January 2024 MBR The Native American Studies Shelf

The Native American Studies Shelf

Our Way
Julie Cajune
Fulcrum Publishing
www.fulcrumbooks.com
9781682753323, $29.95, PB, 456pp

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Way-Parallel-Anthology-Reflection/dp/1682753328

Synopsis: Indigenous history is American history and, compiled and edited b=
y Julie Cajune, "Our Way: A Parallel History" is an anthology of Native Ame=
rican history, reflection, and story that dispels the myths, stereotypes, a=
nd absence of information about American Indian, Native Alaskan, and Native=
 Hawaiian people as previously undervalued and obscured part of US history.

For most of American history, stories of the country's Indigenous Peoples w=
ere either ignored or told by outsiders. "Our Way: A Parallel History" corr=
ects these errors, exploring the ways in which Indigenous cultures from eve=
ry corner of the nation have influenced American society from the past into=
 the present, reminding the reader that they have both shaped the US and co=
ntinue to play a vital role in its story.

Significantly, "Our Way: A Parallel History" is a collaboration of Native s=
cholars representing more than ten Indigenous nations, sharing their histor=
ies and their cultures. Each contributor, either an affiliate of an institu=
tion of higher education or a prominent Native leader, provides the reader =
with an inside account of tribal culture and heritage. The result is a comp=
rehensive resource restoring the histories of Indigenous Peoples and their =
nations to their rightful place in the story of America.

Critique: Addressing such issues as: The Doctrine of Discovery; Alaska Nati=
ve Claims Settlement Act; US American Indian Policy and Civil rights ; Bloo=
d Quantum; The Selling of Hawaii; and so much more, Julie Cajune succeeds i=
n her aspiration that "Our Way: A Parallel History" is has been impressivel=
y successful in (as she notes in her preface): "I believe this collection o=
f history, story, and reflection provokes and invites us to think and feel =
deeply about what it means for all of us to be human in our communities, na=
tions, and beyond. After all, that is what a good story does." Simply state=
d, "Our Way: A Parallel History: An Anthology of Native History, Reflection=
, and Story" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, profe=
ssional, community, and college/university library Native American History =
& Issues collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should b=
e noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Native Rights=
 political activists, governmental Indian Affairs policy makers, and non-sp=
ecialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Our Way: A P=
arallel History" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49=
).

Editorial Note: Julie Cajune (https://montanatribes.org/julie-cajune) is a =
Milken Education Award recipient, and the coordinator of the tribal history=
 project at the Salish-Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana, and previously s=
erved as Indian Education Coordinator for the Ronan Public Schools on the F=
lathead Indian Reservation. She served as Executive Producer for Heart of T=
he Bitterroot, a DVD focused on the lives of Salish and Pend d'Oreille wome=
n. In addition to discussing the goals and accomplishments of the history p=
roject, Julie Cajune sheds light on the 1855 Hellgate Treaty negotiations a=
s well as more contemporary issues related to federal policies and implemen=
ting Indian Education for All.

First Peoples of Great Salt Lake
Steven R. Simms
The University of Utah Press
www.uofupress.com
9781647691479, $80.00, HC, 242pp

https://www.amazon.com/First-Peoples-Great-Salt-Lake/dp/1647691478

Synopsis: Utah's Great Salt Lake is a celebrated, world-recognized and uniq=
ue natural landmark. What is not so widely known is that the Great Salt Lak=
e (and the broader region bound to it), is also a thoroughly cultural lands=
cape; generations of peoples made their lives there.

With the publication of "First Peoples of Great Salt Lake: A Cultural Lands=
cape from Nevada to Wyoming", and with an eminently readable narrative, Pro=
fessor Steven Simms (who is one of the foremost archaeologists of the regio=
n), traces the scope of human history dating from the Pleistocene, when Fir=
st Peoples interacted with the lapping waters of Lake Bonneville, to nearly=
 the present day. Through vivid descriptions of how people lived, migrated,=
 and mingled, with persistence and resilience, Simms honors the long human =
presence on the landscape.

It will be noted that with "First Peoples of Great Salt Lake", Professor Si=
mms takes a different approach to understanding the ancients than is typica=
l of archaeology. De-emphasizing categories and labels, Professor Simms tra=
ces changing environments, climates, and peoples through the notion of plac=
e. He challenges the "Pristine Myth" -- that the cultural bias that Indigen=
ous peoples were timeless, changeless, primitive, and the landscapes they l=
ived in sparsely populated and perpetually pristine.

It is revealed that the First Peoples and their descendants modified the fo=
rests and the understory vegetation (the shrubs and plants growing beneath =
the main canopy of a forest), shaped wildlife populations, and adapted to l=
ong-term climate change.

