Product Description
A Global History of Indigenous Peoples examines the history of the indigenous/tribal peoples of the world. The work spans the period from the pivotal migrations which saw the peopling of the world, examines the processes by which tribal peoples established themselves as separate from surplus-based and more material societies, and considers the impact of the policies of domination and colonization which brought dramatic change to indigenous cultures. The book covers both tribal societies affected by the expansion of European empires and those indigenous cultures influenced by the economic and military expansion of non-European powers.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Covers lots of territory
A really interesting read for someone who doesn't know much about indigenous peoples globally.Gets you thinking about who is indigenous and how politics shape this.Like with any book things get left out or aren't covered in depth, but can you really write a global history in 300 pages?A good read! ... Read more

Product Description
The issues native peoples face intensify with globalization. Through case studies from around the world, Hall and Fenelon demonstrate how indigenous peoples? movements can only be understood by linking highly localized processes with larger global and historical forces. The authors show that indigenous peoples have been resisting and adapting to encounters with states for millennia. Unlike other antiglobalization activists, indigenous peoples primarily seek autonomy and the right to determine their own processes of adaptation and change, especially in relationship to their origin lands and community. The authors link their analyses to current understandings of the evolution of globalization. ... Read more

Product Description
The volume brings together a group of renowned legal experts and activists from different parts of the world who, from international and comparative perspectives, consider the right of indigenous peoples to reparations for breaches of their individual and collective rights.

The first part of the book is devoted to general aspects of this important question, providing a comprehensive assessment of the relevant international legal framework and including overviews of the topic of reparations for human rights violations, the status of indigenous peoples in international law and the vision of reparations as conceived by the peoples concerned. The second part embraces a comprehensive investigation of the relevant practice at the international, regional, and national level, including some pertinent, in-depth case-studies, offering a comparative perspective on the ways in which the right of indigenous peoples to reparation is realized worldwide. The contributions forming the second part also examine the best practices for granting effective reparations, according tothe ideologies and expectations of the communitiesconcerned. The global picture painted by these contributions offers a view of the status of relevant international law that is synthesized in the final chapter, which also prescribes the best practices and strategies to be adopted in order to maximize concrete opportunities for indigenous peoples to obtain effective redress.

As a whole, the volume offers a comprehensive vision of its subject matter in international and comparative law, with a practical approach aimed at supporting legal academics, administrators, and practitioners concerned in improving the avenues and modalities of reparations for indigenous peoples.


... Read more

Product Description
Around the planet, Indigenous people are using old and new technologies to amplify their voices and broadcast information to a global audience. This is the first portrait of a powerful international movement that looks both inward and outward, helping to preserve ancient languages and cultures while communicating across cultural, political, and geographical boundaries. Based on more than twenty years of research, observation, and work experience in Indigenous journalism, film, music, and visual art, this volume includes specialized studies of Inuit in the circumpolar north, and First Nations peoples in the Yukon and southern Canada and the United States. ... Read more

Product Description
This book focuses on the problem of justice for indigenous peoples and the key questions this poses for political theory. Contributors include leading political theorists and indigenous scholars from Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Canada and the United States. They examine how political theory has contributed to the past subjugation and continuing disadvantage faced by indigenous peoples, while also seeking to identify ways that contemporary political thought can assist the "decolonization" of relations between indigenous and nonindigenous peoples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Outrage!
If this is the type of liberal hogwash that's still pouring out of
our institutions of higher learning, then it's time we started rounding up
university professors, and sticking them in cages at Guantanamo Bay.
Maybe after George W has finished what his father didn't in Iraq, he'll
turn his sites back home, and finish the job there too. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses the historical origins, beliefs, arts, family life, cultural clashes with white Europeans, and future hopes of the nomadic Rom, or Roma, people who were once called Gypsies. ... Read more

