Encyclopedia of American Indian issues today

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Title:

Encyclopedia of American Indian issues today

Author:

Lawson, Russell M., 1957- editor.

ISBN:

9780313381447

9780313381454

Physical Description:

2 volumes ([xxviii]-808 pages) : illustrations ; 26 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

As sovereign entities living amid larger societies, Indian reservations -- and the lifestyle of the inhabitants within -- prompt curiosity among outsiders. American Indians also have a sense of community that often creates further separation from surrounding non-Native areas. Not surprisingly, these factors fuel the enigmatic reputation of tribal nations and contribute to the disparate way of life between Indians and their North American neighbors. Despite the fact that 565 federally-recognized tribes exist on the continent of North America, non-Native Americans typically know very little about the modern world of American Indians. In a few instances, the uneasy coexistence of the two cultures has served to create controversy, such as fake Indians fraudulently leveraging ethnicity-based benefits, U.S. officials disposing of nuclear waste near reservations, and sports clubs basing mascots on cultural stereotypes. This survey scrutinizes the historical background, as well as the contemporary issues of American Indian societies as both part of -- and completely separate from -- the world around them.

Contents:

Volume 1: People and places. Borderlands: Change, resistance, and assimilation -- Family: Traditional kinship in the modern world -- Indian city life -- Indian demographics: Definitions, numbers, and politics -- Urban Indians: The impact of urbanization -- Women: Changes in identity and power -- Economy and work. Advertising and Indian identity -- American Indian poverty in urban areas -- American Indian poverty on reservations -- Gaming and casinos -- Tourist industry: Economic and social costs and benefits -- Tribal economic diversification -- Unemployment -- Indian colleges and universities: Boarding schools to Native American Studies -- Indian schools: History of schooling models -- Literacy and illiteracy -- Native American deaf -- Public education: Current issues and legislation -- Red English: Language and American Indian English -- Health: Body and mind, private and public. Domestic abuse -- Healthcare of American Indians -- The Indian Child Welfare Act -- Orphans -- Psychological and emotional problems -- Sexual issues -- Substance abuse -- Traditional healing and modern medicine -- Ideas and identity: Issues of Indian identity, spirituality, traditional and modern thought. Cultural preservation: Artifacts, traditions, and laws -- Fake Indians: Modern day Native American identity -- Historic preservation: American Indian inclusion and contributions -- Indian mascots -- Indian ways of knowing -- Indians and civilization: Shaping society into the future -- Kennewick Man and the controversy over ownership of Indian remains -- Missionaries and the translation of the Bible into indigenous languages -- Modernization of American Indian culture -- National Museum of the American Indian: Contributing to American culture -- Native spirituality and Christianity -- Repatriation -- Scientists: Supporting the development of American Indians in science -- Stereotypes.

Volume 2: Sovereignty and dependence: Rights, reservations, recognition. American Indian athletes: Individual contributions in the face of challenges -- American Indian smoke shops: Struggles for economic independence -- Bureau of Indian Affairs: A historical and contemporary mission -- Federal recognition -- Federal reservations -- Indian Civil Rights -- Indian sovereignty -- Indians and the U.S. Constitution -- Race relations -- Racism -- Reservations and college athletics: Identifying and nurturing talent -- State recognition -- Law, politics, and conflict. American Indians and the military -- Genocide -- Grassroots politics: Historical and contemporary activism -- Indian Tribal Courts and the U.S. Court System -- Indian trust lands managed by the federal government -- Indians and Congress -- Law enforcement in Indian country -- Leadership: Formal and informal leadership within tribes -- Political activism: Examining the issues -- Prisons and Indians -- Red power: The American Indian Movement -- Tribal government: Local decision-making and law enforcement -- American Indian expression. American Indian Art: Maintaining culture, tradition, and identity -- American Indian theater and performance: Political, cultural, and artistic empowerment -- Film media about Indians: Representations and misrepresentations -- Film media by Indians: Native voices -- Fraudulent Indian art -- Music: Vibrant elements of American Indian culture -- Print media by Indians: Words and ideas of American Indians -- Environment. American Indians and solid waste -- Climate change -- Environmental racism -- Nuclear waste -- Pollution -- Preserving habitats -- Tribal land use -- Canadian Indians and other aboriginal peoples. Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government -- Biocolonialism: Genetic science and aboriginal people in Canada -- Human rights of indigenous people worldwide -- Missionaries to Canada's First Nations -- Worldwide indigenous activism.

Subject Term:

Indians of North America -- Encyclopedias.

