Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination
Huhndorf (English and ethnic studies, Univ. of Oregon) here provides a scholarly yet accessible examination of pervasive European American attempts to project their cultural imagination onto their perceptions of Native American identity and to develop both personal and collective identification with these fantasies. Each chapter focuses on a particular historical time period, moving forward from the post-Civil War years to the present. The author draws many examples from literature and film (from Nanook of the North to Dances with Wolves) to explore European American expressions of "nativeness." She skillfully addresses issues of race and ethnicity and analyzes the European American romanticization and distortion of Native American culture and customs. This provocative study is recommended for anthropology and ethnic studies collections in academic libraries. Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, OHCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.