deloria, Jr. would have welcomed this volume because of its thorough research and, above all, its unflinching honesty. Writing in 1970 Deloria called for historians to bring historical consciousness to the whole Indian story. ""Ruling Pine Ridge"" achieves that goal. It will be required reading for all who care about not only the indigenous past but as well its connection to the problems of the present and the challenges of the 21st century. Peter Iverson, author of ""Din: A History of the Navajos"". Incorporating previously overlooked materials, including tribal council records, oral histories, and reservation newspapers, ""Ruling Pine Ridge"" explores the political history of South Dakotas Oglala Lakota reservation during the mid-twentieth century. Akim D. Reinhardt examines the reservations transition from the direct colonialism of the pre-1934 era to the indirect colonial policies of the controversial Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). The new federal approach to Indian politics was evident in the advent of the tribal council governing system, which is still in place today on Pine Ridge and on many other reservations. While the structure of the reservations governing body changed dramatically to reflect mainstream American cultural values, certain political equations on the reservation changed very little. In particular, despite promises to the contrary, the new reservation governments authority was still severely constrained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In addition, the new governing format led to an aggravation of social divisions on the reservation. Reinhardt then examines the period of 1968-1973, showing that many of the political players on the reservation had changed, and although the tribal council system was well established by this point, deep dissatisfaction with the IRA government persisted on Pine Ridge. This longstanding unhappiness came to a head in 1973, with the occupation and siege of Wounded Knee. Reinhardt demonstrates that the siege is best understood not as a political stunt of the American Indian Movement (AIM), but as a spontaneous, grassroots protest that was at least forty years in the making.

This guide to Native American history and culture outlines new ways of understanding American Indian cultures in contemporary contexts. The book covers the key issues of: * The intimate relationship of culture to land. * The nature of cultural contact and conflict in the period after European contact. * The unique relationship that Native communities have with the United States government. * The significance of language. * The vitality of contemporary cultures and the variety of artistic styles, from literature and poetry to painting and sculpture to performance arts. This thematic approach places history, culture and intellectual production in the contexts of politics and power. Using specific examples throughout, the culture of Native Americans is seen from the point of views of Native people as well as from the points of view of Europe and the United States. Features * New approach to the subject. * Argument shaped by interaction with Native scholars and members of Native communities. * Draws on work of historians, anthropologists, ethnographers, literary critics and art historians. * Literature survey with assessment of sources and detailed bibliography. * Includes 18 colour plates. Why not subscribe to the Journal of Transatlantic Studies? http://www.eup.ed.ac.uk/journals/content.aspx?pageId=1&journalId=12157" for details.

In this collection, Champagne and Stauss demonstrate how the rise of Native studies in American and Canadian universities exists as an extraordinary achievement in higher education. In the face of historically assimilationist agendas, institutional racism, and structural opposition by Western educational institutions, collaborative programs continue to grow and promote the values and goals of sovereign tribal communities. The contributors show how many departments grew significantly following the landmark 1969 Senate report, 'Indian Education: A National Tragedy, A National Challenge.' They evaluate the university efforts to offer Native students intellectual and technical skills, and the long battle to represent Native cultures and world views in the university curriculum. In twelve case studies, Indian and non-Indian teachers provide rich, contextual histories of their programs through three decades of growth. They frankly discuss successes and failures as innovative strategies and models are tested. Programs from University of California-Davis, Harvard, Saskatchewan, Arizona and others provide detailed analyses of academic battles over curriculum content, the marginalization of indigenous faculty and students, the pedagogical implications of integrating native instructors, the vagaries of administrative support and funding, Native student retention, the vulnerability of native language programs, and community collaborations. A vision of Indian education that emerges from these pages that reveals the university's potential as a vehicle for Indian nation-building, one in which the university curriculum also benefits from sustained contacts with tribal communities. As Native populations grow and the demand for university training increases, this book will be a valuable resource for Native American leaders, educators in Native American studies, race and ethnic studies, comparative education, minorities in education, anthropology, sociology, higher education administration and educational policy.