Product Description
Indigenous Peoples and Diabetes is a bold attempt to reframe the meaning of diabetes mellitus as a socio-political disorder from the perspective of indigenous peoples, community workers, medical anthropologists, and health professionals working and/or living in North America, Latin America, the Arctic, Australia, and the Indian Ocean. The anthology discusses the effects of social history on the etiology and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes within indigenous experiences of cultural expansionism and colonial occupation. Indigenous narratives about the right to food, health, emotional experience, and the importance of networks of solidarity provide reflective critiques on community wellness, empowering individuals to regain control of their health, spiritual knowledge, and emotional liberty. Innovative programs to combat the diabetes epidemic and promote physical and emotional wellness are discussed in detail, such as the Mino-Miijim Good Food for the Future program on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota; the Kahnawake School Diabetes Prevention Project developed in the Kanien'keh??:ka (Mohawk) community of Kahnawake, near Montreal, Canada; and the Cultural Rebuilding Project at the Potawot Health Village in northern California. ... Read more

Product Description
This book brings together fresh insights into the relationships between missions and indigenous peoples, and the outcomes of mission activities in the processes of imperial conquest and colonisation. Bringing together the work of leading international scholars of mission and empire, the focus is on missions across the British Empire (including India, Africa, Asia, the Pacific), within transnational and comparative perspectives. Themes throughout the contributions include collusion or opposition to colonial authorities, intercultural exchanges, the work of indigenous and local Christians in new churches, native evangelism and education, clashes between variant views of domesticity and parenting roles, and the place of gender in these transformations.Missionaries could be both implicated in the plot of colonial control, in ways seemingly contrary to Christian norms, or else play active roles as proponents of the social, economic and political rights of their native brethren. Indigenous Christians themselves often had a liminal status, negotiating as they did the needs and desires of the colonial state as well as those of their own peoples.In some mission zones where white missionaries were seen to be constrained by their particular views of race and respectability, black evangelical preachers had far greater success as agents of Christianity. This book contains contributions by historians from Australasia and North America who observe the fine grain of everyday life on mission stations, and present broader insights on questions of race, culture and religion. The volume makes a timely intervention into continuing debates about the relationship between mission and empire. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of articles is the outcome of an international gathering of scholars to discuss the future of indigenous peoples throughout the world. The contributors examine contemporary conditions of indigenous peoples, explore future possibilities for social, economic, and political survival and development, and offer strategies for shaping future nation-state relations with indigenous peoples. Particular attention is given to the nation-state structure that preempted land rights and autonomous cultural, social, economic, and political development in the Americas, the Middle East, and China. ... Read more

Product Description

Experts from around the world examine an innovative proposal to promote both cultural survival and biological conservation: treating cultural and indigenous knowledge as a form of intellectual property.

Currently the focus of a heated debate among indigenous peoples, human rights advocates, crop breeders, pharmaceutical companies, conservationists, social scientists, and lawyers, the proposal would allow impoverished people in biologically rich areas to realize an economic return from resources under their care. Mone-tary compensation could both validate their knowledge and provide them with an equitable reward for sharing it, thereby compensating biological stewardship and encouraging conservation.

Valuing Local Knowledge presents case studies of programs that recognize indigenous rights, and brings direct experience to bear on the international debate over intellectual property, conservation, and indigenous rights. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Capitalism to the Rescue!
This is a well intentioned and very well thought out and developed idea about finding a way to compensate Native cultures for being successful "stewards" of biodiversity.I give it three stars primarily forits footnotes and bibliography so anyone interested in preserving Nativecultural diversity yet also interested in accepting and maintaining thepower of a global market economy can find further resources.The authorexcels at the use of the third person passive voice and analyiticalreasoning; he obviously knows a lot about biological resources of plants. To some this book will be a hope for justice to Native people, to others itwill be literally a "sell out".Good luck deciding which one youwill be when YOU finish reading it! ... Read more

Product Description
An in-depth visual survey of Native American life is divided into nine cultural areas and discusses their traditions, political and spiritual leaders, and the impact of European settlement on native societies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

quite well executed
Artifact spread after artifact spread forms the visual backbone of this stunning guide. Dividing the content into eight or ten areas on the basis of lifestyles and ecologies, careful attention is devoted to the daily lives, arts and crafts, and faith of hundreds of native tribes. This is quite well done. Indeed, it is most excellently excellent. This be da man. This the boy. He got game.

I gave the book only four stars because it failed to discuss the Schmohawks, the Jewish Indians of Long Island, N.Y.

