American Indians Today: Issues and Conflicts

School Library Journal

Gr 9-12 A good introduction to issues facing American Indian people, and one of the few books for teenagers that tries to illustrate the differences between Indian and non-Indian belief systems. Allusions are made to a few of the cultural differences, although Harlan states that Indians originally migrated to North America over the Bering Strait, without qualifying that statement as a non-Indian interpretation which conflicts with Indian traditional belief. Land claims, economics, health, and education are the main topics covered, with only a brief mention of religious belief. A paragraph mentions the Hopi attempt to have their sacred Kachina masks removed from museums and returned to their tribe. This is merely the tip of the iceberg in a hotly contested issue of repatriation of sacred materials being faced by museum curators and physical anthropologists all over the country. Although it is impossible to include every land claim conflict, it is surprising that the conflict in South Dakota's Black Hills is not mentioned, given the national attention that issue received. In spite of a few limitations, this is one of the few books that really tries to present the Indian viewpoint. Harlan makes it clear that there are cultural differences at the core of most issues, and that many of the problems have resulted from non-Indian intervention. A good companion to Hirschfelder's Happily May I Walk (Scribners, 1986). Karen P. Zimmerman, I. D. Weeks Library, University of South Dakota, Vermillion