American Indians in a Modern WorldAmerican Indians in a Modern World examines the persistence of American Indian culture in a world of explicit antagonism and rapid modernization. Surveying the many facets of Indian life, from tribal ceremonies to Indian humor and gaming tables, Donald L. Fixico shows how Indian nations have survived threats to their culture and their very existence by relying on a flexible mix of traditional and modern values, enabling them to adapt to a world of airplanes, cities, and the Internet. Fixico looks deeply at Indian culture in its inescapable confrontation with the modern world: the formation of tribal governments in the 1930s, the service of thousands of Indians in World War II, the development of activist movements, the evolution of Indian artistic traditions, and efforts to balance traditional and modern education. American Indians have survived and often thrived in a rapidly changing world, he observes, because of their cultural resilience. |
Contents
Family Womens Roles and Sexuality | 1 |
Economics Rural Urban Taxation Trade and Transportation | 15 |
Language Intellectual Life Oral Tradition and Education | 39 |
Material Life Clothing Food Automobiles and Housing | 57 |
Political Life Professional Organization Citizenship Military Service and Tribal Government | 73 |
Recreational Life Outdoors and Sports | 93 |
Religious Life Deities Creeds Rituals and Morality | 107 |
Art Artifacts Music and Entertainment | 123 |
Nature Environment Home Spaces and Resources | 155 |
Indian Humor Then and Now | 171 |
Bingos Casinos and Indian Gaming | 185 |
Health Medicine and Cures | 201 |
Being Indian in the Twentieth Century | 217 |
Glossary | 229 |
| 233 | |
| 237 | |
Common terms and phrases
Alaska Native allotments American Indians American mainstream Apache Apache Tribe areas Arizona artifacts artists became become began bingo boarding schools California casinos Center Cherokee Cheyenne Christian Church cities Congress passed council Courtesy of Library cultural dances Dawes Act Development diabetes early federal government films Five Civilized Tribes fry bread gambling groups housing Indian Affairs Indian art Indian communities Indian Country Indian families Indian gaming Indian Health Indian humor Indian students Indian tribes Indian women Indians and Alaska jokes Lakota lives Lone Ranger Mexico million Muscogee Creek Museum National Native American Church Native Americans natural Navajo non-Indians Oklahoma percent person Plains Indian played powwow Pueblo relocation Seminole Seminole Tribe Sioux Southwest Statutes at Large stereotypes stories traditional tribal governments tribal members twentieth century U.S. government U.S. Statutes United University urban Indian water rights World War II Yakima