Both a tribute to the unique experiences of individual Native Americans and a celebration of the values that draw American Indians together, this book explores contemporary Native life. Based on personal experience and grounded in journalism, this story begins with the repatriation of ancestral remains, excavated during an archaeological expedition nearly a century earlier, to the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico. This event, along with subsequent repatriations, has accelerated similar momentum across much of Native America. Author Catherine C. Robbins traces this restorative effect in areas such as economic development, urbanization, the arts, science, and health care. Through dozens of interviews, Robbins draws out the voices of Indian people, some well-known and many at the grassroots level, to speak against the background of the narrative's historical context. The result is a rich account of Native American life in contemporary America, revealing not a monolithic "Indian" experience, but rather a mosaic of diverse peoples existing on a continuum that marks both their distinctions and their shared realities.--From publisher description.

Raw account of modern day Oglala Sioux who now live on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.

In Native Americans and the Christian Right, Andrea Smith advances social movement theory beyond simplistic understandings of social-justice activism as either right-wing or left-wing and urges a more open-minded approach to the role of religion in social movements. In examining the interplay of biblical scripture, gender, and nationalism in Christian Right and Native American activism, Smith rethinks the nature of political strategy and alliance-building for progressive purposes, highlighting the potential of unlikely alliances, termed “cowboys and Indians coalitions” by one of her Native activist interviewees. She also complicates ideas about identity, resistance, accommodation, and acquiescence in relation to social-justice activism. Smith draws on archival research, interviews, and her own participation in Native struggles and Christian Right conferences and events. She considers American Indian activism within the Promise Keepers and new Charismatic movements. She also explores specific opportunities for building unlikely alliances. For instance, while evangelicals’ understanding of the relationship between the Bible and the state may lead to reactionary positions on issues including homosexuality, civil rights, and abortion, it also supports a relatively progressive position on prison reform. In terms of evangelical and Native American feminisms, she reveals antiviolence organizing to be a galvanizing force within both communities, discusses theories of coalition politics among both evangelical and indigenous women, and considers Native women’s visions of sovereignty and nationhood. Smith concludes with a reflection on the implications of her research for the field of Native American studies.

After centuries of being considered a private matter in most societies, violence and its profound effect on the physical health, mental health, and social well-being of victims and their families, as well as on the assailants themselves, has started to take centre stage as a public issue of worldwide concern. Health and social service providers are in pivotal positions to provide preventive and restorative services to those affected by violent and abusive behaviour. This comprehensive textbook presents theoretical background and practical strategies for doing so, providing a solid knowledge base for good practice in this area. It emphasizes the interdisciplinary aspects of violence and victim/survivor care and addresses violence over the lifespan, covering: child sexual and physical abuse sexual assault of adults battering and emotional abuse of intimate partners elder abuse perpetrators of violence and abuse violence in learning and work environments vicarious trauma and self-care interconnections between various forms of violence, including socially approved violence in the media and in war. This text is an essential resource for qualified practitioners wanting to learn more about this area and for students starting out in health and social care. Each chapter includes case studies and thinking points, and suggestions for application in practice settings. A companion website provides materials for students and educators, enabling the inclusion of violence issues in an already busy curriculum. Lee Ann Hoff is a nurse-anthropologist and crisis specialist. She has published widely and is the author of the award-winning textbook People in Crisis. She has extensive experience as an educator, consultant, clinician, and crisis service manager.

'Smith has no fear. She challenges conventional activist thinking about global and local, sexism and racism, genocide and imperialism. But more, in every chapter she tries to answer the key question: What is to be done? Many remedies proposed by well-meaning activists produce more of the very damage they purport to undo, because the analysis leading to action fails to take seriously the structural connections that fuse the range of harms discussed in this volume. Conquest is unsettling, ambitious, brilliant, disturbing: read it, debate it, use it.' Ruthie Gilmore'Andrea Smith offers a powerful analysis of sexual violence that reaches far beyond the dominant theoretical understandings, brilliantly weaving together feminist explanations of violence against Native women, the historical data regarding colonialism and genocide, and a strong critique of the current responses to the gender violence against women of color. As a passionate activist and a deeply respected scholar, Smith brings her experience working on the ground to this important project, rendering Conquest one of the most significant contributions to the literature in Native Studies, Feminism, and Social Movement Theory in recent years.' Beth E. Richie, Head, Department of African American Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago'Whether it is our reliance on the criminal justice system to protect women from violence or the legitimacy of the U.S. as a colonial nation-state, Andy Smith's incisive and courageous analysis cuts through many of our accepted truths and reveals a new way of knowing rooted in Native women's histories of struggle. More than a call for action, this book provides sophisticated strategies and practical examples of organizing that simultaneously take on state and interpersonal violence. Conquest is a "must read" not only for those concerned with violence against women and Native sovereignty, but also for antiracist, reproductive rights, environmental justice, antiprison, immigrant rights and antiwar activists.' Julia Sudbury, Canada Research Chair in Social Justice, Equity and Diversity, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto; Editor of Global Lockdown: Race, Gender and the Prison-Industrial Complex (Routledge 2005).

Based on interviews and life histories collected over more than twenty-five years of study on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, Marla N. Powers conveys what it means to be an Oglala woman. Despite the myth of the Euramerican that sees Oglala women as inferior to men, and the Lakota myth that seems them as superior, in reality, Powers argues, the roles of male and female emerge as complementary. In fact, she claims, Oglala women have been better able to adapt to the dominant white culture and provide much of the stability and continuity of modern tribal life. This rich ethnographic portrait considers the complete context of Oglala life—religion, economics, medicine, politics, old age—and is enhanced by numerous modern and historical photographs. "It is a happy event when a fine scholarly work is rendered accessible to the general reader, especially so when none of the complexity of the subject matter is sacrificed. Oglala Women is a long overdue revisionary ethnography of Native American culture."—Penny Skillman, San Francisco Chronicle Review "Marla N. Powers's fine study introduced me to Oglala women 'portrayed from the perspectives of Indians,' to women who did not pity themselves and want no pity from others. . . . A brave, thorough, and stimulating book."—Melody Graulich, Women's Review of Books "Powers's new book is an intricate weaving . . . and her synthesis brings all of these pieces into a well-integrated and insightful whole, one which sheds new light on the importance of women and how they have adapted to the circumstances of the last century."—Elizabeth S. Grobsmith, Nebraska History