This innovative cultural history examines wide-ranging issues of religion; politics; and identity through an analysis of the American Indian Ghost Dance movement and its significance for two little-studied tribes: the Shoshones and Bannocks. The Ghost Dance has become a metaphor for the death of American Indian culture; but as Gregory Smoak argues; it was not the desperate fantasy of a dying people but a powerful expression of a racialized “Indianness.†While the Ghost Dance did appeal to supernatural forces to restore power to native peoples; on another level it became a vehicle for the expression of meaningful social identities that crossed ethnic; tribal; and historical boundaries. Looking closely at the Ghost Dances of 1870 and 1890; Smoak constructs a far-reaching; new argument about the formation of ethnic and racial identity among American Indians. He examines the origins of Shoshone and Bannock ethnicity; follows these peoples through a period of declining autonomy vis-a-vis the United States government; and finally puts their experience and the Ghost Dances within the larger context of identity formation and emerging nationalism which marked United States history in the nineteenth century.
#782911 in Books 2005-11-21 2005-11-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .63 x 6.00l; .74 #File Name: 0520246748233 pages
Review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Light vs. heatBy Worddancer ReduxIn my opinion; the blastingly negative review is unfair; and the reviewer has an axe to grind.Kline neither says nor implies that eugenic ideology in the early 20th century was confined to (what this reviewer chooses to characterize) as those who are right wing. Nor does she maintain that female social activists were somehow able to transcend the social and political context that made eugenic 'solutions' (the word choice is intentional) seem attractive. Ignoring the fact that the coloration of Progressivw reform was heavily influenced by women is a serious oversight. Had the reviewer not been so interested in bashing Kline; or vilifying those who do not share his very narrow (and to my mind; rather misogynist) vision of the Good; he might have been able to keep this in mind.Before I posted this; I took the time and trouble to read through other of this reviewer's deliverances. The slant is hard to miss.Kline's book has its faults. It certainly needed editing. It also could have been shorter; and would have been more accessible if it had been; which would have been a Good Thing for a number of reasons. (Hence the dictum: never publish your dissertation unless you have a ruthless editor.)But the very negative review is unfair. The bombast does not hide the bias.18 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating read; not only for academics!By J. LloydThink you have learned all there is to know about the eugenics movement?This book challenges the common wisdom that the eugenics movement fell apart when it was discredited by the horrors of Nazi Germany. Kline uses her meticulous research of original documents to map the path of the insidious belief of white upper-class Americans that the reproductive behavior of women of all classes must be controlled.Don't know anything about eugenics?If you are interested in learning about the roots of current hot topics such as the definition of "family values;" sterilization of prisoners or the mentally ill; welfare programs for poor mothers; and the availability of quality affordable day care; this is the book for you!The author writes in a way that is grounded in real life and understandable to the general reader; without simplifying the complex issues she addresses. Her use of fascinating case studies makes this book extremely readable at the same time that she makes important connections between race; class; sexuality; and reproduction. Everyone should read this book!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Dense; but goodBy Colleen BoyeThis book is a published dissertation; so it's very thick and can be a slog at times. Still; it's an informative; scholarly look at the roots of the eugenics movement that is a real eye-opener to the role eugenics has played in our culture--a more significant and fundamental role than we would like to admit.
