Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native America

"In discussing a wide array of legal, biological, and sociocultural definitions, Eva Garroutte documents how these have frequently been manipulated by the federal government, by tribal officials, and by Indian and non-Indian individuals to gain political, social, or economic advantage. Whether or not one agrees with her solutions, anyone seriously concerned with contemporary American Indian issues should read this book."and#151;Garrick Bailey, editor of The Osage and the Invisible World

"Real Indians is a remarkably candid, engaging, and compelling book. It tells the important and often controversial story of how 'Indian-ness' is negotiated in American culture by indigenous peoples, policy makers, and scholars."and#151;Robert Wuthnow, author of Creative Spirituality

"Eva Marie Garroutte has done an exemplary job of combining scholarly sources, personal accounts, interview data, and self-reflection to catalog and examine the ways in which individual and collective identities are asserted, negotiated, and revitalized. She invites readers to imagine an intellectual space where scholarly and traditional ways of knowing and telling come face to face in an epistemological landscape where the and#145;traditionsand#8217; of social science and 'radical indigenism' can confront one another in constructive dialogue."and#151;Joane Nagel, author of Race, Ethnicity, and Sexuality

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, America finds itself on the brink of a new racial consciousness. The old, unquestioned confidence with which individuals can be classified (as embodied, for instance, in previous U.S. census categories) has been eroded. In its place are shifting paradigms and new norms for racial identity. Eva Marie Garroutte examines the changing processes of racial identification and their implications by looking specifically at the case of American Indians.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-212) and index.

Eva Marie Garroutte is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston College.

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Chief Who Never Was

1. Enrollees and Outalucks: Law

2. "If He Gets a Nosebleed, Heand#8217;ll Turn into a White Man": Biology

3. What If My Grandma Eats Big Macs? Culture

4. If Youand#8217;re Indian and You Know It (But Others Donand#8217;t): Self-Identification

5. "Whaddaya Mean and#145;We,and#8217; White Man?":

Identity Conflicts and a Radical Indigenism

6. Allowing the Ancestors to Speak:

Radical Indigenism and New/Old Definitions of Identity

Conclusion: Long Lanceand#8217;s Ghost and the Spirit of Future Scholarship

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index