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Indigenist Critical Realism: Human Rights and First Australians’ Wellbeing
by Gracelyn SmallwoodIndigenist Critical Realism: Human Rights and First Australians’ Wellbeing consists of a defence of what is popularly known as the Human Rights Agenda in Indigenous Affairs in Australia. It begins with a consideration of the non-well-being of Indigenous Australians, then unfolding a personal narrative of the author Dr Gracelyn Smallwood's family. This narrative is designed not only to position the author in the book but also in its typicality to represent what has happened to so many Indigenous families in Australia. The book then moves to a critical engagement with dominant intellectual positions such as those advanced by commentators such as Noel Pearson, Peter Sutton, Gary Johns and Keith Windschuttle. The author argues that intellectuals such as these have to a great extent colonised what passes for common sense in mainstream Australia. This common sense straddles the domains of history, health and education and Dr Smallwood has chosen to follow her adversaries into all of these areas. This critique is anchored by a number of key philosophical concepts developed by the Critical Realist philosopher Roy Bhaskar. The book advances and analyses a number of case studies - some well-known, even notorious such as the Hindmarsh Island Affair (South Australia) and the Northern Territory Intervention; others like that of the author's late nephew Lyji Vaggs (Qld) and Aboriginal Elder May Dunne (Qld) much less so. Representing one of the first attempts to engage at a critical and intellectual level in this debate by an Indigenous activist, this book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Critical Realism and colonialism.
Indigenizing Education: Discussions and Case Studies from Australia and Canada
by Alison Sammel Susan Whatman Levon BlueThis book provides invaluable guidance for community, school and university-based educators who are evaluating their educational philosophies and practices to support Indigenizing education. The examples from Australia and Canada shared in this book illustrate how Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators have worked together to Indigenize their educational practices, showcasing community empowerment and reconciliation agendas. It also enables beginning educators to gain a meaningful and critical understanding of what Indigenizing education can mean in their own future practice.
Indigenous African Knowledge Production
by Njoki Nathani-WaneThe Jie people of northern Uganda and the Turkana of northern Kenya have a genesis myth about Nayeche, a Jie woman who followed the footprints of a gray bull across the waterless plateau and who founded a "cradle land" in the plains of Turkana. In Remembering Nayeche and the Gray Bull Engiro, Mustafa Kemal Mirzeler shows how the poetic journey of Nayeche and the gray bull Engiro and their metaphorical return during the Jie harvest rituals gives rise to stories, imagery, and the articulation of ethnic and individual identities.Since the 1990s, Mirzeler has travelled to East Africa to apprentice with storytellers. Remembering Nayeche and the Gray Bull Engiro is both an account of his experience listening to these storytellers and of how oral tradition continues to evolve in the modern world. Mirzeler's work contributes significantly to the anthropology of storytelling, the study of myth and memory, and the use of oral tradition in historical studies.
Indigenous Amazonia, Regional Development and Territorial Dynamics: Contentious Issues (The Latin American Studies Book Series)
by Victor T. King Walter Leal Filho Ismar Borges de LimaThis book brings together a valuable collection of case studies and conceptual approaches that outline the present state of Amazonia in the 21st century. The many problems are described and the benefits, as well as the achievements of regional development are also discussed. The book focuses on three themes for discussion and recommendations: indigenous peoples, their home (the forest), and the way(s) to protect and sustain their natural home (biodiversity conservation). Using these three themes this volume offers a comprehensive critical review of the facts that have been the reality of Amazonia and fills a gap in the literature.The book will appeal to scholars, professors and practitioners. An outstanding group of experienced researchers and individuals with detailed knowledge of the proposed themes have produced chapters on an array of inter-related issues to demonstrate the current situation and future prospects of Amazonia. Issues investigated and debated include: territorial management; indigenous territoriality and land demarcation; ethnodevelopment; indigenous higher education and capacity building; natural resource appropriation; food security and traditional knowledge; megadevelopmental projects; indigenous acculturation; modernization of Amazonia and its regional integration; anthropogenic interventions; protected areas and conservation; political ecology; postcolonial issues, and the sustainability of Amazonia.