The narrative could be more captivating.

Worthy of being an Anthropology textbook
This book provides an excellent way to study Native American tribal differences and similarities in personal ornamentation.There are 38 photographs of artifact collections that were drawn from the Smithsonian and New York's American Museum of Natural History.The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, opening 21-26 September 2004, will certainly allow more detailed study.This book's 249 pages give a general anthropologic overview that can be used as a guide for further research.

Editor Colin F. Taylor, the book's technical consultant, is the curator of North American ethnology for the Smithsonian.His involvement allowed publication of objects and photographs that just possibly have been included in the new National Museum of the American Indian.In many ways, this book would be excellent to review prior to visiting the new museum.

The book is divided into nine geographic areas of North America then is further divided into tribes from that area, informing us about linguistics, ethnic styles of clothing and embellishment, and whether the tribe relied upon hunting and gathering or had an established agrarian culture.

Many old photographs are sprinkled throughout the book to show how Native Americans dressed before they were absorbed into non-native culture.Both the index and the bibliography are thorough -- a very beautiful book to add to your collection.

great coffee table book, great pictures too
Bought this book as a gift and nearly kept it for myself. Impressive in size and quite well illustrated, it is very interesting to skim and read. Reasonably priced too. Only reason I give it 4 stars is the SW region section--the Choctaws got short shrift (only 6 pages overall). But it makes even the humblest coffee table look good.

Comprehensive
This is a great comprehensive book that provides many ways for the reader to learn about North American Native Culture.It has excellent writing, photographs, art description and explanations regarding clothing, geography, norms, drawings, maps, and visual cultural descriptions of North American indigenous peoples.The writing has tons of information, and the photography is stunning.I first read this book after receiving it as a Christmas gift, and it has stayed on the book shelf ever since so I can go over it from time to time.

A work of Art, beautiful photos, high quality paper
I have been collecting Indian books for over thirty years. This book will be one that I will pride in my collection. If you enjoy quality photographs of Native Americans, colored photos of artifacts and printed on the best ofpaper, you will enjoy this book. I am very pleased with it. ... Read more

Product Description
John Marshall's landmark 1823 decision in Johnson v. M'Intosh gave the European sovereigns who "discovered" North America rights to the land, converting Native Americans in one stroke into mere tenants. In 1991, while investigating the historical origins of this highly controversial decision, Lindsay Robertson made a startling find in the basement of a Pennsylvania furniture-maker--the complete corporate records of the Illinois and Wabash Land Companies, the plaintiffs in the case. Drawing on these records, Conquest by Law provides, for the first time, a complete and troubling account of collusion, detailing how a spurious claim gave rise to a doctrine--intended to be of limited application--which led to the massive displacement of Native Americans and the creation of a law that governs indigenous people to this day.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting even for the non-historian
I love a good mystery--and the resolving of the twists and turns that led to it.This book is not only a good "who dunnit" but is also a serious study of a fascinating subject of interest to all English speaking people in the world.I enjoyed the book from cover to cover--it is well written, sprightly, serious, detailed, and generally a good read.

Important Work of Historical Detection with Much Food for Thought for the Future
It is not granted to every historian to discover a trunkful of old documents up in an attic somewhere.The fact that the Illinois-Wabash papers, which fortuitously fell into the capable hands of this particular historian, were located in a basement instead, hardly alters the aura surrounding this discovery, nor does it affect the drama of the issues involved. In sifting through the evidence brought to light by this remarkable find, Lindsay G. Robertson has provided more than a mere tale of "olden days" which might be of interest to a cloistered few: he has produced a revolutionary document which may have far-reaching consequences on the "history" of the future, as well as on our reading of the past.

Mr. Robertson's capable exposition of a complex history, and the drawing out of the major themes and undercurrents informing the events of the period makes this work of interest to a broader public than just those who may find themselves involved professionally, or by association, or in the case of Native Americans and aboriginal peoples elsewhere, because it is very much part of their own story. Indeed, the wider ramifications of the judgment in the case of Johnson v. M'Intosh for both Canada and Australia and the indigenous peoples of those far-flung lands, heighten the importance of the decision itself and extend the range of interest of this original work of historical detection and analysis.

