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Reviews
AUTHENTIC INDIANS: EPISODES OF ENCOUNTER FROM THE LATE-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NORTHWEST COAST
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by Paige Raibmon
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| Duke University Press, Durham, N.C., 2005. Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 324 pages. $22.95 paper. |
| Using three stories, Authentic Indians tells the tale of the struggle between assimilationist goals and idealized notions of Indianness. This pendulum of social pressures, which periodically swings between assimilation and tradition, structures the nature of the relationship between members of the dominant culture and Native peoples. First described by Joseph Jorgensen in the 1970s, this mode of analysis is not new; it has been used many times to analyze the social relationships of indigenous peoples. What is new in Raibmon's book, however, is the focus on public displays of Indianness and on the expectations, both Native and non-Native, that emerge and become enculturated through government policy and tourism. As Raibmon points out, Native peoples are not passive bystanders in this relationship. Rather, they are active participants in shaping what the public expects Indians to be. Three episodes of public displays of Indian life are analyzed in the context of the public's interest in the "vanishing race" (p. 123). In her analysis, Raibmon uses a simple structuralist approach of creating sets of binary oppositions that are centered around the primary dichotomy of authentic/inauthentic. Other dyadic relationships, such as white/Indian, civilized/uncivilized, Christian/pagan, and traditional/modern, are woven into the stories. An additional bonus of this book is that it utilizes stories from Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington State, thereby allowing international comparisons of different policy regimes directed towards Native peoples — a tact that so few works have followed. |
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Beginning with the story of the Kwakwaka'wakw and their famous appearance at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair, Raibmon graphically describes the climatic performance of the "cannibal dance," which horrified much of the audience in attendance (p. 15). The KwakwÎkÎ'wakw performance was meant to entertain and educate the American public, but it was also a political statement. Free from the jurisdiction of the Canadian federal agents, the KwakwÎkÎ'wakw displayed songs and dances that had been outlawed in Canada under the 1885 anti-potlatch law. |
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Following that story, the Puget Sound hop pickers of the late 1800s are described in respect to the economic impact they had in western Washington during a time of rapid settler population increase. Aboriginal migrant workers from around Washington state and British Columbia would converge on the hop fields in late summer, and they quickly became a tourist attraction for non-Natives in the area. Posing for photographs, they came to symbolize the romanticized notion of the "vanishing race." As Raibmon points out, "the 'Indian Hop Picker' became a poster child for the industrial development of the region. She attracted the sources of her own disenfranchisement" (p. 134). |
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The final story tells the struggle of several Sitka Tlingit who attempted to enroll their children in public school. It highlights Rudolf Walton, who in many ways was the perfect example of assimilationist goals. Walton was a successful businessman, was a member of the Presbyterian church, lived in a cottage, and wore European style clothing. He also, however, participated in potlatches, fished for salmon, and hunted seals. Those latter activities were sufficient for a court of law to rule that Walton lacked progress in "domestic and social relations" and, therefore, his children were refused admittance to school (p. 195). |
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Authentic Indians joins a number of recent works on Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations identity. It is a book that is both based in academically sound research and is interesting to read. It should appeal not only to historians and other scholars with an interest in the Northwest Coast but also to members of the general public who have an interest in Native American history. |
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| Daniel L. Boxberger
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| Western Washington University |
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