Cultural Representation in Native America

by Andrew Jolivette, Norma Alarcon, Professor of Women's Studies, Ethnic Studies, , Spanish, Portuguese at the University of California, , Berkeley

Overview

Today as in the past there are many cultural and commercial representations of American Indians that, thoughtlessly or otherwise, negatively shape the images of indigenous people. Jolivétte and his co-authors challenge and contest these images, demonstrating how Native representation and identity are at the heart of Native politics and Native activism. In portrayals of a Native Barbie Doll or a racist mascot, disrespect of Native women, misconceptions of mixed race identities, or the commodification of all things 'Indian', the authors reveal how the very existence of Native people continues to be challenged, with harmful repercussions in social and legal policy, not just in popular culture. The authors re-articulate Native history, religion, identity, and oral and literary traditions in ways that allow the true identity and persona of the Native person to be recognized and respected. It is a project that is fundamental to ethnic revitalization and the recognition of indigenous rights in North America. This book is a provocative and essential introduction for students and Native and non-Native people who wish to understand the images and realities of American Indian lifeways in American society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759109841
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	08/11/2006
Series:	Contemporary Native American Communities Series , #18
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.32(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Andrew Jolivette teaches in the American Indian studies and in the Ethnic Studies program at San Francisco University.

Table of Contents

1 PART I: Contestation and Representation, Chapter 1: Mapping Contests in Unknown Locations 2 Say Hau to Native American Barbie 3 Liquor Moccasins 4 (Dis)Locating Spiritual Knowledge: Embodied Ideologies, Social Landscapes, and the Power of the Neoshamanic Other 5 Mascots in the New Millennium 6 PART II: Contestation and Politics, Chapter 6: Native American Resistance and Revitalization in the Era of Self-Determination 7 Identity, Oral Tradition, and Inter-generational Healing in the Southern Paiute Salt Songs 8 In the Spirit of Crazy Horse 9 Part III: Contestation and Mixed Race Identity; Chapter 9: In the Tracks of 'the' Native Woman 10 Chapped with Weather and Age: Mixed-Blood Identity and the Shape of History 11 Dunn Playing Indian 12 Examining the Regional and Multi-Generational Context of Creole and American Indian Identity

Editorial Reviews

This welcomed collection shines with new voices from both academics and activists challenging us to rethink popular representations of Indians and the direction of Native American Studies. Andrew Jolivette's innovative and dynamic collection opens up a series of timely conversations that will enliven both a popular audience and animate classroom discussions. It is the definitive contribution to issues of self-representation, self-determination, and contemporary cultural politics within Native America.

Tomas Almaguer

This timely collection of essays brings together voices from inside and outside the academy speaking both from personal experience and from critical and analytical positions about the representation of indigenous people in the American imaginary. The book's evocative images and engaging accounts map the past, present, and future terrain of debates and definitions of Native America.

Joane Nagel