[Review of] R. H. Barnes. Two Crows Denies It: A History of Controversy in Omaha Sociology

The subtitle of this book clearly reflects the scope of work Barnes sets out to accomplish. It also suggests that the study is aimed at a disciplinary readership consisting of anthropologists, sociologists, and some social historians more than an interdisciplinary audience reflected by the membership of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. Specialists in Plains anthropology and world-wide kinship studies will undoubtedly welcome this historical review of the Omaha tribal social system. Non-specialists can glean some insights as well

[Review of] Jack Kugelmass, ed. Between Two Worlds: Ethnographic Essays on American Jewry

This volume contains twelve varied, academically insightful, and often just plain entertaining chapters, along with the editor\u27s lengthy and instructive introduction. Each chapter includes helpful explanatory footnotes, in-text translation of Hebrew and Yiddish terms, and abundant references to the large body of literature drawn upon by the individual authors. The book should not only be of interest and utility to students specializing in Jewish studies but also to those scholars analyzing the general processes of ethnicity in the United States. For the latter audience, a separate over-all glossary might have enhanced the volume beyond the translations within the text

[Review of] Neshnabek: The People

The Potawatomi Indians (Prairie Band) of Kansas are portrayed in this film which has been some forty to fifty years in the making. The original footage was taken by Floyd A. Schultz, an amateur anthropologist, between 1930 and 1941. These scenes have been supplemented by historical still shots, maps, and other archival documents assembled from various sources in the 1960s and 1970s. During the summers of 1978 and 1979 Donald Stull, a professor of anthropology presently at the University of Kansas, conducted field interviews with some of the originally-photographed Potawatomi along with their friends and relatives. Portions of those interviews provide the primary soundtrack for the resulting film entitled Neshnabek: The People

[Review of] Richard E. Meyer, ed. Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture

The twelve individual essays contained in this volume were originally presented as papers in the Cemeteries and Gravestones Section at a conference of the American Culture Association. A short foreword by James Deetz, an early leader in the anthropological study of New England cemeteries from the colonial period, provides some instructive initial insights into the wealth of cultural information which can be derived from the study of mortuary behavior in the United States. Meyer\u27s thoughtful introduction and his topical bibliography, though not exhaustive, will be of considerable utility for those wishing to pursue the research topic further. An index along with numerous photographs and other illustrative material additionally enhance this volume

[Review of] L.G. Moses and Raymond Wilson. Indian Lives: Essays on Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Native American Leaders

In this volume, insights into American Indian ethnicity are presented through synopses of the lives of eight individuals. Analyses of these lives exhibit dimensions of family and kinship ties, cultural traditions, acculturation vis-a-vis the dominant society, and personal choices. The eight lives selected provide some balance in terms of geography, tribal affiliation, and gender (five men and three women). Five of the individuals were born in the 1850s and 1860s and died between 1915 and 1947; one person lived from 1811 to 1875; another from 1880 to 1949; the eighth, still living, was born in 1937

[Review of] Mary B. Davis, ed., Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia

This extensive tome, packed with up-to-date information on contemporary Native Americans, is a veritable mother lode for students, teachers, and researchers in American Indian Studies. Scholars in general ethnic studies will find the data useful for comparative work with other ethnic groups. This single-volume encyclopedia should be snapped up by all public and tribal libraries as well as schools and universities wanting to provide their clienteles with sources that are increasingly sought by educational institutions with multicultural curriculum needs and business or administrative offices responding to diversity goals

[Review of] Clyde Holler. Black Elk\u27s Religion: The Sun Dance and Lakota Catholicism

Few, if any, American Indian individuals are more widely known in the United States than the Lakota holy man, Black Elk (1863-1950). His story, particularly as presented by John Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks, has been required reading for legions of students taking classes in literature, religion, anthropology, and American Indian Studies. Scholars in those fields have generated a body of critical literature which has taken on a life of its own as Neihardt\u27s book, originally published in 1931, has been reprinted in paperback editions many times since 1960. During the 1970s, Neihardt appeared on the Dick Cavett show and, along with Black Elk, became something of a cult hero. Meanwhile, heated debates have arisen as to whether Neihardt\u27s book is ethnographically or historically accurate and whether it is a faithful as-told-to autobiography or a novel. Clyde Holler\u27s book is the most recent major work in this controversy. It deals with the question of Catholicism in Black Elk\u27s life and the role of Christianity in contemporary Lakota culture, specifically regarding the Sun Dance

[Review of] R. Carlos Nakai. Changes: Native American Flute Music and Cycles: Native American Flute Music

Perhaps humans are most ethnocentric when it comes to matters of food and music. Soul food has become a dimension for defining ethnic groups -- the dishes may be chitlins, bagels, tacos or other such foods. As society becomes more open, these foods pass from the ghettos and barrios to the community at large. One would hope that some inter-ethnic group understanding and appreciation might accompany the sharing of varying gustatory pleasures. Music represents another dimension of ethnic group identity. As with learning to eat different foods, one might comprehend something of the spirit of another people by listening to their songs -- their soul music

[Review of] Raymond 1. DeMallie and Douglas R. Parks. eds. Sioux Indian Religion: Tradition and Innovation

Most of the papers included in this anthology were presented in Bismarck in 1982 at a conference entitled American Indian Religion in the Dakotas: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. The conference was funded by the North Dakota Humanities Council and brought together a wide array of academicians and lay people representing different and sometimes conflicting experiential and philosophical points of view

[Review of] Alexandru Moscu (Director/Co-Producer) and Joel Geyer (Writer/Co-Producer). In Search of Freedom: Nebraskans from Latvia

Alexandru Moscu and Joel Geyer have produced a program which provides many penetrating insights into the dimensions of ethnicity in the United States. Furthermore they packaged the program in a manner which is not only instructive but also emotionally moving and aesthetically pleasing. The result is a scholarly and artistic gem