Native American Studies

by

Tiffany Lee, Lloyd Lee, Myla Vicenti Carpio

• LAST REVIEWED: 27 May 2020
• LAST MODIFIED: 27 May 2020
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0251

Introduction

While Indigenous knowledge systems, theories, and research have been in existence for time immemorial, the academic field of Native American Studies (NAS) grew out of the civil rights era in the late 1960s. During the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Native people in the United States organized resistance efforts, such as the reclaiming of Alcatraz Island in 1969, the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties march to Washington, DC, and the seventy-two-day protest and prayer at Wounded Knee in 1973. These activities are a few of the most well known, yet Native peoples have been resisting occupation of their lands, assimilationist forces, and settler colonialism and reclaiming land for decades. Activist groups such as the American Indian Movement organized many of these efforts, and with the increase of Native American students entering college during this time period, the level of activism and public awareness aligned with students’ demands for Native knowledge, perspectives, and experiences to be included in college courses. They also challenged universities to hire more Native American faculty. NAS in universities came out of these efforts, and academic programs were created from the West Coast to the East Coast in several universities. NAS draws on interdisciplinary perspectives from areas such as history, political science, anthropology, sociology, and education to examine the historical and modern issues faced by Native American and other Indigenous people and communities globally. This interdisciplinary approach allows scholars of NAS to examine the complexities and breadth of interests and problems in Native American communities. Of particular significance is the understanding and exercise of political sovereignty among Native Nations, which sets NAS apart from other ethnic-studies areas. Sovereignty is the right of a people to self-governance and self-determination. This includes rights to self-education and linguistic and cultural expression. Native Nations’ inherent sovereignty was recognized during treaty negotiations and agreements, and it has provided the basis for policies affecting Native communities today. This article recognizes the diverse areas of study that encompass NAS, including important areas connected to Native Nations’ application of their sovereign rights. The article identifies twelve subject areas that have prominence in scholarship that informs NAS. It also prioritizes scholarship by Indigenous authors, who provide the perspectives and lived experiences relevant to NAS.

History / General Overview

While America Indian history can parallel the chronology of American history, the history and experiences of over five hundred nations means that American Indian history has its own perspectives, framework, and chronology. In this section, two extensive surveys provide a chronological overview of American Indian history, and the remainder narrows to specific tribal or policy histories. Calloway 2016 provides a survey of American Indian history and policy periods into chronological structure from pre-European invasion into the 21th century, with relevant documents. Dunbar-Ortiz 2014 contextualizes US history from an Indigenous perspective, giving a more critical understanding of American Indian history. Together, Colin Calloway and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz present the broader understanding of the policies, legislation, and perspectives of American Indian history. Bringing together Native historians writing from a more nation/community-centered perspective, Miller and Riding In 2011 illustrates the importance that Native perspectives and strategic conceptional frameworks bring to American Indian history as a field. The remainder of the books presents more-specific histories on tribal nations. American Indian nations and thus their histories have shared encounters and confrontation with colonialism and settler colonialism, initially with European and then later with American policies, people, and ideologies, yet the experiences, resistance, and circumstances of each nation may differ widely. Therefore, the tribal histories demonstrate the diversity of the experiences and outcomes each nation had, as well as share a use of Native voices and perspectives. Bates 2016 focuses on a much-ignored region, the Southeast, allowing each of the contributors to tell their story. Bauer 2016, Denetdale 2007, and Shepherd 2010 focus on the Southwest and California, not only covering more-complete tribal histories but addressing various issues such as policies, leadership, cultural revitalization, and economic development.

• Bates, Denise E., ed. 2016. We will always be here: Native peoples on living and thriving in the South. Gainesville: Univ. Press of Florida.

  American Indians in the Southeast generally remain an invisible population, with most regional scholarship on African America and Anglo populations. In this collection, Bates brings together a collection of voices, modern leaders, educators, and activists who speak to their experiences being native in the Southeast. The contributors address larger experiences and struggles such as sovereignty, cultural restoration, education, economic development, and identity politics.

• Bauer, William J., Jr. 2016. California through native eyes: Reclaiming history. Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press.

  Utilizing oral histories of the Concow, Pomo, and Paiute workers as a part of the New Deal federal works projects, this book provides a challenging, layered history of California through the perspectives and experiences of the Native peoples.

• Calloway, Colin G. 2016. First peoples: A documentary survey of American Indian history. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s.

  This book is an overview of American Indian history and policy periods, using documents. Chapters provide a general essay and documents that could be used for discussion.

• Denetdale, Jennifer Nez. 2007. Reclaiming Diné history: The legacies of Navajo chief Manuelito and Juanita. Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press.

  This book revisits the history of Chief Manuelito at different points to reexamine Diné history and provide a critical analysis of existing literature on Diné history. Denetdale includes Juanita, Manuelito’s wife, bringing a broader understanding of gender, leadership, culture, and family life.

• Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. 2014. An Indigenous peoples’ history of the United States. Boston: Beacon.

  This book is a “history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples.” Its thematic structure challenges the founding myth of the United States by highlighting the complexity of Indigenous societies, shows how colonists’ policy was designed to seize the Indigenous territories and displace or eliminate Indigenous peoples, and entwines Indigenous resistance to the expansion of the US empire.

• Miller, Susan A., and James Riding In. 2011. Native historians write back: Decolonizing American Indian history. Lubbock: Texas Tech Univ. Press.

  An anthology of historical articles by Indigenous scholars, whose articles are challenging colonial thought, affirming Indigenous historical narrative, and asserting the history of dispossession. Each author writes on his or her own tribal histories, presenting unique perspectives and unifying concepts that demonstrate a decolonizing American Indian history.

• Shepherd, Jeffrey P. 2010. We are an Indian nation: A history of the Hualapai people. First Peoples: New Directions in Indigenous Studies. Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press.

  Shepherd provides a history of the Hualapai Nation in Arizona, covering the 19th and 20th centuries. The book extends into nation-building, economic development, land protections, and cultural identity and protections, which have mostly involved challenges at national, state, and local levels. Shepherd draws from archival research and interviews of Hualapai community members to also provide a Hualapai understanding of their history and nationhood.