the medicine way of American Indian history, ethos, & reality /
First Statement of Responsibility
Donald L. Fixico
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
xviii, 240 pages :
Other Physical Details
illustrations ;
Dimensions
23 cm
INTERNAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES/INDEXES NOTE
Text of Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-232) and index
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
The complexity of American Indian history -- Native ethos of "seeing" and a natural democracy -- The first dimension of Indian-white relations -- The second dimension of interacting Indian-white relations -- The third dimension of physical and metaphysical reality -- A cross-cultural bridge of understanding -- Oral tradition and language -- Power of earth and woman -- Coming full circle
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
"For too many years, the academic discipline of history has ignored American Indians or lacked the kind of open-minded thinking necessary to truly understand them. Most historians remain oriented toward the American experience at the expense of the Native experience. As a result, both the status and the quality of Native American history have suffered and remain marginalized within the discipline. In this impassioned work, noted historian Donald L. Fixico challenges academic historians--and everyone else--to change this way of thinking. Fixico argues that the current discipline and practice of American Indian history are insensitive to and inconsistent with Native people's traditions, understandings, and ways of thinking about their own history. In Call for Change, Fixico suggests how the discipline of history can improve by reconsidering its approach to Native peoples. He offers the "Medicine Way" as a paradigm to see both history and the current world through a Native lens. This new approach paves the way for historians to better understand Native peoples and their communities through the eyes and experiences of Indians, thus reflecting an insightful indigenous historical ethos and reality."--Publisher's website