It is not an easy story to come to grips with, and our thanks must go to the author for his careful unravelling and clear explanation of the facts surrounding what has partly been obscured by the mists of time, and partly intentionally covered up by many of the original participants. We live in age which has much to consider in the way of recognizing past faults. Much is owed to exploited populations in many lands: from the time of Cortez, no treaties have been signed in South America, and those lands have been subject to plunder for centuries. That the native peoples on our own continent have been herded and exploited perhaps to a lesser extent is no reason for not now attempting to reconcile the historical faults of which all Americans and Canadians now living are the heirs. Mr. Robertson's sensitive review of how the legal foundations for the transfer of Indian land into the hands of speculators, prospectors and other worthies of the period came into being, deserves our full attention.

All in all, Mr. Robertson has produced an eloquent, eminently readable text that ought to foster much debate within the United States and abroad. It is a commendable work of scholarship which should not, must not, go unnoticed. It can, should we decide to take heed, contribute greatly to the furthering of better relations between communities in North America and around the globe - and, in a world which stands in dire need of developing governmental systems that take a diversity of communities into account (Liberia, Rwanda, and the Balkans come to mind at once, but the problem is widespread), that is no small accomplishment.

Intrigue, Indians & History - Told like a Novel
The story told in Conquest by Law could be the Enron scandal of the 19th Century...the irony is that it is all true and that you wouldn't have imagined it in your wildest dreams. We are used to a context in which the Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court of the land. It is implicit today that when the Supreme Court says what the law "is"...that is it, 'the final word'! However, when this story began there was no such confidence and no history of Supreme Court precedent! The Supreme Court was just another forum for speculation and that is what the protagonists do in Conquest by Law.

The speculation on land and the profiteering that was the underlying motive was not originally designed to marginalize or dispossess Native Americans...but that is quickly what it became... It was, as so many scandals are, all about money. The King and then later the Congress implusively protected Indian Land, but not for the Indians, for themselves. And that is where the conflict begins, with a tug of war over who had the right to buy land directly from the Tribes. The nation's first and arguably, most important jurist eventually crafted the answer...an answer that created a "legitimate" dispossession of Indian Land, a legal conquest that remains the most devastating defeat in the history of Native Americans.

Prof. Robertson exposes the scandal and legal manuevering behind Chief Justice Marshall's answer. The truth is a story of lies, bribery, politics, and and scandal that reads like a cross between McCullough and Grisham.

This is a great read if you are interested in legal scandal, Native American History, the Supreme Court and/or corporate intrigue. Enjoy!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State provides a concise introduction to the process of modernization and its effect on tribalism and ethnic parochialism. Part of the Cultural Survival Studies in Ethnicity and Change series, this text focuses on key issues affecting indigenous and ethnic groups worldwide.Ethnic conflicts proliferate throughout the world as indigenous peoples are becoming increasingly vocal in demanding their rights, including the right to be different. Readers are invited to reexamine their ideas about the state, the role of ethnicity in it, and the peculiar situation of indigenous peoples, who are ethnic minorities alien to the states in which they live. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Biased
This book is the most biased book I've ever read. Why do I think this book is biased?

1) The opening-
In a book discussing the indigenous populations from all over the world surely he can come up with a wise introduction. This is his opening remark, "Wherever the European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal". This quote he picked to introduce the reader to Indigenous Cultures around the world is flat out racist because it overgeneralizes such a diverse group. What about the missionaries who came to dedicate their lives to helping the indigenous. What about the Pilgrims who came in peace. What about the whites who intermarried with the Native Americans?

2) He neglects to focus on the core issues-
The main cause of death to indigenous populations in the Americas was disease but in the opening chapter he vaguely mentions it in half of a sentence and concludes that ONLY sentence with a remark on their "dislocation" by Europeans.

3) He neglects to think that maybe some Indians deserved to be moved-
Why would Europeans drive the Indians west? Surely this author will give an unbiased account right? Wrong, for instance, in my own family tree I have traced entire families that were slaughtered- men, women, children and even babies- by the Native Americans. Those are the types of Indians who the US government (and not all whites like the opening quote would have you believe) sought to drive west. Certain Native American tribes that didn't raid white settlements were allowed to live in peace and even intermarried with the whites but the author doesn't even mention this. I also have those Native Americans in my family tree.