Indigenous Australia For Dummies (For Dummies Ser.)
by Larissa BehrendtA comprehensive, relevant, and accessible look at all aspects of Indigenous Australian history and culture What is The Dreaming? How many different Indigenous tribes and languages once existed in Australia? What is the purpose of a corroboree? What effect do the events of the past have on Indigenous peoples today? Indigenous Australia For Dummies, Second Edition answers these questions and countless others about the oldest race on Earth. It explores Indigenous life in Australia before 1770, the impact of white settlement, the ongoing struggle by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to secure their human rights and equal treatment under the law, and much more. Celebrating the contributions of Indigenous people to contemporary Australian culture, the book explores Indigenous art, music, dance, literature, film, sport, and spirituality. It discusses the concept of modern Indigenous identity and examines the ongoing challenges facing Indigenous communities today, from health and housing to employment and education, land rights, and self-determination. Explores significant political moments—such as Paul Keating's Redfern Speech and Kevin Rudd's apology, and more Profiles celebrated people and organisations in a variety of fields, from Cathy Freeman to Albert Namatjira to the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the National Aboriginal Radio Service Challenges common stereotypes about Indigenous people and discusses current debates, such as a land rights and inequalities in health and education Now in its second edition, this book will enlighten readers of all backgrounds about the history, struggles and triumphs of the diverse, proud, and fascinating peoples that make up Australia's Indigenous communities. With a foreword by Stan Grant, Indigenous Australia For Dummies, Second Edition is a must-read account of Australia’s first people.
Indigenous Australia For Kids For Dummies
by Larissa BehrendtA comprehensive, relevant, and accessible look at all aspects of Indigenous Australian history and culture. Indigenous Australia For Kids For Dummies is here to enlighten you about the history, struggles and triumphs of the diverse peoples that make up Australia’s Indigenous communities. Did you know that Australia is home to the world’s oldest culture? Experience 60,000 years of history and culture, plus, get right up-to-the-minute, with amazing facts about Indigenous sports and entertainment figures and info on what matters to Indigenous peoples today. This interactive book has loads of features that will engage and excite readers aged 10-15 years old – and their teachers and parents! Featuring profiles of celebrated Indigenous people like Cathy Freeman and Albert Namatjira, as well as fun research projects and hands-on activities that bring Indigenous Australia to life. Ever wanted to connect with your local Indigenous communities? This book will give you ideas about how you can connect with First Nations peoples and other interactive ways to extend your learning out of the book. Discover the rich culture, long history and special values of the world’s oldest race Learn about Indigenous art, song, dance, literature and contributions to contemporary Australia Impress friends and family with your knowledge of Australian colonisation and Indigenous rights Figure out what’s going on in the lives of Indigenous Australians today – and bust the most common myths This book is perfect for young readers who want to appreciate and understand the diverse, proud, and fascinating peoples that make up Australia's Indigenous communities.
Indigenous Autoethnography: Illuminating Māori Voices
by Kelli Te Maihāroa Adrian WoodhouseThis book opens new pathways for decolonial autoethnography, presented as a series of reflective stories that showcase how Māori have negotiated and navigated their personal and professional identities within contemporary society. Framed within the academic methodology of Indigenous Autoethnography, authors recount their personal and professional experiences to address their encounters with cultural trauma and personal enlightenment. As a culturally responsive methodology, Indigenous Autoethnography embraces reflective practice and critical awakening to validate Indigenous knowledge, ensuring that it remains meaningful and responsive to the needs of Māori. Utilising metaphorical storytelling as a primary means of sensemaking, this work reinforces the importance of Māori and other Indigenous People to seek wisdom from the past to guide them into the future. With Indigenous knowledge historically ignored and misrepresented in higher education, this seminal text provides invaluable guidance for global Indigenous researchers seeking to produce story work that genuinely encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
Indigenous Criminology (New Horizons in Criminology)
by Chris Cunneen Juan TauriIndigenous Criminology is the first book to comprehensively explore Indigenous people’s contact with criminal justice systems in a contemporary and historical context. Drawing on comparative Indigenous material from North America, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, it addresses both the theoretical underpinnings to the development of a specific Indigenous criminology, and canvasses the broader policy and practice implications for criminal justice. Written by leading criminologists specialising in Indigenous justice issues, the book argues for the importance of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies to criminology, and suggests that colonialism needs to be a fundamental concept to criminology in order to understand contemporary problems such as deaths in custody, high imprisonment rates, police brutality and the high levels of violence in some Indigenous communities. Prioritising the voices of Indigenous peoples, the work will make a significant contribution to the development of a decolonising criminology and will be of wide interest.
