The American Indian and the Problem of History [Paperback]

Calvin Martin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 1987 | ISBN-10: 0195038568 | ISBN-13: 978-0195038569

The problem of history for North American Indians is that historical consciousness has traditionally been irrelevant to them, perhaps even dangerous. Time, with its attendant experiences, realities, and knowledge, was not linear, progressive, and novel. Their vision of themselves in relation to the cosmos was very different from the anthropocentric perspective that came to dominate Western thinking. Each of the eighteen authors herein wrestles with the phenomenon that in writing about Indians and whites in concert scholars are perforce trying to mesh two very different structures and systems of reality and knowledge--two fundamentally different cosmologies--which in fact do not really fit together. In essays written especially for this volume, each scholar confronts the problem from his or her distinct experience as historian, anthropologist, professional writer, Native or non-Native American. This in not a book about methodology; it probes far deeper than that. It questions whether formal Western history has the philosophical power and imagination to enable scholars to write about life and world societies who were conceived in history, who did not willingly launch themselves out onto an historical trajectory, and who performed in the Western vision and errand of history only through coercion. Here, then, is a study of the "metaphysics" of writing Indian-white history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most challenging volume on the historiography of Indian-white relations yet published....[The] volume must have an impact on the conduct of history and the social sciences in their dealings with tribal peoples. The collection is certainly among the best of the recent critiques of the social sciences."--South Dakota History

"An excellent analysis of the evolving methodology and metaphysics of the 'New Indian History.'...These through-provoking essays are highly recommended."--Choice

"[An] important book...written for those concerned with writing Native American history, anthropology, and 'ethnohistory,' but it also speaks to the approaches taken by social scientists examining different cultures....Those actively working in the field of American Indian history and those thinking of entering the field would do well to read this thoughtful and challenging collection."--Wisconsin Magazine of History

"Useful for upper division undergraduates and for scholars wishing to sample the intense historiographical debate within ethnohistory."--The Western Historical Quarterly

"Martin's collection provides a bracing antidote to conventional historiography."--Great Plains Quarterly

About the Author

Calvin Martin is at Rutgers University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 22, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195038568
• ISBN-13: 978-0195038569
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource in Native American History, July 7, 2001

By 

Summer Belle "Word Affectionado" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Indian and the Problem of History (Paperback)

This book was a major eye opener for me on the idea of "Indian" history. Like many Americans, you think of Indians in the historical context - war paint, horses, and feathers. Do you want to think again? Read Micael Dorris' essay "Indians on the Shelf".

This book challenges any pre-conceived notions. I found it enjoyable as well as humbling.

I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to think again - think again about history and the part Native Americans played in it. And the trouble white historians have had when dealing with them. Many of the essays are written by Native Americans about themselves and the trouble history has in addressing their part in it.