Native Studies Keywords (Critical Issues in Indigenous Studies) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816531501 ISBN 13: 9780816531509

Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 2015

Synopsis

Native Studies Keywords explores selected concepts in Native studies and the words commonly used to describe them, words whose meanings have been insufficiently examined. This edited volume focuses on the following eight concepts: sovereignty, land, indigeneity, nation, blood, tradition, colonialism, and indigenous knowledge. Each section includes three or four essays and provides definitions, meanings, and significance to the concept, lending a historical, social, and political context.

Take sovereignty, for example. The word has served as the battle cry for social justice in Indian Country. But what is the meaning of sovereignty? Native peoples with diverse political beliefs all might say they support sovereignty—without understanding fully the meaning and implications packed in the word.

The field of Native studies is filled with many such words whose meanings are presumed, rather than articulated or debated. Consequently, the foundational terms within Native studies always have multiple and conflicting meanings. These terms carry the colonial baggage that has accrued from centuries of contested words.

Native Studies Keywords is a genealogical project that looks at the history of words that claim to have no history. It is the first book to examine the foundational concepts of Native American studies, offering multiple perspectives and opening a critical new conversation.

About this title

Review

"The book consists of 17 analyses of terms as they appear not in the social science literature but in the literature of postmodernism. This being the case, the book will be most valuable in the humanities, where it will be a fundamental resource for those who generate theories and concepts."--Choice

"Native Studies Keywords demonstrates a focus on the keyword sovereignty and the value of highlighting its importance in any conversation relating to contemporary Indian country."--American Indian Culture and Research Journal

About the Author

Stephanie Nohelani Teves is an assistant professor of ethnic studies and women’s and gender studies at the University of Oregon, USA. She was also a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley, USA.

Andrea Smith is an associate professor in ethnic studies and media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside, USA. Her areas of research include Native studies, religious studies, legal studies, gender studies, and social movements.

Michelle Raheja is an associate professor of English at the University of California, Riverside, USA where she researches Native American literature, with a special interest in autobiography and film visual culture.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0816531501
• ISBN 13: 9780816531509
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Teves Stephanie Nohelani, Smith Andrea, Raheja Michelle