Indigenous Cultures and Sustainable Development in Latin America
by Timothy MacNeillThis open access book outlines development theory and practice overtime as well as critically interrogates the “cultural turn” in development policy in Latin American indigenous communities, specifically, in Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It becomes apparent that culturally sustainable development is both a new and old idea, which is simultaneously traditional and modern, and that it is a necessary iteration in thinking on development. This new strain of thought could inform not only the work of development practitioners, graduate students, and theorists working in the Global South, but in the Global North as well.
Indigenous Dispossession: Housing and Maya Indebtedness in Mexico
by M. Bianet CastellanosFollowing the recent global housing boom, tract housing development became a billion-dollar industry in Mexico. At the national level, neoliberal housing policy has overtaken debates around land reform. For Indigenous peoples, access to affordable housing remains crucial to alleviating poverty. But as palapas, traditional thatch and wood houses, are replaced by tract houses in the Yucatán Peninsula, Indigenous peoples' relationship to land, urbanism, and finance is similarly transformed, revealing a legacy of debt and dispossession. Indigenous Dispossession examines how Maya families grapple with the ramifications of neoliberal housing policies. M. Bianet Castellanos relates Maya migrants' experiences with housing and mortgage finance in Cancún, one of Mexico's fastest-growing cities. Their struggle to own homes reveals colonial and settler colonial structures that underpin the city's economy, built environment, and racial order. But even as Maya people contend with predatory lending practices and foreclosure, they cultivate strategies of resistance—from "waiting out" the state, to demanding Indigenous rights in urban centers. As Castellanos argues, it is through these maneuvers that Maya migrants forge a new vision of Indigenous urbanism.
Indigenous Economics: Sustaining Peoples and Their Lands
by Ronald L. TrosperWhat does "development" mean for Indigenous peoples? Indigenous Economics lays out an alternative path showing that conscious attention to relationships among humans and the natural world creates flourishing social-ecological economies. Economist Ronald L. Trosper draws on examples from North and South America, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Australia to argue that Indigenous worldviews centering care and good relationships provide critical and sustainable economic models under increasing pressure from biodiversity loss and climate change. He explains the structure of relational Indigenous economic theory, providing principles based on his own and others' work with tribal nations and Indigenous communities. <p><p>Trosper explains how sustainability is created at every level when relational Indigenous economic theory is applied--micro, meso, and macro. Good relationships support personal and community autonomy, replacing the individualism/collectivism dichotomy with relational leadership and entrepreneurship. Basing economies on relationships requires changing governance from the top-down approaches of nation-states and international corporations; instead, each community creates its own territorial relationships, creating plurinational relational states. <p><p>This book offers an important alternative to classic economic theory. In Indigenous Economics, support for Indigenous communities' development and Indigenous peoples' well-being go hand-in-hand. Publication of this book is made possible in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science.
Indigenous Education and the Metaphysics of Presence: A Worlded Philosophy (New Directions in the Philosophy of Education)
by Carl MikaIndigenous Education and the Metaphysics of Presence: A worlded philosophy explores a notion of education called ‘worldedness’ that sits at the core of indigenous philosophy. This is the idea that any one thing is constituted by all others and is, therefore, educational to the extent that it is formational. A suggested opposite of this indigenous philosophy is the metaphysics of presence, which describes the tendency in dominant Western philosophy to privilege presence over absence. This book compares these competing philosophies and argues that, even though the metaphysics of presence and the formational notion of education are at odds with each other, they also constitute each other from an indigenous worlded philosophical viewpoint. Drawing on both Maori and Western philosophies, this book demonstrates how the metaphysics of presence is both related and opposed to the indigenous notion of worldedness. Mika explains that presence seeks to fragment things in the world, underpins how indigenous peoples can represent things, and prevents indigenous students, critics, and scholars from reflecting on philosophical colonisation. However, the metaphysics of presence, from an indigenous perspective, is constituted by all other things in the world, and Mika argues that the indigenous student and critic can re-emphasise worldedness and destabilise presence through creative responses, humour, and speculative thinking. This book concludes by positioning well-being within education, because education comprises acts of worldedness and presence. This book will be of key interest to indigenous as well as non-indigenous academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, indigenous and Western philosophy, political strategy and post-colonial studies. It will also be relevant for those who are interested in philosophies of language, ontology, metaphysics and knowledge.
