Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities (Contemporary Indigenous Issues) [Hardcover]

Devon Abbott Mihesuah (Editor), Angela Cavender Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary Indigenous Issues | Publication Date: May 1, 2004

Continuing the thought-provoking dialogue launched in the acclaimed anthology Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians, leading Native scholars from diverse disciplines and communities offer uncompromising assessments of current scholarship on and by Indigenous peoples and the opportunities awaiting them in the Ivory Tower.

The issues covered are vital and extensive, including how activism shapes the careers of Native academics; the response of academe and Native scholars to current issues and needs in Indian Country; and the problems of racism, territoriality, and ethnic fraud in academic hiring. The contributors offer innovative approaches to incorporating Indigenous values and perspectives into the research methodologies and interpretive theories of scholarly disciplines such as psychology, political science, archaeology, and history and suggest ways to educate and train Indigenous students. They provide examples of misunderstanding and sometimes hostility from both non-Natives and Natives that threaten or circumscribe the careers of Native scholars in higher education. They also propose ways to effect meaningful change through building networks of support inside and outside the Native academic community. Designed for classroom use, Indigenizing the Academy features a series of probing questions designed to spark student discussion and essay-writing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The anthology demonstrates that courage is a good thing, calling the academy on its overexposure to Western rubrics and pointing out trails to a new, more Native, set of methods and theories."—Choice

(Choice )

“A thought-provoking collection of articles by Native American scholars regarding the intellectual and psychological environments they encounter as students, university faculty, researchers, and authors.”—William G. Demmert Jr., Great Plains Quarterly

(William G. Demmert Jr. Great Plains Quarterly )

“The volume is certainly addressed to readers in the university community, but the authors refrain from academic jargon, making the book accessible to nonacademic audiences who might learn a great deal about contemporary Native American perspectives and issues.”—Ron Briley, Chronicles of Oklahoma

(Ron Briley Chronicles of Oklahoma )

From the Inside Flap

Continuing the thought-provoking dialogue launched in the acclaimed anthology Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians, leading Native scholars from diverse disciplines and communities offer uncompromising assessments of current scholarship on and by Indigenous peoples and the opportunities awaiting them in the Ivory Tower.

The issues covered are vital and extensive, including how activism shapes the careers of Native academics; the response of academe and Native scholars to current issues and needs in Indian Country; and the problems of racism, territoriality, and ethnic fraud in academic hiring. The contributors offer innovative approaches to incorporating Indigenous values and perspectives into the research methodologies and interpretive theories of scholarly disciplines such as psychology, political science, archaeology, and history and suggest ways to educate and train Indigenous students. They provide examples of misunderstanding and sometimes hostility from both non-Natives and Natives that threaten or circumscribe the careers of Native scholars in higher education. They also propose ways to effect meaningful change through building networks of support inside and outside the Native academic community. Designed for classroom use, Indigenizing the Academy features a series of probing questions designed to spark student discussion and essay-writing. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803232292
• ISBN-13: 978-0803232297
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,141,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Natives in Academia, June 23, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities (Contemporary Indigenous Issues) (Paperback)

In recent decades, American historians have significantly re-evaluated the role of Native Americans in the continent's history. Largely, of course, this was done by academics who were not themselves of that ethnicity. A roundabout way of saying that most were white, and male, for that matter.

But there has also been an increasing number of Natives ascending the academic ladder. First as students, and then as faculty. A decades-long process. It has produced enough people, thus far, to enable the editors to put together this book. Here, the emphasis is not so much on changing a typical view of Natives in history, but instead on the academic environment itself, and how it impacts Natives trying to fit in. Which can be very difficult, as some articles in the book attest. A typical Native student might not have a family tradition of reaching college as a student, let alone as an academic.

The editors have amassed very articulate concerns. Quite readable.

10 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars really poorly written...full of judgements, insults, hate, January 5, 2005

By 

Work for Peace "Sam" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities (Contemporary Indigenous Issues) (Paperback)

The book is a compilation of poorly-researched essays, really poorly done, each belaboring bellyache ideas that we all, quite frankly, grew tired of back in high school. Example...the ridiculous diatribe into 'who is and who is not a native'. Haven't we all grown sick of that racist measuring stick yet?

Unfortunately, each essay follows the same tired format. All are made up of stereotypes, promoting such yowlers as 'all Whites think this way, vs. all indigenous people think that way...'; drawn-out complaints without substantiation, such as 'all non-native professors use gatekeeping to keep out indigenous scholars', and the like.

The book is for truly hateful, bigoted people who wish to foster an environment of fear in the academy and for those interested in engaging in senseless, time-wasting, essentialist arguments.

Save your money and time and work for justice.