Reimagining Indians

Native Americans through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940

Sherry L. Smith

Reimagining Indians

Native Americans through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940

Sherry L. Smith

Description

Reimagining Indians investigates a group of Anglo-American writers whose books about Native Americans helped reshape Americans' understanding of Indian peoples at the turn of the twentieth century. Hailing from the Eastern United States, these men and women traveled to the American West and discovered "exotics" in their midst. Drawn to Indian cultures as alternatives to what they found distasteful about modern American culture, these writers produced a body of work that celebrates Indian cultures, religions, artistry, and simple humanity.
Although these writers were not academically trained ethnographers, their books represent popular versions of ethnography. In revealing their own doubts about the superiority of European-American culture, they sought to provide a favorable climate for Indian cultural survival in a world indisputably dominated by non-Indians. They also encouraged notions of cultural relativism, pluralism, and tolerance in American thought. For the historian and general reader alike, this volume speaks to broad themes of American cultural history, Native American history, and the history of the American West.

Reimagining Indians

Native Americans through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940

Sherry L. Smith

Author Information

Sherry L. Smith is Professor of History at Southern Methodist University.

Reimagining Indians

Native Americans through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940

Sherry L. Smith

Reviews and Awards

Winner of the 2001 James A. Rawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians

"A welcome addition to prairie scholarship"--Books for the Western Library

"This well written and engaging account represents a necessary exploration of how contact influenced context during late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Overall, the books reads like a fine symphony plays."-- New Mexico Historical Review

"Historian and general reader alike will enjoy this engaging book....A powerful reminder to all of us living in America a century later of the important work left undone to promote racial tolerance, cultural relativism, and cultural pluralism."--The Chronicles of Oklahoma

"Her book is well documented and thorough. Her assessments are careful and thoughtful. Most of all, she counters the still-prevailing view that Indian reformer John Collier single-handedly redefined the image of Indians and instituted the Indian New Deal. Correcting that idea alone makes the book worthwhile."--^{he Journal of Arizona History}

"What Smith does so beautifully here is to give us an intimate look at the lives and works of writers who helped other Americans think about Native Americans."--American Historical Review

"Thoroughly researched and gracefully written....[A] strong contribution to a body of literature[of]...books that tell us not about Indians but how responses to Indians reveal aspects of American popular culture."--Isis

"Provides a thoughtful, well-written context in which to understand the nation's move away from beliefs in allotment and assimilation in favor of a more broad-minded, Indian-centered federal policy."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History R

"An important contribution to scholars examining writings on Indians, inter-ethnic relations, and the evolution of non-Indian attitudes shaping federal policies and ethnic relations."--Journal of American Ethnic History

"An eloquent and nuanced book. A very readable and enjoyable book that serves as an important chapter in the history of white-Indian relations and deserves wide readership."--Pacific Historical Review

"Smith's profiles will captivate modern readers, just as her subjects' portraits of Indians captivated readers a century ago."--Pacific Northwest Quarterly