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Native Americans and the Environment: Perspectives on the Ecological Indian
 
 
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Native Americans and the Environment: Perspectives on the Ecological Indian [Paperback]

Michael E. Harkin (Editor, Introduction), David Rich Lewis (Editor, Introduction), Brian Hosmer (Preface), Shepard Krech III (Afterword), Judith Antell (Foreword)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 1, 2007
Native Americans and the Environment brings together an interdisciplinary group of prominent scholars whose works continue and complicate the conversations that Shepard Krech started in The Ecological Indian. Hailed as a masterful synthesis and yet assailed as a problematic political tract, Shepard Krech’s work prompted significant discussions in scholarly communities and among Native Americans.
 
Rather than provide an explicit assessment of Krech’s thesis, the contributors to this volume explore related historical and contemporary themes and subjects involving Native Americans and the environment, reflecting their own research and experience. At the same time, they also assess the larger issue of representation. The essays examine topics as divergent as Pleistocene extinctions and the problem of storing nuclear waste on modern reservations. They also address the image of the “ecological Indian” and its use in natural history displays alongside a consideration of the utility and consequences of employing such a powerful stereotype for political purposes. The nature and evolution of traditional ecological knowledge is examined, as is the divergence between belief and practice in Native resource management. Geographically, the focus extends from the eastern Subarctic to the Northwest Coast, from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains to the Great Basin.
(20080513)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Harkin and Lewis''s book is a thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of these issues which will be profitably read by anyone interested in environmental anthropology, Native North America, Indian-European relations, and cultural identity."—Robert Jarvenpa, Anthropos
(Robert Jarvenpa Anthropos 20080609)

“This book provides a balanced perspective on the history of resource use and the social and political pressures that affected resource use in the past and continue to affect use in the present.”—Susan C. Ryan, Journal of American Ethnic History
(Susan C. Ryan Jrnl of American Ethnic History 20080526)

“This excellent anthology features 12 articles originally presented at the 2002 conference ‘Re-figuring the Ecological Indian.’ Of uniformly high quality, the essays respond to Shepard Krech’s The Ecological Indian . . . while furthering discussion of historical and contemporary ideas about Native people as ecologists and conservationists. . . . Harkin and Lewis provide an erudite introduction elucidating the complex issues involved in the discussion. . . . This volume provides an important contribution to a critical, ongoing debate.”—CHOICE
(R.A. Bucko CHOICE )

“This is a valuable collection with many carefully documented analyses that speak to the complex and often ambiguous details of Native American environmental relationships, past and present.”—Eugene S. Hunn, Western Historical Quarterly
 
(Eugene S. Hunn Western Historical Quarterly )

"Because of its deliberate interdisciplinary approach, Native Americans and the Environment with appeal to a wide variety of academics and those who appreciate bona fide intellectual exchange. Yet this book also contributes important commentary on contemporary environmental and resource management debates. Its timeliness adds to its appeal."—Elizabeth James, Alaska History
(Elizabeth James Alaska History )

“This book will be valuable for anthropologists, historians, educators, resource managers, and the general public interested in learning about Native Americans have been, and are still, front and center in using and managing their environments. . . . Each stand-alone essay is a fascinating look at the state of the debate on Native Americans and their environments.”—Great Plains Research
 
(Great Plains Research )

About the Author

Michael E. Harkin is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming and the editor of Reassessing Revitalization Movements: Perspectives from North America and the Pacific Islands (Nebraska 2004) and the journal Ethnohistory. David Rich Lewis is a professor of history at Utah State University, the editor of Western Historical Quarterly, and the author of Neither Wolf nor Dog: American Indians, Environment and Agrarian Change.--Judith Antell is the director of the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Wyoming. Brian Hosmer is the director of the Newberry Library D’Arcy McNickel Center for American Indian History. Shepard Krech III is a professor of anthropology and environmental studies and the director of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University.
 
Contributors: Judith Antell, Sebastian F. Braun, Ernest S. Burch Jr., John Dorst, Harvey A. Feit, Dan Flores, Michael E. Harkin, Brian Hosmer, Robert L. Kelly, Shepard Krech III, Stephen J. Langdon, David Rich Lewis, Larry Nesper, Mary M. Prasciunas, Darren J. Ranco, and James H. Schlender.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 370 pages
  • Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0803273614
  • ISBN-13: 978-0803273610
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Whitemen's Fantasies, October 12, 2009
This review is from: Native Americans and the Environment: Perspectives on the Ecological Indian (Paperback)
I was an invited participant in the Conference in which these articles were presented. There were 14 Native American presenters at this conference, most of whom were critical of Krech and his misrepresentation of Indigenous knowledge and perceptions in the Ecological Indian. I find it very interesting that only one of these people (Darren Ranco) is represented in this book. What the book ends up being is the perceptions of a few of the non-Native people who presented at this conference, plus several other non-Native scholars who were not in attendance. Harkin and Lewis, the editors, were at the conference, and both have chapters that strongly support Krech in this book. Given the apparent bias of the two editors their choices of who got to participate in this volume further reflects their personal thinking.

Harkin's paper in particular is quite confusing. The basis of Harkin's argument is that Indigenous relations with the natural world involve two components: reciprocity and predation, and that interactions between Indigenous people and nonhumans invariable involve predation but do not have a reciprocal component. It is interesting that the paper following Harkin's in this volume shows that activities of Indigenous salmon fishermen enhanced stream conditions and salmon numbers in the period prior to European invasion of the Pacific Northwest. Harkin also ignores all of the work on Indigenous burning which shows that this practice enhanced habitats for wildlife and many plants and prevented buildup of heavy brush which can lead to catastrophic fires of the sort that regularly plague Southern California and Southeast Australia today.

The editorial review (also by a non-Native scholar) that Amazon presents is very misleading. It describes all 12 papers as being from the conference, when only three papers: by Braun, Lewis, and Ranco are actually from the conference. The reviewer apparently is unfamiliar with the conference and the number of Indigenous authors excluded.

What you have in this book is a text that provides primarily (11 of 12) non-Native perspectives on Native people's interactions with and knowledge of the natural world. Despite the editor's exclusionary tactics,some of these papers are quite good. I recommend the chapters by Feit, Langdon, and Kelly and Prasciunas in particular. As an example, Feit does a masterful job of deconstructing Krech's misuse of historical and anthropological data concerning beaver trapping in Canada. Make your own assumptions, but it is not surprising that this book largely ends up presenting material that was supportive of Krech and his point of view. It is difficult to imagine a greater effort at post-colonial colonization than Harkin's decision to not include most of the Indigenous participants at his conference while inviting other non-Natives who did not even participate.
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6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book even to those who have not read "The Ecological Indian", September 10, 2008
By 
Francis Tapon (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Native Americans and the Environment: Perspectives on the Ecological Indian (Paperback)
Unlike most people who read this book, I did not read "The Ecological Indian" (TEI) before reading this book. At first glance, I thought this book would bash the TEI.

PROS: The book presents varied perspectives on TEI. The analysis is dispassionate and academic. The arguments are reasoned and calm, which is refreshing since many people who disagree with TEI are extremely emotional about the subject. I loved that they gave the author of TEI a part of the book to address the objections; that's quite fair and helps the discussion.

CONS: A bit too academic at times.

CONCLUSION: I found the arguments against the TEI not incredibly convincing. I thought I would come away with a bunch of strong counter-arguments against TEI and instead found myself agreeing with the general thesis of TEI (even if there are some small holes in it that this book addresses).

And I have still not read TEI.
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