Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century

This book looks at how Native Americans are (re)constructing their communities, on their own terms. There's a lot of diversity in how various tribes are doing this, and Bordewich shows us this variety. The author spent a lot of time on Indian reservations as a kid, for his mother was a (white) activist who worked with Native Americans. Bordewich has clearly inherited his mother's passion for justice for Native Americans. Though very sympathetic, he is also uncomfortable with much that masses as conventional wisdom among Natives and their allies today. For example, what does it mean to identify as Eastern Band Cherokee if you and those around you have only one-fourth, or one-eighth, or one-sixteenth Cherokee blood? What is the role of genetics in establishing a community anyway? What if someone who grew up off-reservation has more Indian blood than you do but doesn't belong to the community? To what extent should small communities defined by genetics and by heritage be given autonomy or independence from the people who live in and around them? Or even authority over them? For example, can a tribe close a white-owned liquor store on private land within a reservation's boundaries, even if most of the people who live within those boundaries are white? Why or why not? Bordewich asks those questions, with genuine sympathy for both sides. He's also courageous enough to be honest on painful issues such as alcoholism. In addition to talking about their relations with the white world, Bordewich examines questions of culture and politics as seen from inside Native communities, as they try to determine what it means to be Indian today. What should tribes do with the bones of their ancestors when they get them returned from museums? How do they know whether given bones are associated with their tribe or not? Does even a genetic link with a thousand-year-old civilization imply a cultural link? Tribes have gained control of own resources. Should tribes encourage logging, mining, the construction of landfills, or (yes) casinos on their land in order to succeed in a modern, capitalist economy? Finally, in the political realm, Bordewich writes approvingly of the many tribes who have successfully asserted their rights to govern themselves. Yet here too there are complexities. In the modern world, when tribal governments violate democratic rules or their members' civil rights, should Indians appeal to federal courts or should they try to solve the problem internally? If you're interested in the political and cultural issues facing American Indians today, and if you want both sides of the issues so that you can make up your own mind, this is the book you want. Highly recommended.

I disagree with the reviewer on here who thinks the author is trying to push some kind of ridiculous agenda. Although I did learn a lot that I didn't know before, it's pretty common knowledge that many reservations are poorly-run places with little to no infrastructure and utilities where the people live steeped in poverty. Is the author's idea that Native American societies should participate in modern business in order to revitalize their economies and provide for their people a racist and degrading proposition? Do you really think his arguments for overhauling badly mismanaged tribal governments in order to better service native peoples are given in the spirit of racism and deceipt? I think shedding such a unique and supposedly sell-out perspective as his on the subject is extremely important. Sticking to an agenda of just romanticizing the lost Native world won't soon help alleviate the poverty, alcoholism and dysfunction that plagues "Indian Country" in this day and age.

As a Caucasian who lived on two South Dakota Indian Reservations (Rosebud and Cheyenne) as a child, and whose father was an Indian Agent, I approached this book with some trepidation. However, Fergus Bordewich has crafted one of the most studious, readable and important books ever written on this subject. His research is exhaustive, yet related in a way which is entertaining and informative at the same time. There is grist for thought for anyone who has ever had an opinion on how the "Indian Problem" ought to be solved. This will be painful at times to proponents on all sides, as Bordewich's carefully balanced research points outs mistakes and avarice, both willful and accidental, by many. His conclusions will not be universally accepted, as many of his proposals are sure to be viewed with suspicion by one side or the other. Particularly noteworthy are his thoughts on "sovereignty." He points out that the Native American's general view of sovereignty does not match the definition, and fails to recognize that true sovereignty means total independence from the existing US government. This book is recommended for any student who is doing serious research about any aspect of the Native American in contemporary America. This book also is just plain good reading for anyone with an interest in how Native Americans have reached their current position in the American society.

"Killing the White Man's Indian" is perhaps the best book I've read on Native Americans. It treats the subject even-handedly while exploring critical issues of "Indian Country." The book is beautifully written, well researched, fairly presented, and highly informative. It is an excellent read for any student of Native Americans.

In my library I have over 100 books dealing the with the American West and especially American Indian history. Original journals and histories written by such as Charles Willard Schultz and George Caitlin and Fr. DeSmet have made me crave a modern, no nonsense, unsentimentilized non New Age study re the American Indian. Bordewich's book is one of the best. I wish Hollywood and others who portray the American Indian would read it. I think the American Indian who reads it would learn a great deal about their own history. I know I did. This is not a book for those with preconceived notions garnered from watching "Dances with Wolves." This is a book for those who are searching for the truth. Well written, and well thought out,it needs to be on the shelf of every student of American Indian history.