When you have bands of Indians raiding your towns and committing genocide by scalping every human life form that has white skin what do you expect the US government to do? They had no idea exactly which men were in the bands that raided villages and if they did nothing it would happen again. So they simply said- "all indians out". This is what should be discussed in the book, that the US Government should have just put the killers into prison or stopped Indian raiding rather than relocating an entire tribe. But then again that would have been an immense task because of the widely dispersed white settlers. But again he has no mention about this side of the story and only says "American Indians were demolished". Again his oversimplification doesn't tell the whole story and his account glosses over the relocation events triggered by some of the Native American killing the whites. In history, Complex situations such as this should never be glossed over.

4) Biased Statistics
on page 8 he lists "World Indigenous Population by Region" and gives populations of indigenous groups.

-Mexico and Central America - While whites comprise only 10% of the population of Mexico, the mestizos are heavily genetically influenced by Native Americanos. So how many indigenous does the author list in Central America and Mexico? 12,713,000. Clearly he views people who are overwhelmingly genetically Native American as not Indigenous. So he must use linguistics as a measure of indigenous. And why does this matter you might ask, because he neglects to give data on Europe. He gives data for every continent except Europe! Why does he do this? Because if he were to use this exact same method that he uses to calculate the indigenous of the world on Europe the percentages would be 0% for many countries. For example, England was raided by vikings in the middle part of the first millennium and over time the native Celtic cultures were crushed and had to adopt English- a Germanic language- rather than their indigenous Celtic language. So England today has very close to 0% indigenous population according to David Maybury-Lewis' method of calculations but he will not tell you that in his book because it doesn't fit his view.

-China- This is absolutely ridiculous. The book lists the Indigenous population of China as only 91,000,000. I guess Han Chinese, a group that comprises 20% of the worlds population, are not indigenous to China according to the author. He should go and tell Hu Jintao that he is not indigenous to China. If the Han are not indigenous to China then where do they come from?

I can go on and on just on this one chart.
-------------------------------------------------

At this point I am having difficulty reading more into the book. Had he simply left out his biased opinions, left out the racist quotes, left out the wildly fluffed data and instead gave the actual events from both sides to simply let the reader come to his own conclusion- this book might have been decent.

You have no idea how sick I feel that this garbage is taught to kids.

infromative read
The book is clear and concise. It always scholars and just plain readers to access the subject through compelling arguments and infromation.

clear, informative, important work.
Maybury-Lewis's newest work is incredibly clear and informative and offers non-anthroplogist and scholars alike a perceptive and important work ... Read more

Product Description
"Resurgent Voices in Latin America explores the critical role of religious beliefs and practices played by indigenous organizations in their struggle to redeem their rights and place in the nations of Latin America in which they are encompassed. This important contribution to indigenous studies should be required reading for students concerned with new directions in Latin America."—June Nash, author of Mayan Visions: The Quest for Autonomy in an Age of Globalization.

"Resurgent Voices in Latin America offers a rich, multi-faceted, and innovative approach to the roles religion plays in the emergence and political mobilization of indigenous identities."—Manuel Vásquez, coauthor of Globalizing the Sacred: Religion across the Americas

"This important collection brings fresh data and challenging insights to the analysis of religion and political mobilization among indigenous peoples in Latin America."—Daniel H. Levine, University of Michigan

After more than 500 years of marginalization, Latin America’s forty million Indians have recently made major strides in gaining political recognition and civil rights. In this book, social scientists explore the important role of religion in indigenous activism, showing the ways that religion has strengthened indigenous identity and contributed to the struggle for indigenous rights in the region.

Drawing on case studies from Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Mexico, the contributors explore four key questions. How have traditional religions interacted with Christianity to produce new practices and beliefs? What resources, motivations, and ideological legitimacies do religious institutions provide for indigenous social movements? How effective are these movements in achieving their goals? Finally, as new religious groups continue to compete for adherents in the region, how will individuals’ religious choices affect political outcomes?

