Synopses & Reviews
This book is the first comprehensive study of the driving force behind Native political activism, and the only scholarly treatment of North American Indian politics which integrates an explicitly Native perspective. With a broad historical scope rich in detail, and drawing on the particular experience of the Mohawks of Kahnawake, it offers an explanation of Indian and Inuit political activism focusing on the importance of traditional values and institutions in shaping Native responses to the state.
The book explains the recent rise of a militant assertion of sovereignty on the part of Native people in terms of three major factors: the existence of alternative institutions in the body of the nation's traditional culture; the self-conscious development of an alternative identity; and a persistent pattern of negative interaction with the state. It differs from other analyses focusing on similar factors in that it views nationalism not as a movement which activates in response to external factors, but as a persistent feature of political life which manifests itself in either a latent or active form in response to the interaction of the three factors discussed in the model.
Review
"[Alfred's] analysis enriches our understanding of tribal politics across the globe. ...his distinctively engaged perspective leads to insights that challenge conventional thinking about an issue of great import in our world."--Political Science Quarterly
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [202]-210) and index.
About the Author
Gerald Robert Alfred is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Native Education at Concordia University in Montreal.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Reconceptualizing Nationalism
Theoretical Framework
People of the Flint, Sign of the Cross: The Origins of Kahnawake's Political Culture
Kanienke - Ancestral Mohawk Homeland
The Mohawk Nation and New France
Motivations for the Mohawk Movement
Depopulating the Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Nation and Trade
Shifting Goals and Strategies
The Dragon of Discord: Kahnawake in the Modern Era
The Indian Act
Reaction: The First Traditionalist Revival
Promise of the Past: The Second Traditionalist Revival
Back to the Woods: Traditionalism in Kahnawake
Views on Reformation
Iroquois Political Tradition - Kaienerekowa
The Traditionalist Vanguard in Kahnawake
Mainstream Nationalist Ideology in Kahnawake
Three Mohawk Chiefs
Views on Sovereignty
Views on Identity
The Structure of Government in Kahnawake
Delegitimizing the Indian Act System
Revitalizing Confederacy Linkages
Current Institutions of Mohawk Government
Reforming the Canada-Kahnawake Relationship
Interactions and Their Impact
Conflict over Territory and Membership
Interaction I - The Mohawk Land Base
Interaction II - Membershi
The Rise of Native Nationalism
Key Elements
Comparative Framework
The Pervasiveness and Persistence of Ethno-Nationalism
Bibliography
Notes
Index