Notes from a Miner's Canary : Essays on the State of Native America

by Weaver, Jace

• ISBN13: 9780826348746
• ISBN10: 0826348742
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-30
• Publisher: Univ of New Mexico Pr

Summary

The title of this lively collection of Jace Weaver's essays comes from Felix Cohen, the great authority on American Indian law: The Indian plays much the same role in our American society that the Jews played in Germany. Like the miner's canary, the Indian marks the shift from fresh air to poisonous gas in our political atmosphere; and our treatment of Indians, even more than our treatment of other minorities, marks the rise and fall of our democratic faith. But the book goes far beyond the subject of law. The wide range of cultural references shows why the author is considered a leader in the field of Native American Studies. Beginning with a survey of the state of Native American Studies and ending with an assessment of literary theory, he also tackles environmentalism and environmental justice, NAGPRA, war tribunals, pilgrimage and migration, ethnography, food, architecture, ghost stories, identity, theory, and a few other lively subjects, including a splendid tribute to the towering significance of N. Scott Momaday.

Author Biography

Jace Weaver is Franklin Professor of Native American Studies and director of the Institute of Native American Studies at the University of Georgia. Among his earlier books is American Indian Literary Nationalism, coauthored with Craig Womack and Robert Warrior and also available from UNM Press. It has been called "a must-read for anyone interested in Native American literature and criticism, as well as for those who value the connection between literary production and community life" (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
More Light than Heat: The Current State of Native American Studies	p. 1
Notes from a Miner's Canary: Natives and Environmental Justice	p. 23
Hope Is a Thing with Feathers: Indian as Icon	p. 53
The American Indian Land Case: Choctaw Nation v. Cherokee Nation	p. 69
NAGPRA and the Return of the Repressed	p. 77
Turtle Goes to War: Of Military Commissions, the Constitution, and American Indian Memory	p. 95
Pilgrimage Trails and Migration Traditions: Foregrounds and Backgrounds to the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan No. 2	p. 217
Of Trembling Gods and Moon-Eyed People: Ruminations on the Limits of Ethnography	p. 247
Telectroscopy: Searching for the Ancestral Puebloans	p. 275
When the Demons Come: (Retro) Spectacle among the Savages	p. 297
A Lantern to See By: Survivance and a Journey into the Dark Heart of Oklahoma	p. 313
The Adamant of Time: Native American Land, Architecture, and Ethics	p. 333
...But I'll Give You My Chili Recipe	p. 353
Blackface, Redface, and the Yellow Peril	p. 359
The Mystery of Language: N. Scott Momaday, an Appreciation	p. 375
Empires, No Matter How Gained: Unmasking the Barbarism with a Human Face	p. 385
Not Bereft: A Story of Cherokee Survivance	p. 393
Notes	p. 407
Index	p. 439
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