Resurgent Voices in Latin America offers new insight into the dynamics of indigenous social movements and into the complex and changing world of Latin American religions. The essays show that religious beliefs, practices, and institutions have both affected and been affected by political activism. ... Read more

Product Description
At the intersection of indigenous studies, science studies, and legal studies lies a tense web of political issues of vital concern for the survival of indigenous nations. Numerous historians of science have documented the vital role of late-eighteenth- and nineteenth-century science as a part of statecraft, a means of extending empire. This book follows imperialism into the present, demonstrating how pursuit of knowledge of the natural world impacts, and is impacted by, indigenous peoples rather than nation-states.In extractive biocolonialism, the valued genetic resources, and associated agricultural and medicinal knowledge, of indigenous peoples are sought, legally converted into private intellectual property, transformed into commodities, and then placed for sale in genetic marketplaces. Science, Colonialism, and Indigenous Peoples critically examines these developments, demonstrating how contemporary relations between indigenous and Western knowledge systems continue to be shaped by the dynamics of power, the politics of property, and the apologetics of law. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (9)

A Winner!
Refreshing, well-resourced and useful discussion of methodological dilemmas of indigenous researchers and researchers from non-dominant communities. Smith's essays are well-written, provocative and informed by social justice politics. Must read for graduate students in American Studies, Women's Studies and Social Justice/Labor Studies.

A great read on Decolonizing our academic system!
This book had me think about what Decolonizing even meant. Why should we think about decolonizing methodologies? I ended up enjoying and learning more from this book then any others in my methodology course I am taking now. It is written in easy to understand English without too much academic gobbledygook.I would like to hear Linda speak sometime. I do feel she has much to give all of us. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand more about how colonizing has effected our academic world.

A must-read!
I first read this book for a course in Sociocultural Theory in Anthropology.It has stayed on my shelf ever since.Linda Tuhiwai Smith provides insight and deeply meaningful commentary on the field of social research and its place in the indigenous community.This work should be required reading of all students in the social sciences.

Important Contribution
Smith provides a coherent and detailed alternative perspective for those researching in fields related to indigenous populations.She presents both a theoretical framework and offers very practical suggestions. I have found great value not only in what Smith presents but also in following up readings through those she references. I believe this is a necessary book on any shelf of those involved in such study.

Must-read
This book outlines important and useful methodologies for decolonization, and should be required reading for anyone who makes public policy. ... Read more

Product Description
Peoples of the Earth employs a comparative history of ethno-nationalism to examine Indian activism and its challenges to the political, social and economic status quo in the countries of Central and South America. It explores the intersect between problems of democratic empowerment and security-including the appearance of radical Islam among Indians in two important countries-arising from the re-emergence of dormant forms of ethnic militancy and unprecedented internal challenges to nation-states. The institutions and practices of Indian self-government in the United States and Canada are examined as a means of comparison with contemporary phenomena in Central and South America, suggesting frameworks for the successful democratic incorporation of the region's most disenfranchised peoples. European models emerging from "intermestic" dilemmas are considered, as are those involving the Inuit people (or Eskimos) in the Canadian far north, as policymakers there "think outside the box" in ways that include more robust roles for both sub-national and international bodies. Finally, the work challenges policymakers to broaden the debate about how to approach the issues of political and economic empowerment and regional security concerning Native peoples, to include consideration of new ways of protecting both land rights and the environment, thus avoiding a zero-sum solution between the region's 40 million Indians and the rest of its peoples.

Peoples of the Earth has the potential to become a pioneer study addressing ethnic activism, characterized by multiple, small groups pressing for state recognition and democratic participation, while also promoting a defence of the environment and natural resources. Part of its attractiveness is the likelihood that the work will lead to further investigations and will become an authoritative point of departure for the fertile area of ethnonationalism studies in Latin America. Each country chapter provides a succinct but substantial presentation of the basic issues and challenges facing the Native peoples of the country. Overall, the book has an excellent mix of historical and contemporary analysis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Required reading
Andersen's book will make many people uncomfortable, but it is also required reading for those who are interested in security and indigenous issues in Latin America. His central point is that if long neglected indigenous grievances are not addressed soon in a fair and balanced manner, the result could be a new round of ethnic conflicts and bloodletting with serious consequences for the estimated 40 million Native Americans remaining.This security focus on the issue of ethnicity in the Americas is novel and long overdue, as it indicates how resolving the indigenous issue is in the national self-interest of regional governments.

