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This volume presents six major issues that have been divisive in and out of the Native American community. Readers will learn about the varied cultural, political, social, and economic dimensions of contemporary Native America and will be prompted to consider the complexity and complications of ethnic and cultural diversity in the United States. Where do you stand on the issue of sports teams named after Native Americans? Are tribal claims on ancestral remains and sacred objects in museums valid? The contemporary issues that Native Americans struggle with are critical concerns for all Americans. This volume presents six major issues that have been divisive in and out of the Native American community. Readers will learn about the varied cultural, political, social, and economic dimensions of contemporary Native America and will be prompted to consider the complexity and complications of ethnic and cultural diversity in the United States. Readers will ponder the very foundations of the United States and the rights of its original inhabitants' descendants. The range of issues encompasses Native Americans throughout the country, from the Mashpee Wampanoags of Massachusetts to Pacific Northwest tribes. This book incorporates views from a wide variety of sources, including newspaper op-eds, Supreme Court rulings, and more. A resource guide complementing each chapter includes an extensive listing of suggested reading plus videos/film, Web sites, and organizations.

This collection of essays brings to college students and the general public a scholarly, yet accessible and provocative text in Native American Studies. The contributors draw upon their expertise in such diverse disciplines as economics, education, film studies, history, linguistics, literature, museum studies, popular culture, and religion. Each essay highlights a particular aspect of Native American experience, from the oppressive indoctrination of boarding schools to the successful strategic planning of Indian casinos to the exciting creativity of Native American literature. In addition, many of the essays introduce the reader to the disciplines through which we can approach this important and fascinating topic, engagingly taking the reader through the process of how historians or economists or literary scholars go about their work.