American Indians

by Mihesuah, Devon A.

• ISBN13: 9780932863225
• ISBN10: 0932863221
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-06-01
• Publisher: Clarity Pr

Summary

Have you ever heard this? "Indians have a tendency toward alcoholism". Or "Indians get a free ride from the government". Or "If Indians had united, they could have prevented the European invasion". Many such thoughtless notions concerning American Indians linger within popular and even academic milieus, despite the publication of numerous scholarly works clarifying American Indians' history. This may be due to the fact that such works rarely address common, often unspoken, public misconceptions whose accuracy is simply presumed. Such mistakes prolong intercultural misunderstanding, and thereby give rise to further grief and conflict. Widely endorsed by American Indian scholars, American Indians: Stereotypes & Realities provides an engaging and often amusing, yet thoroughly scholarly Indian perspective on common misconceptions concerning American Indians which afflict public and even academic circles to this very day. Written in a highly accessible stereotype/reality format, it examines 24 of the most common stereotypes, and includes a brief bibliography of recommended reading pertinent to each for those interested in further study. No teacher dealing with discrimination issues "on the ground" should be without this book. It should be used in classrooms across America, and sold wherever American Indian memorabilia are sold. This is an American Indian book for the nonIndian population, because it needs to know.

Author Biography

Devon A. Mihesuah is Associate Professor of American Indian history at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. She has published numerous books and articles about the education of American Indians, Indian women, and the desecration of Indian burial sites. A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Prof. Mihesuah is the recipient of grants from The Ford Foundation, The Smithsonian Institution, and The American Council of Learned Societies. She is Associate editor of the American Indian Quarterly.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 5
List of Photographs	p. 6
Introduction	p. 9
Indians are all alike	p. 20
Indians were conquered because they were inferior	p. 29
If Indians had united, they could have prevented the European invasion	p. 34
Indians had no civilization until Europeans brought it to them	p. 37
Indians arrived in this hemisphere via the Siberian Land Bridge	p. 46
Indians were warlike and treacherous	p. 48
Indians had nothing to contribute to Europeans or to the growth of America	p. 54
Indians did not value or empower women	p. 61
Indians have no religion	p. 67
Indians welcome outsiders to study and participate in their religious ceremonies	p. 70
Indians are a vanished race	p. 74
Indians are confined to reservations, live in tipis, wear braids, and ride horses	p. 76
Indians have no reason to be unpatriotic	p. 79
Indians get a free ride from the government	p. 87
Indians' affairs are managed for them by the B.I.A.	p. 90
Indians are not capable of completing school	p. 92
Indians cannot vote or hold office	p. 95
Indians have a tendency toward alcoholism	p. 97
"My grandmother was an Indian"	p. 99
Indians are all fullbloods	p. 103
All Indians have an "Indian name"	p. 107
Indians know the histories, languages, and cultural aspects of their own tribe and all other tribes	p. 108
Indians are stoic and have no sense of humor	p. 110
Indians like having their picture taken	p. 112
The Effects of Stereotyping	p. 113
Do's and dont's for those who teach American Indian history and culture	p. 119
Suggested guidelines for institutions with scholars who conduct research on American Indians	p. 123
Course outline for American Indian history and culture survey with suggested projects	p. 131
Outline for course "American Indian Women in History"	p. 137
Index	p. 147
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