Andersen is one of the few who dares question the indigenous credentials of Bolivian President Evo Morales, showing how the Bolivian MAS is really a mestizo (mixed race with a European cultural orientation) Marxist organization that has used the indigenous issue as a smokescreen to propel itself to power. Rather than unify the country a la Nelson Mandela, the Morales government has fomented division by encouraging reverse racism, indigenous persecution of European-descended Bolivians who represent the majority of Morales ideological opposition, while at the same time excluding truly indigenous leaders from the top levels of government in favor of European and mestizo leaders and advisers who share his Marxist ideology.

Andersen also develops an excellent discussion on the penetration of radical Islam among indigenous communities, a recent and still isolated phenomenon whose potential for growth and impact can be exponential if solutions are not found and the spiral of conflict keeps escalating.

A comprehensive and sensitive portrait of the historic and contemporary struggles of the First Peoples of the 'New World'
Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the Indigenous Challenge in "Latin'' America by Martin Edwin Andersen presents a fascinating and comprehensive perspective on Latin American history focusing on the lesser told but nonetheless important story of indigenous rights across the hemisphere.

This comparative study presents a sweeping journey across the Americas, from end to end, with important insights for the fields of indigenous studies, comparative politics, and strategic studies, helping to rebalance the field of 'Latin' American studies so that it includes the indigenous 'Peoples of the Earth' who survived the arrival of European settlers and conquerors, and who have long been a submerged but potent political force that is now emerging to transform the political dynamics of many Central and South American nations, united in their aspiration to reclaim their often unacknowledged, and at times suppressed, contribution to the history and politics of our hemisphere.

One of this book's many strengths is its sheer breadth of study, chock-full of country case studies based on meticulous research, with impressive use of sources. The author is familiar with 'Latin' America, having covered the region as a journalist and author, with two prior books published on the region's political and military history. Peoples of the Earth combines his wealth of knowledge and insight spanning numerous countries, primarily in Central and South America but with insights also drawn from the struggles of Native peoples in the United States and Canada. This makes for fascinating comparative observations and analyses, connecting a long series of dots dating back half a millennium and stretching from the high north to the far south, in a rare but much needed retelling of the story of the 'New World.'

Andersen's work follows impressively in the tradition of esteemed scholars like Donna Lee Van Cott, author of Radical Democracy in the Andes and From Movements to Parties in Latin America: The Evolution of Ethnic Politics. To his credit, Andersen writes an engaging, lively, non-ideological, terminologically-uncluttered language that will make this work appeal beyond the narrow confines of the 'Latin' American studies subfield of political science. This work deserves a broad readership both within and beyond academia. Peoples of the Earth will help to offset the dearth of literature addressing the issue of native rights from a broad, and comprehensive, perspective.

The narrative flows naturally and smoothly, and with a rapid pace and energetic style making the manuscript a delight to read, blending the best of academic analysis with a refreshing journalistic pacing. For those with an interest in the indigenous chapters of inter-American history, this will be a true page-turner. Andersen's scholarship is sound, and the research that went into this book is meticulous and comprehensive, showing a unique depth and breadth of knowledge. The author brings in a wide range of sources including numerous classic works from the fields of Latin American and indigenous studies, as well as blending additional contemporary observations from journalists, columnists, native rights activists, tribal law practitioners, and indigenous leaders -- augmenting secondary sources with fresh current affairs insights and primary perspectives. The breadth of sources enriches the depth of storytelling, with numerous examples and anecdotes provided throughout.

