"All the real Indians died off" And 20 other myths about Native Americans

A persistent activity of American Indian studies scholars is the need to fight unfounded assumptions, stereotypes, and prejudice resulting from American, Canadian, and European cultural blindness. These ubiquitous stereotypes can be seen in films, TV, fashion catalogues, and advertisements, or heard in words uttered in schools, courts of law, fights against pipeline demonstrators, and political rhetoric. They simply do not go away and affect Native American individuals, communities, cultures, and nations. As a result, every few years a dedicated scholar writes a new book designed to educate the public and dispel stereotypes' foundational misinformation. The most recent is this pithy and engaging book, which tackles 20 persistent and all-too-familiar myths that have skewed Euroamerican conceptions (casinos have made all Indians rich; government policies were designed to help Native peoples; the Thanksgiving holiday in the US is evidence that Indians welcomed the British). The authors demonstrate that such myths are based in settlers' societal needs to justify the past and present treatment of Native peoples, including the taking of their lands. Everyone can learn from this excellent, accessible text. Summing Up: Essential. All public and academic levels/libraries. --Nancy J. Parezo, University of Arizona

Dunbar-Ortiz and Gilio-Whitaker admirably aim to explode popular, damaging, and inherently limiting myths about Native Americans, continuing the work begun in Dunbar-Ortiz's well-received An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Refutations of 21 common assumptions are bolstered by views from academic experts and members of Native American nations, and the book's overarching theme encourages modern readers to abandon the monolithic portrayals so common in popular culture. This earnest work would itself benefit from clearer delineations among the multitude of nations and widely varying traditions. In its most successful chapter, the prevalent myth of Native Americans as victims shatters as well-chosen examples show how members of modern nations actively work on behalf of environmental causes and on improving federal Native American policy. Several surprising statements could use additional historical or background context, particularly the claim for King Philip's War as the "most violent conflict ever fought on American soil." This book contains factual information that will benefit students and can spur productive dialogue, but those facts would be better served with companion portrayals of the horrific devastation that colonizers wrought upon Native Americans and continuing public and institutional efforts to properly respect and fairly treat the nations' members today. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.