Indigenous Feminist Gikendaasowin: Decolonization through Physical Activity (New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures)
by Tricia McGuire-AdamsThis book presents knowledge from Indigenous women who enact decolonization and wellbeing through physical activity. In sport, physical activity, and health disciplines, there is a significant need for Indigenous women’s theoretical and methodological perspectives. While much research is published from a Western perspective on Indigenous peoples’ health, sport, and physical activity, less is known from Indigenous feminist and community perspectives. The chapters therefore inform the broader sociology of sport and Indigenous feminist fields on Indigenous cultural perspectives of physical activity.
Indigenous Invisibility in the City: Successful Resurgence and Community Development Hidden in Plain Sight (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Deirdre Howard-WagnerIndigenous Invisibility in the City contextualises the significant social change in Indigenous life circumstances and resurgence that came out of social movements in cities. It is about Indigenous resurgence and community development by First Nations people for First Nations people in cities. Seventy-five years ago, First Nations peoples began a significant post-war period of relocation to cities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. First Nations peoples engaged in projects of resurgence and community development in the cities of the four settler states. First Nations peoples, who were motivated by aspirations for autonomy and empowerment, went on to create the foundations of Indigenous social infrastructure. This book explains the ways First Nations people in cities created and took control of their own futures. A fact largely wilfully ignored in policy contexts. Today, differences exist over the way governments and First Nations peoples see the role and responsibilities of Indigenous institutions in cities. What remains hidden in plain sight is their societal function as a social and political apparatus through which much of the social processes of Indigenous resurgence and community development in cities occurred. The struggle for self-determination in settler cities plays out through First Nations people’s efforts to sustain their own institutions and resurgence, but also rights and recognition in cities. This book will be of interest to Indigenous studies scholars, urban sociologists, urban political scientists, urban studies scholars, and development studies scholars interested in urban issues and community building and development.
Indigenous Invisibility in the City: Successful Resurgence and Community Development Hidden in Plain Sight (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Deirdre Howard-WagnerIndigenous Invisibility in the City contextualises the significant social change in Indigenous life circumstances and resurgence that came out of social movements in cities. It is about Indigenous resurgence and community development by First Nations people for First Nations people in cities.Seventy-five years ago, First Nations peoples began a significant post-war period of relocation to cities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. First Nations peoples engaged in projects of resurgence and community development in the cities of the four settler states. First Nations peoples, who were motivated by aspirations for autonomy and empowerment, went on to create the foundations of Indigenous social infrastructure. This book explains the ways First Nations people in cities created and took control of their own futures. A fact largely wilfully ignored in policy contexts. Today, differences exist over the way governments and First Nations peoples see the role and responsibilities of Indigenous institutions in cities. What remains hidden in plain sight is their societal function as a social and political apparatus through which much of the social processes of Indigenous resurgence and community development in cities occurred. The struggle for self-determination in settler cities plays out through First Nations people’s efforts to sustain their own institutions and resurgence, but also rights and recognition in cities. This book will be of interest to Indigenous studies scholars, urban sociologists, urban political scientists, urban studies scholars, and development studies scholars interested in urban issues and community building and development.This book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Indigenous Knowledge Production: Navigating Humanity within a Western World (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Marcus Woolombi WatersDespite many scholars noting the interdisciplinary approach of Aboriginal knowledge production as a methodology within a broad range of subjects – including quantum mathematics, biodiversity, sociology and the humanities - the academic study of Indigenous knowledge and people is struggling to become interdisciplinary in its approach and move beyond its current label of ‘Indigenous Studies’. Indigenous Knowledge Production specifically demonstrates the use of autobiographical ethnicity as a methodological approach, where the writer draws on lived experience and ethnic background towards creative and academic writing. Indeed, in this insightful volume, Marcus Woolombi Waters investigates the historical connection and continuity that have led to the present state of hostility witnessed in race relations around the world; seeking to further one’s understanding of the motives and methods that have led to a rise in white supremacy associated with ultra-conservatism. Above all, Indigenous Knowledge Production aims to deconstruct the cultural lens applied within the West which denies the true reflection of Aboriginal and Black consciousness, and leads to the open hostility witnessed across the world. This monograph will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as Sociology of Knowledge, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Ethnography and Methodology.
