"Bruce Johansen's The Praeger Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Native America is an excellent continuation of the author's innovate work on the history and contemporary concerns of this land's indigenous peoples. Johansen's observations are, as always, accurate, timely and entertaining. This well written, extensively researched two-volume set should be in the hands of anyone who has an interest in aboriginal affairs." -- Joanne Shenandoah, Oneida Nation "Johansen's book, The Praeger Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Native America is a treasure trove of important, up-to-date information, its scope impressive, its journalistic style of writing crisp and easy to read. The biographical tribute to the late Vine Deloria, Jr., is the best I've seen." -- Steve Talbot, Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, Oregon State University "Johansen has outdone himself. This Handbook, in two volumes, is a classic work of Contemporary Native American issues which will be used for decades by scholars and students of Native American issues on both sides of the international border. It will also become a work of history in its own right. Filled with respectful learning and incredible detail, Johansen wisely lets the Native American voices speak out on every page providing the reader with their views on the many issues with which they are confronted in the early 21st century." -- David T. McNab, Associate Professor of Native Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Volume 1: Linguistic, Ethnic, and Economic Revival Preface Introduction Dedication: On the Passing of Vine Deloria Jr. Chapter 1: Back from the (Nearly) Dead: Reviving Indigenous Languages Across North America Chapter 2: Where Has All the Money Gone? Chapter 3: Economic Revival: Up from the Bottom on the Reservation Chapter 4: High-Stakes Genealogy: When Is a Pequot Not a Pequot? Chapter 5: Names and Games: The Controversy Regarding Indian Sports Mascots and Place Names Volume 2: Legal, Cultural, and Environmental Revival Introduction Chapter 1: Cast Among the Living Dead: Banishment Is Back Chapter 2: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: The Curious Conviction of Leonard Peltier Chapter 3: Grandfathers of Akwesasne Mohawk Revitalization: Ray Fadden and Ernest Benedict Chapter 4: Mestizo Nation: La Plaza de Seattle Chapter 5: Back to Bushmeat and Berries Chapter 6: The New Inuit Chapter 7: The High Price of Uranium in Navajo and Dene Country Chapter 8: Catharsis vis--vis Oppression: Contemporary Native American Political Humor Selected Bibliography Index
Bruce E. Johansen is Frederick W. Kayser Professor of Communication and Native American Studies, University of Nebraska. He is the author of dozens of books, including The Dirty Dozen: Toxic Chemicals and the Earth's Future, The Global Warming Desk Reference, and The Native Peoples of North America. He is series editor of Praeger's Native America: Yesterday and Today.
"Comprehensive and well-written books about contemporary Native
issues are hard to find, and they tend to lose their contemporary
relevancy very quickly in the bright light of rapid changes in
Native affairs. Johansen's attempt to provide a solid book
(actually, two books) in the face of such conditions is laudable.
His essays range across a stunning variety of issues and details:
economic revival, identity conflict, political and environmental
justice, self-rule, revival of traditional food systems, federal
fraud, and linguistic and cultural revitalization. The fact that
the discussion does not stop at the arbitrary national borders of
the US is a plus. It is also more than time that the discussion
focuses on contemporary reality rather than histories of
traditions. Johansen has written a guidebook to the contemporary
revival process. By its very subject matter, the book, part of
Nebraska's Native America: Yesterday and Today series, will demand
updates as the revival process takes novel forms. This is a hopeful
sign; all books about Native issues must adapt to the dynamics of
the present and the future. Essential. All levels and libraries." -
Choice
"There are precious few books written about this renewal of
American Indian cultures. The author brings deep knowledge,
cultural sensitivity, and commitment to this challenge. In
addition, he has brought Indian voices to each page....Finally,
there is a book that both acknowledges the complicated issues
facing Indian cultures and provides vivid examples that provide
strong evidence and hope for solutions and survival. It should be
mandatory for school and academic libraries." - American Reference
Books Annual
"This well-written, extensively researched two-volume set is
designed for the college/university level reader. Students will
learn about the issues facing American Indians and gain new
perspectives about the history of the Americas' first inhabitants.
This two-volume guide provides detailed information about the
resurgence of Native American issues throughout North America. The
first volume deals with the legal, cultural, and environmental
dimensions of this resurgence. The second volume focuses on the
revival of Native American languages, ethnic identities, and
economies....Each book has its own introduction and comprehensive
index." - MultiCultural Review
"Johansen offers students, scholars, and interested general readers
a collection of essays and stories exploring the contemporary
Native American revival of Native American traditions. The first
volume examines the revival of indigenous languages; efforts to
recover from pervasive poverty and reassert economic independence;
ethnic revival, and the problems related to determining identity
strictly in a multiethnic world; and the controversy over Indian
sports mascots and place-names. The second volume focuses on legal
traditions, including banishment; the conviction of Leonard
Peltier; cultural revival through educational organizations and
community centers; the reclamation of traditional diets and age-old
agricultural systems; struggles with environmental issues; and
achieving sociocultural survival and criticism of the dominant
culture through contemporary Native American political humor." -
Reference & Research Book News
"Part of the publisher's Native America: Yesterday and Today
series, this installment is a compactly sized two-volume set.
Despite a title that suggests broad subject matter, these volumes
focus specifically on current revitalization efforts within Native
American life and culture." - Catholic Library World
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