Boundaries Between: The Southern Paiutes, 1775-1995 [Hardcover]

Martha C. Knack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Boundaries Between skillfully relates the history of the Southern Paiutes from their first contacts with Europeans through the end of the twentieth century. In an engaging style, Martha C. Knack combines contemporary oral histories, meticulous archival research, original ethnographic fieldwork, and an astute critical perspective on Indian-white relations. Before the arrival of European Americans, Southern Paiutes foraged the arid hills and valleys of the area known today as southern Utah, northern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southeastern California. By all the “rules” of history and anthropology, such a small-scale, foraging culture should have disappeared long ago, but the Southern Paiutes survive, and their story unsettles assumptions about the role that social complexity, power, and culture play in the dynamics of human history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Knack’s] focus on interethnic issues puts Boundaries Between on the summit of current ethnohistory: it does not get any better.”—Utah Historical Quarterly

(Utah Historical Quarterly )

“This excellent work describes how the flexible Southern Paiutes have maintained boundaries between themselves and various groups of outsiders for more than two centuries, while at the same time crossing these boundaries to take advantage of the possibilities afforded by the newcomers.”—American Historical Review

(American Historical Review )

“Outstanding work. Twenty-eight years ‘in the field’ and in some of the U.S.’s most prestigious research libraries have yielded definitive ethnohistorical information.”—Choice

(Choice )

"Knack''s book makes a valuable and readable contribution to the history of that region and to the literature on ethnic boundary maintenance."—Robert Bee, The Journal of American History

(Robert Bee The Journal of American History )

"Knack''s elegant study is the definitive work on Southern Paiutes and a major contribution to the theory of ethnohistory and cultural exchange."—Marcia Clouser, Journal of the West

(Marcia Clouser Journal of the West )

"This is the combination that we need to assure the continued vitality of ethnohistory. An ethnohistorical work must be good ethnography and it must be good history. Martha Knack has done both and has completed the task with insightful interpretation that helps soften the "boundaries between" ethnology and history."—James Goss, Western Historical Quarterly

(James Goss Western Historical Quarterly )

“Boundaries Between is an insightful, thoroughly researched, and well-written ethnohistory that . . . should have broad appeal to scholars who are interested in Indian/non-Indian relations in western North America. . . . Having spent more than twenty-five years of her career studying the Southern Paiute, Martha Knack has established herself as a leading authority on the ethnohistory of this Numic-speaking group.”—Brooke S. Arkush, Ethnohistory

(Brooke S. Arkush Ethnohistory )

“In this groundbreaking study of Southern Paiute ethnohistory, Martha Knack provides a direly needed corrective to such marginalization. . . . A landmark achievement in Great Basin ethnohistory. It should become a standard reference, an essential starting point for scholars interested in this poorly understood region of the American West.”—Ned Blackhawk, New Mexico Historical Review

(Ned Blackhawk New Mexico Historical Review )

From the Inside Flap

"[Knack’s] focus on interethnic issues puts Boundaries Between on the summit of current ethnohistory: it does not get any better."—Utah Historical Quarterly. "This excellent work describes how the flexible Southern Paiutes have maintained boundaries between themselves and various groups of outsiders for more than two centuries, while at the same time crossing these boundaries to take advantage of the possibilities afforded by the newcomers."—American Historical Review. "Outstanding work. Twenty-eight years ‘in the field’ and in some of the U.S.’s most prestigious research libraries have yielded definitive ethnohistorical information."—Choice.

Boundaries Between skillfully relates the history of the Southern Paiutes from their first contacts with Europeans through the end of the twentieth century. In an engaging style, Martha C. Knack combines contemporary oral histories, meticulous archival research, original ethnographic fieldwork, and an astute critical perspective on Indian-white relations. Before the arrival of European Americans, Southern Paiutes foraged the arid hills and valleys of the area known today as southern Utah, northern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southeastern California. By all the "rules" of history and anthropology, such a small-scale, foraging culture should have disappeared long ago, but the Southern Paiutes survive, and their story unsettles assumptions about the role that social complexity, power, and culture play in the dynamics of human history.

Martha C. Knack is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the coauthor of As Long as the River Shall Run: An Ethnohistory of Pyramid Lake Reservation and coeditor of Native Americans and Wage Labor: Ethnohistorical Perspectives. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 471 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803227507
• ISBN-13: 978-0803227507
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Research, January 25, 2012

By 

Connie L. Vonsleichter "C. VonSleichter" (Apple Valley Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boundaries Between: The Southern Paiutes, 1775-1995 (Paperback)

Dr. Knack writes history with such a flair for prose that makes the past come alive. As her former student I can verify that Dr. Knack does not have a "dislike" for Mormons (as a previous reviewer stated). I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good, solid history of the historical relationships between Native Paiutes and the settlers who took over their territory. It really is an emotional story which is clearly brought out by Dr. Knack, and without prejudice - it is what it is - Dr. Knack may not be "politically correct" but she is certainly historically correct.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Romanticized Indian-Villified whiteman, September 13, 2006

By 

K. Smith "Kr Smith" (Tempe, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boundaries Between: The Southern Paiutes, 1775-1995 (Paperback)

It may be a well written and researched ethnohistory of the Paiutes, but i think over all it fails to take either the "bad white man" or the "peaceful loving Indian" seriously, doing a disservice to both. The authors dislike of Mormonism was made clear with every paragraph about them, except in the intro which gave thanks to them for allowing her to use their archives. Nevertheless, Knack addressed an important question regarding the survival of the Paiute culture. I thought her "Boundaries Between" model was brilliant and effective and an important contribution to the scholarship and understanding of American history.