Indigenous Knowledge and Education in Africa (Frontiers in African Business Research)
by Chika Ezeanya-EsiobuThis open access book presents a strong philosophical, theoretical and practical argument for the mainstreaming of indigenous knowledge in curricula development, and in teaching and learning across the African continent. Since the dawn of political independence in Africa, there has been an ongoing search for the kind of education that will create a class of principled and innovative citizens who are sensitive to and committed to the needs of the continent. When indigenous or environment-generated knowledge forms the basis of learning in classrooms, learners are able to immediately connect their education with their lived reality. The result is much introspection, creativity and innovation across fields, sectors and disciplines, leading to societal transformation. Drawing on several theoretical assertions, examples from a wide range of disciplines, and experiences gathered from different continents at different points in history, the book establishes that for education to trigger the necessary transformation in Africa, it should be constructed on a strong foundation of learners’ indigenous knowledge.The book presents a distinct and uncharted pathway for Africa to advance sustainably through home-grown and grassroots based ideas, leading to advances in science and technology, growth of indigenous African business and the transformation of Africans into conscious and active participants in the continent’s progress. Indigenous Knowledge and Education in Africa is of interest to educators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers and individuals engaged in finding sustainable and strategic solutions to regional and global advancement.
Indigenous Knowledge and Ethnomathematics
by Rik Pinxten Eric VandendriesscheThe book presents a series of ethnographic studies, which illustrate issues of wider importance, such as the role of cultural traditions, concepts and learning procedures in the development of formal (or mathematical) thinking outside of the western tradition. It focuses on research at the crossroads of anthropology and ethnomathematics to document indigenous mathematical knowledge and its inclusion in specific cultural patterns. More generally, the book demonstrates the heuristic value of crossing ethnographical, anthropological and ethnomathematical approaches to highlight and analyze—or "formalize" with a pedagogical outlook—indigenous mathematical knowledge.The book is divided into three parts. The first part extensively analyzes theoretical claims using particular ethnographic data, while revealing the structural mathematical features of different ludic, graphic, or technical/procedural practices in their links to other cultural phenomena. In the second part, new empirical studies that add data and perspectives from the body of studies on indigenous knowledge systems to the ongoing discussions in mathematics education in and for diverse cultural traditions are presented. This part considers, on the one hand, the Brazilian work in this field; on the other hand, it brings ethnographic innovation from other parts of the world. The third part comprises a broad philosophical discussion of the impact of intuitive or "ontological" premises on mathematical thinking and education in the light of recent developments within so-called indigenously inspired thinking. Finally, the editors’ conclusions aim to invite the broad and diversified field of scholars in this domain of research to seek alternative approaches for understanding mathematical reasoning and the adjacent adequate educational goals and means.This book is of interest to scholars and students in anthropology, ethnomathematics, history and philosophy of science, mathematics, and mathematics education, as well as other individuals interested in these topics.
Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health: A Global Perspective
by Masood Zangeneh David DantoThis book brings together Indigenous and allied experts addressing mental health among Indigenous peoples across the traditional territories commonly known as the Americas (e.g. Canada, US, Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil), Asia (e.g. China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia), Africa (e.g. South Africa, Central and West Africa) and Oceania (New Guinea and Australia) to exchange knowledge, perspectives and methods for mental health research and service delivery. Around the world, Indigenous peoples have experienced marginalization, rapid culture change and absorption into a global economy with little regard for their needs or autonomy. This cultural discontinuity has been linked to high rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide, and violence in many communities, with the most dramatic impact on youth. Nevertheless, Indigenous knowledge, tradition and practice have remained central to wellbeing, resilience and mental health in these populations. Such is the focus of this book.
Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology: Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology, And Evolutionary Biology (Indigenous Peoples and Politics)
by Raymond PierottiIndigenous ways of understanding and interacting with the natural world are characterized as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which derives from emphasizing relationships and connections among species. This book examines TEK and its strengths in relation to Western ecological knowledge and evolutionary philosophy. Pierotti takes a look at the scientific basis of this approach, focusing on different concepts of communities and connections among living entities, the importance of understanding the meaning of relatedness in both spiritual and biological creation, and a careful comparison with evolutionary ecology. The text examines the themes and principles informing this knowledge, and offers a look at the complexities of conducting research from an indigenous perspective.