The Native Americans of Great Salt Lake were very much part of their natura=
l world, and their history is one of long continuity through dramatic cultu=
ral change.

Critique: Informatively enhanced with the inclusion of a twenty-six page li=
sting of References, twenty pages of Notes, and a ten page Index, this larg=
e format (8.5 x 0.71 x 10 inches, 2 pounds) hard cover edition of "First Pe=
oples of Great Salt Lake: A Cultural Landscape from Nevada to Wyoming" by P=
rofessor Steven R. Simms is part of the Utah Series on Great Salt Lake and =
the Great Basin from the University of Utah Press. Nicely illustrated throu=
ghout, and an inherently interesting and revealing study, "First Peoples of=
 Great Salt Lake" is an impressive work of seminal scholarship and highly r=
ecommended for personal, professional, and college/university library Nativ=
e American History collections, and supplemental Native American Anthropolo=
gy curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and=
 non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Firs=
t Peoples of Great Salt Lake' is also available in a paperback edition (978=
1647691370, $34.95).

Editorial Note: Steven R. Simms is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Ut=
ah State University. His books include Ancient Peoples of the Great Basin a=
nd Colorado Plateau (2008), and Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in =
Ancient Utah (2010) awarded the Society for American Archaeology Book Award=
 in the public audience category and the Utah Book Award for nonfiction. He=
 has also directed over 60 archaeological projects, including the Great Sal=
t Lake Wetlands Project 1990 - 93, funded by the state of Utah, U.S. Bureau=
 of Reclamation, and the National Science Foundation. (https://chass.usu.ed=
u/anthropology/directory/simms-steven)

Indigenous Borderlands
Joaquin Rivaya-Martinez, editor
University of Oklahoma Press
www.oupress.com
9780806191836, $90.00, HC, 364pp

https://www.amazon.com/Indigenous-Borderlands-Native-Resilience-Americas/dp=
/080619183X

Synopsis: With the publication of "Indigenous Borderlands: Native Agency, R=
esilience, and Power in the Americas", pervasive myths of European dominati=
on and indigenous submission in the Americas receive a long overdue correct=
ive in this far-reaching revisionary work.

Despite initial upheavals caused by the European intrusion, Native people o=
ften thrived after contact, preserving their sovereignty, territory, and cu=
lture and shaping indigenous borderlands across the hemisphere. Borderlands=
, in this context, are spaces where diverse populations interact, cross-cul=
tural exchanges are frequent and consequential, and no polity or community =
holds dominion.

Within the indigenous borderlands of the Americas, as this volume shows, Na=
tive peoples exercised considerable power, often retaining control of the l=
and, and remaining paramount agents of historical transformation after the =
European incursion. Conversely, European conquest and colonialism were typi=
cally slow and incomplete, as the newcomers struggled to assert their autho=
rity and implement policies designed to subjugate Native societies and chan=
ge their beliefs and practices.

"Indigenous Borderlands" covers a wide chronological and geographical span,=
 from the sixteenth-century U.S. South to twentieth-century Bolivia, and ga=
thers leading scholars from the United States and Latin America. Drawing on=
 previously untapped or underutilized primary sources, the original essays =
in this volume document the resilience and relative success of indigenous c=
ommunities commonly and wrongly thought to have been subordinated by coloni=
al forces, or even vanished, as well as the persistence of indigenous borde=
rlands within territories claimed by people of European descent. Indeed, nu=
merous indigenous groups remain culturally distinct and politically autonom=
ous.

Hemispheric in its scope, unique in its approach, "Indigenous Borderlands" =
significantly recasts our understanding of the important roles played by Na=
tive agents in constructing indigenous borderlands in the era of European i=
mperialism.

Critique: Compiled and edited by Joaquin Rivaya-Martinez, "Indigenous Borde=
rlands: Native Agency, Resilience, and Power in the Americas" is comprised =
of eleven erudite and informative articles by experts in their field. Indig=
enous Borderlands" is further enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of=
 Illustrations, a Bibliography, a complete listing of the contributors and =
their credentials, and a sixteen page Index. While strongly recommended as =
a core pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university l=
ibrary Native American History collections and supplemental Cultural Anthro=
pology curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia,=
 and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "I=
ndigenous Borderlands" is also available in a paperback edition (9780806191=
935, $29.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).

Editorial Note: Joaquin Rivaya-Martinez is Associate Professor of History a=
t Texas State University. He has authored numerous essays on Comanche histo=
ry and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. (https://www.tshaonline.org/about/peopl=
e/joaquin-rivaya-martinez)

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