The work's historical depth is impressive, incorporating not just current texts but reaching back to numerous classics and earlier events in the history that have informed the historical development of the Americas, including the emergence of the modern state system as well as the influences of other international dynamics including the worldwide struggle against fascism and the abhorrent racial policies that drove aggression during World War II as well as the long and painful legacy of colonial history and the perpetuation of colonial-era social divisions into the contemporary period in the New World that pitted indigenous interests against those of the newcomers. The author's historical expertise, intimate regional awareness, and comprehensive knowledge of the literature is evident throughout. The documentation of the sources used is also impressive, with the lengthy bibliography chock-full of important sources, including a rich and comprehensive assortment of books, journal articles, news articles, and author interviews in addition to government reports. Numerous and highly detailed endnotes are a further reflection of the depth of scholarship and the meticulousness of the author's research.

This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, policy analysts, policy makers, governmental decision-makers, and indigenous rights activists in the Americas as well as in other regions such as Asia, Africa and Oceania where similar issues and challenges exist. It will also be of interest to cultural anthropologists and human terrain mapping specialists thrust into the world's hot spots and endeavoring to navigate their complex ethnocultural undercurrents and forge sub-state coalitions with tribal and local communities, often discovering much untold, and untaught, history along the way. Peoples of the Earth makes important contributions to the literatures of several distinct subfields -- notably native studies, Latin American studies, and comparative politics -- as well as strategic and security studies, with relevance to the ongoing GWOT struggle and the many ethnic and civil conflicts around the world where indigenous people continue to struggle to assert their rights, and to protect their proud cultural traditions, from the more populous, modern state.

What is refreshing to this reader is the author's openness to literature not only from different fields, but also from a wide range of ideologies and worldviews, revealing an openness to diversity that enriches the analysis considerably. This work breaks free from any singular ideological lens and reframes indigenous history, culture and tradition as the center of the story. The tone and presentation are both balanced and fair, and the historical detail combines for a unique and much needed contribution to the field. This work deserves to be widely read, from the classroom to the forward operating base, and to remain in print for many years to come, as it fills a need in the field for such a holistic and comprehensive approach to state-tribe relations, in the Americas and around the world.

Barry Zellen is the author of Breaking the Ice: From Land Claims to Tribal Sovereignty in the Arctic; On Thin Ice: The Inuit, the State, and the Challenge of Arctic Sovereignty; and On Thin Ice: The Inuit, the State, and the Challenge of Arctic Sovereignty.

Essential book for understanding ethnic politics in Latin America
Martin Andersen's book is timely, well research, and well written. This book is essential for anyone who is interested in understanding the politics of ethnic nationalism in Latin America, and by extension the developing world. Andersen makes extensive use of primary and secondary sources to weave an interesting and thoughtful narrative that analyzes the roots of ethnic nationalism in Latin America, and places key national cases into comparative perspective. The book's interdisciplinary approach helps it bridge various academic traditions, and provides a more comprehensive picture of this most important topic. Understanding ethnic nationalism is essential to understanding politics in contemporary Latin America; from the rise of Evo Morales in Bolivia to civil wars in Peru and Guatemala, ethnic nationalism has been at the heart of social and revolutionary movements in the region for the past 50 years. Finally, Andersen addresses the critical, but seldom touched, issue of the connection between current security problems and explicitly ethnic nationalist appeals. The concerns in this area go far beyond irrendist movements, and may affect questions of terrorism and territorial integrity. Andersen's book is an essential component for those interested in the answer to a fundamental question for Latin American politics: How do countries incorporate ethnic groups (in some cases forming majorities of the population) into the political, social and economic life of the nation-state while maintaining political stability and territorial integrity? How nations respond to that challenge will affect the prospects for democratic regimes in Latin America. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
For indigenous peoples’ groups, activists and policymakers in intellectual property, and all those concerned with the preservation of our planet’s biological and cultural diversity, Beyond Intellectual Property provides an invaluable and eye-opening look into one of the most provocative and explosive issues of this century and likely the next: the patenting of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Although problem with 1st book, Amazon quickly took care of it
The book looked great when I first got it but shortly after using it the binding began to break and some pages fell out.I wanted to not only use it for this semester for my class...it is a book that I want to hang onto because it is a very interesting topic.I notified Amazon and they did not hesitate to replace the book.I am very pleased with the prompt service on the 1st request and the 2nd need.Thanks Amazon. ... Read more