Modern American Indian life is urban, rural, and everything in-between. Lobo and Peters have compiled an unprecedented collection of innovative scholarship, stunning art, poetry, and prose that documents American Indian experiences of urban life. A pervasive rural/urban dichotomy still shapes the popular and scholarly perceptions of Native Americans, but this is a false expression of a complex and constantly changing reality. When viewed from the Native perspectives, our concepts of urbanity and approaches to American Indian studies are necessarily transformed. Courses in Native American studies, ethnic studies, anthropology, and urban studies must be in step with contemporary Indian realities, and American Indians and the Urban Experience will be an absolutely essential text for instructors. This powerful combination of path-breaking scholarship and visual and literary arts—from poetry and photography to rap and graffiti—will be enjoyed by students, scholars, and a general audience. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book.
Susan Lobo is a cultural anthropologist and consultant working primarily for American Indian tribes and community organizations in the U.S. and Central and South America. Kurt M. Peters is associate professor of Native American and comparative ethnic studies at Oregon State University.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 The Path to the Milky Way Leads to Los Angeles Part 4 Part I: Overview of Urbanism Chapter 5 Part I: Introduction Chapter 6 Chapter 1: The Urban Tradition Among Native Americans Chapter 7 Two Worlds Chapter 8 Chapter 2: Telling the Indian Urban: Representations in American Indian Fiction Chapter 9 Coyote as a Simple Man Chapter 10 Chapter 3: Yaqui Culture and Linguistic Evolution through a History of Urbanization Part 11 Part II: Structuring and Dynamics of Urban Communities Chapter 12 Part II: Introduction Chapter 13 Chapter 4: Is Urban a Person or a Place?: Characteristics of Urban Indian Country Chapter 14 Chapter 5: Retribalization in Urban Indian Communities Chapter 15 Chapter 6: And the Drumbeat Still Goes On...Urban Indian Institutional Survival into the New Millenium Chapter 16 Cities Chapter 17 Chapter 7: Continuing Identity: Laguna Pueblo Railroaders in Richmond, California Chapter 18 Chapter 8: Feminists or Reformers? American Indian Women and Community in Phoenix, 1965-1980 Chapter 19 Metropolitan Indian Series #1 Chapter 20 Chapter 9: The Cid Chapter 21 Derek and Peter Discuss the Pros and Cons of City Life Chapter 22 Chapter 10: An Urban Platform for Advocating Justice: Protecting the Menominee Forest Part 23 Part III: Individuals and Families in Urban Contexts Chapter 24 Part III: Introduction Chapter 25 Ruby Roast Chapter 26 Chapter 11: Urban (Trans)Formations: Changes in the Meaning and Use of American Indian Identiy Chapter 27 Ironworker I and Ironworker II Chapter 28 Chapter 12: "This Hole in Our Heart": The Urban-Raised Generation and the Legacy of Silence Chapter 29 Living Room of an Indian Family in the San Francisco Bay Area: Mantelpiece and Girl Watching T.V. Chapter 30 Quiet Desperation Chapter 31 Chapter 13: Weaving Andean Networks in Unstable Labor Markets Chapter 32 A Poem Maybe for Tina Deschenie Chapter 33 Kokopeli Gigging in the City Chapter 34 Chapter 14: Red Wit in the City: Urban Indian Comedy Chapter 35 Indian Pride Chapter 36 Chapter 15: Healing through Grief: Urban Indians Reimagining Culture and Community Chapter 37 Red White & Blue Chapter 38 Youngest Trapper on 7th Street Chapter 39 My Uncle Chapter 40 Chapter 16: Downtown Oklahoma City-1952 Chapter 41 Letter Home Chapter 42 Chapter 17: Rejection and Belonging in Addiction and Recovery: Four Urban Indian Men in Milwaukee Chapter 43 Excerpt from a Work in Progress Chapter 44 Mattie Goes Traveling Chapter 45 Index
