Indian Work

"To Have Been Struck For So Long Inside An Invented opposition between authenticity and annihilation is one of the most enduring and enigmatic legacies of colonialism. American Indian people still too often must confront either/or expectations about cultural tradition and economic innovation. Time-less culture, although admired and even imitated by non-Indians in various ways, purportedly hinders successful change among Indian societies. Entanglement in global economic processes, for better or worse, is also supposed to destroy cultural integrity. This unfortunate discourse conceals how dynamic and durable societies actually try to blend tradition with innovation while they accommodate and resist powerful forces. American Indian engagement with commerce through numerous and various means, over a long span of time, has consistently defied the narrow choices that observers insisted upon seeing." -from the book Book jacket.