Book Description
In this fascinating ethnohistorical case study of North American Indians, the Ghost Dance religion is the backbone for Kehoe’s exploration of significant aspects of American Indian life and her quest to learn why some theories become popular. In Part 1, she combines knowledge gained from her firsthand experiences living among and speaking with Indian elders with a careful analysis of historical accounts, providing a succinct yet insightful look at people, events, and institutions from the 1800s to the present. She clarifies unique and complex relationships among Indian peoples and dispels many of the false pretenses promoted by United States agencies over two centuries. In Part 2, Kehoe surveys some of the theories used to analyze the events described in Part 1, allowing readers to see how theories develop, to think critically about various perspectives, and to draw their own conclusions. Kehoe’s gripping presentation and analysis pave the way for just and constructive Indian–White relations.
Publisher comments
Other Waveland Press titles by Alice Beck Kehoe: Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking (ISBN 9781577661627) and The Kensington Runestone: Approaching a Research Question Holistically (ISBN 9781577663713). Titles of related interest also from Waveland Press: Garbarino-Sasso, Native American Heritage, Third Edition (ISBN 9780881337730); Hultkrantz, Native Religions of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility (ISBN 9780881339857); and Johnson, Also Called Sacajewa: Chief Woman's Stolen Identity (ISBN 9781577665342).
