Synopses & Reviews
Chronicled here are 500 years of the complex dynamics of Mi'kmaq culture. This text explores the group as a tribal nation-their ordeals in the face of colonialism and their current struggle for self-determination and cultural revitalization.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-233) and index. Filmography: p. 237-238.
About the Author
Dr. Harald E.L. Prins is Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University and guest curator at the National Museum for Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he studied archaeology, anthropology, and comparative history at various universities in the Netherlands and the United States. He has a doctoraal from the University of Nijmegen and a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research. He has done extensive fieldwork among indigenous peoples in South and North America, and teaches classes on American Indians, Anthropological Theory, and Introduction to Anthropology. Professionally trained in filmmaking, he has consulted on numerous films, juried documentary film festivals, and served as president of the Society for Visual Anthropology (1999-2001) and visual anthropology editor of the journal "American Anthropologist."
Known for his spirited teaching, Prins has won two of his university's most prestigious teaching honors, and serves as University Chair for Distinguished Teaching Scholars (2004-2005). He was also instrumental in the successful federal recognition and land claims case of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs (1990), and served as an expert witness in several Mi'kmaq native rights cases in the U.S. Senate and Canadian courts.
Dr. Prins' publications include his book "The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, and Accommodation" (Harcourt Brace, 1996), a co-edited volume "American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture, and Cartography in the Land of Norumbega" (U Nebraska Press, 1994), two co-edited special journal issues, and over 75 scholarly articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. In addition, he co-produced OUR LIVES IN OUR HANDS, a documentary film on Mi'kmaq Indians in Maine (D.E.R. 1986), and OH, WHAT A BLOW THAT PHANTOM GAVE ME!, a film on visual anthropology pioneer Edmund Carpenter (D.E.R., 2003), and served as research advisor for the award-winning film WABANAKI: A NEW DAWN (N.E.H. Film, 1996).