Indigenous Language Media, Language Politics and Democracy in Africa
by Abiodun Salawu Monica Chibita SarantakosThis book deals with the often-neglected link between indigenous languages, media and democracy in Africa. It recognizes that the media plays an amplifying role that is vital to modern-day expression, public participation and democracy but that without the agency to harness media potential, many Africans will be excluded from public discourse.
Indigenous Life Projects and Extractivism: Ethnographies from South America (Approaches to Social Inequality and Difference)
by Cecilie Vindal Ødegaard Juan Javier Rivera AndíaExploring indigenous life projects in encounters with extractivism, the present open access volume discusses how current turbulences actualise questions of indigeneity, difference and ontological dynamics in the Andes and Amazonia. While studies of extractivism in South America often focus on wider national and international politics, this contribution instead provides ethnographic explorations of indigenous politics, perspectives and worlds, revealing loss and suffering as well as creative strategies to mediate the extralocal. Seeking to avoid conceptual imperialism or the imposition of exogenous categories, the chapters are grounded in the respective authors’ long-standing field research. The authors examine the reactions (from resistance to accommodation), consequences (from anticipation to rubble) and materials (from fossil fuel to water) diversely related to extractivism in rural and urban settings. How can Amerindian strategies to preserve localised communities in extractivist contexts contribute to ways of thinking otherwise?
Indigenous Management of Wetlands: Experiences in Ethiopia (Routledge Revivals)
by Alan DixonThis title was first published in 2003. There has been increasing recognition around the world that wetlands are fragile ecosystems which require sensitive and sustainable management if they are to continue to provide their range of functions and benefits. These functions and benefits, which include contributions to food security and environmental regulation, play a critical role in sustaining rural livelihoods in many developing countries. Drawing upon research carried out in the area, this book identifies and discusses the importance of wetlands to local communities in south-west Ethiopia, and in particular, how indigenous wetland management practices contribute to sustainable wetland use. As the basis of wetland management, particular attention is paid to the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and how knowledge of wetland functioning is acquired, disseminated, developed and applied by local communities in their wetland management strategies. Critically, this community knowledge is examined in the context of scientific data, specifically that obtained from a wetland hydrology monitoring programme, thereby drawing attention to the strengths and weaknesses of both systems. This has major implications not only for the ways in which wetlands and other natural resources are managed at the local level, but also for the wider rural development strategies of governments and non-governmental organizations.
Indigenous Medicine among the Bedouin in the Middle East
by Aref Abu-RabiaModern medicine has penetrated Bedouin tribes in the course of rapid urbanization and education, but when serious illnesses strike, particularly in the case of incurable diseases, even educated people turn to traditional medicine for a remedy. Over the course of 30 years, the author gathered data on traditional Bedouin medicine among pastoral-nomadic, semi-nomadic, and settled tribes. Based on interviews with healers, clients, and other active participants in treatments, this book will contribute to renewed thinking about a synthesis between traditional and modern medicine - to their reciprocal enrichment.
Indigenous Memory, Urban Reality: Stories of American Indian Relocation and Reclamation
by Michelle R. JacobsContemporary accounts of urban Native identity in two pan-Indian communitiesIn the last half century, changing racial and cultural dynamics in the United States have caused an explosion in the number of people claiming to be American Indian, from just over half a million in 1960 to over three million in 2013. Additionally, seven out of ten American Indians live in or near cities, rather than in tribal communities, and that number is growing.In Indigenous Memory, Urban Reality, Michelle Jacobs examines the new reality of the American Indian urban experience. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted over two and a half years, Jacobs focuses on how some individuals are invested in reclaiming Indigenous identities whereas others are more invested in relocating their sense of self to the urban environment. These groups not only apply different meanings to indigeneity, but they also develop different strategies for asserting and maintaining Native identities in an urban space inundated with false memories and fake icons of “Indian-ness.” Jacobs shows that “Indianness” is a highly contested phenomenon among these two groups: some are accused of being "wannabes" who merely "play Indian," while others are accused of being exclusionary and "policing the boundaries of Indianness." Taken together, the interconnected stories of relocators and reclaimers expose the struggles of Indigenous and Indigenous-identified participants in urban pan-Indian communities. Indigenous Memory, Urban Reality offers a complicated portrait of who can rightfully claim and enact American Indian identities and what that tells us about how race is “made” today.