Indians of North America. (OCoLC)fst00969633

Indianer. (DE-588)4026718-0

Soziale Situation. (DE-588)4077575-6

Staat. (DE-588)4056618-3

Minderheitenpolitik. (DE-588)4170001-6

Added Author:

Lawson, Russell M., 1957-

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	E76.2 .E527 2013 V. 1	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Reference Book	E76.2 .E527 2013 V. 2	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

This essential reference examines the history, culture, and modern tribal concerns of American Indians in North America. Despite the fact that 565 federally recognized tribes exist on the continent of North America, non-Native Americans typically know very little about the modern world of American Indians. In a few instances, the uneasy coexistence of the two cultures has served to create controversy, such as fake Indians fraudulently leveraging ethnicity-based benefits, U.S. officials disposing of nuclear waste near reservations, and sports clubs basing mascots on cultural stereotypes. This unique survey scrutinizes the historical background as well as the contemporary issues of American Indian societies as both part of--and completely separate from--the world around them. Encyclopedia of American Indian Issues Today features subjects commonly discussed, including reservations, poverty, sovereignty, the problem of solid waste on reservations, and the lives of urban Indians, among other contemporary issues. Organized into ten sections, the book also provides helpful sidebars and informative essays to address topics on casinos and gaming, sexual identity, education, and poverty.

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

A comprehensive survey of social, economic, medical, and political issues affecting American Indians, Lawson's resource organizes coverage to present a fair assessment of challenges to indigenous peoples. For the sake of perspective, the text combines data from a broad spectrum statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with evaluations of Native journalism, reservation life, and the arts. Statements of poverty, such as the lack of money for heating fuel on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and reports of sexual abuse of Indian orphans indicate pressing concerns. From a positive view, the text honors the Amerindian military record in Middle Eastern conflicts and identifies Native American studies as an emerging scholarly discipline that incorporates the academic studies of varied tribes. Contributors to the resource come primarily from the Great Plains and western states, along with international experts. Thorough primary and secondary indexing guides the user to famous people and places, sports teams, museums, anthropological discoveries, U.S. presidents, published works, Native activism, and congressional acts (for example, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act). Crucial to the work are detailed assessments of literacy, kinship, battlefields and monuments, traditional healing, law enforcement, and artistic venues. Lawson offers fair representation of such controversial elements as tourism, unemployment, racism, tribal law, and federal recognition. A valuable and readable source for public, high-school, and college libraries.--Snodgrass, Mary Ellen Copyright 2010 Booklist

Choice Review

This two-volume set explores, within historical, social, and cultural contexts, contemporary issues facing Native peoples. Lengthy, signed entries are organized into ten topical sections that cover demographics, economy and work, education, health, identity and spirituality, sovereignty and the federal relationship, law and politics, expression and the arts, the environment, and Canadian and other indigenous issues. The 79 entries delve into issues ranging from casinos to poverty, activism, domestic violence, mascots, repatriation, and tribal courts; entries conclude with references for further research. Useful sidebars provide additional information such as excerpts from relevant works, including primary sources. Information on contributors and an index round out volume 2. Editor Lawson (Bacone College) has written and edited other reference works in the field of history. A good starting point for undergraduate research, this set is distinctive. Other authors examine Native issues in specific spheres (e.g., environment, ethics, law, health). W. N. Thompson's one-volume Native American Issues (2nd ed., CH, Mar'06, 43-3798) is dictionary-like, with brief, unsigned entries. D. Champagne's edited The Native North American Almanac (2nd ed., 2001; 1st ed., CH, May'94, 31-4704) and M. B. Davis et al.'s Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia (CH, Feb'95, 32-3087) include coverage of issues within a wider scope. This new encyclopedic set is a useful acquisition for all academic libraries, particularly those that support Native studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. M. Cedar Face Southern Oregon University

Library Journal Review

A plethora of information is found in the 85 essays that comprise this encyclopedia edited by Lawson (history, Bacone Coll., Muskogee, OK; Poverty in America: An Encyclopedia). Divided into ten sections, the essays explore many contemporary topics pertinent to Native Americans, including gaming, sports mascots, tourism on reservations, substance abuse, repatriation, civil rights, and environmental colonialism. The essays are also rich in historical explanation of past Native American and Euro-American relations, offering facts that will help readers understand the conditions and issues facing Native Americans today. Many contributors cite the latest statistics in their discussions of a host of topics including education, poverty on reservations and among Native Americans in urban areas, unemployment, literacy, domestic violence, and health care. In addition to these social issues, other essays address political and legal topics such as Indian sovereignty, the U.S. Constitution, tribal courts, and law enforcement on Indian lands. One section focuses on ideas and issues pertaining to Indian identity, spirituality, and traditional and modern thought. Other essays take up the issues of art and music, including discussions of how Native Americans have been misrepresented by the media, the phenomenon of "fake Indians," and how myth often trumps reality. A final section contains essays concerning aboriginal peoples in Canada and human rights for indigenous peoples worldwide. Supplemental information, much of it from primary sources, appears in 60 sidebars scattered throughout the work. References are listed at the conclusion of each essay, a highlight of the volumes. VERDICT Students doing reports and readers seeking more facts and an enriched understanding of Native Americans in the 21st century will find this an effective reference.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.