American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Politics and the Resurgence of Identity Author(s): Joane Nagel Source: American Sociological Review, Vol. 60, No. 6 (Dec., 1995), pp. 947-965 Published by: American Sociological Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096434 . Accessed: 13/05/2011 11:08

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http://www.jstor.org AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL: POLITICS AND THE RESURGENCE OF IDENTITY*

Joane Nagel University of Kansas

Ethnic renewal is the reconstructionof one's ethnic identity by reclaiming a discarded identity, replacing or amending an identity in an existing ethnic identity repertoire,orfilling a personal ethnic void. Between 1960 and 1990, the numberof Americans reportingan AmericanIndian race in the U.S. Cen- sus more than tripled. This increase cannot be accountedfor by simple popu- lation growth (increased births, decreased deaths, immigration), or by changing enumeration definitions or techniques. Researchers have con- cluded that much of this growth in the American Indian results from "ethnic switching," where individuals who previously identified them- selves as "non-Indian"changed their race to "Indian" in a later census. The question posed here is: Whydoes such ethnic switching occur? Drawing on historical analyses and interview data, I argue that this growth in the AmericanIndian population is one instance of ethnic renewal. I identifythree factors promoting individual ethnic renewal: (1) federal Indian policy, (2) American ethnic politics, and (3) American Indian political activism. These three political factors raised American Indian ethnic consciousness and en- couraged individuals to claim or reclaim their Native American ancestry, contributing to the observed Indian census population increase. American Indian ethnic renewal contributes to our general understandingof how eth- nicity is socially constructed.

his paper examines the phenomenon of change their racial identity.1 Between 1960 Ethnic identity change and the role of and 1990, the number of Americans report- politics in prompting the reconstruction of ing American Indian as their race in the U.S. individual ethnicity. Specifically, I examine Census more than tripled, growing from recent demographic trends in the American 523,591 to 1,878,285. This increase cannot Indian population to understand the condi- be accounted for by the usual explanations tions and factors that lead individuals to of population growth (e.g., increased births, decreased deaths). Researchers have con- cluded that much of this population growth *Address all correspondence to Joane Nagel, Department of Sociology, 716 Fraser Hall, Uni- versity of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 (Internet: 1 Consistent with the usage of native and non- NAGEL@ FALCON.CC.UKANS.EDU). This research was native scholars, I use the terms "American In- supported in part by the National Science Foun- dian," "Indian,""Native American" and "native" dation (grant SES-8108314) and by a 1994/95 interchangeably to refer to the descendants of the Jensen Lectureship sponsored by Duke Univer- aboriginal inhabitants of North America. I also sity and the American Sociological Association. use the terms "race"and "ethnicity" somewhat in- My thanks to Karl Eschbach and Leif Jensen for terchangeably, although I view ethnicity as the their generous technical assistance with this and broaderconcept subsuming race, which generally related work, and to Duane Champagne, Steven refers to visible (often skin color) distinctions Cornell, Karl Eschbach, John W. Meyer, C. Mat- among . Ethnicity can refer not only thew Snipp, Norman Yetman, Carol A. B. War- to somatic or physical differences, but also to dif- ren for their helpful comments on this and earlier ferences in language, religion, or culture. I ac- drafts. [The reviewers acknowledged by the au- knowledge the importance, some would say pre- thor include Gary D. Sandefur and Charles Tilly. eminence, of race in historical and contemporary -ED.] American ethnic relations.

American Sociological Review, 1995, Vol. 60 (December:947-965) 947 948 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW must have resulted from "ethnic switching," individuals, American Indian ethnicity has where individuals who identified their race been more optional than for those living on as non-Indian (e.g., White) in an earlier cen- reservations. Changes in American political sus, switched to "Indian"race in a later cen- culture brought about by the ethnic politics sus. Why are more and more Americans re- of the civil rights movement created an at- porting their race as American Indian? mosphere that increased ethnic conscious- My research draws on historical analyses ness, ethnic pride, and ethnic mobilization and interview data, and combines a social among all ethnic groups, including American constructionist model of ethnic identity with Indians. The resulting "Red Power" Indian a social structuralapproach to ethnic change. political activist movement of the 1960s and I argue that the increase in American Indian 1970s started a tidal wave of ethnic renewal ethnic identification reflected in the U.S. that surged across reservation and urban In- Census is an instance of "ethnic renewal." dian communities, instilling ethnic pride and Ethnic renewal refers to both individual and encouraging individuals to claim and assert collective processes. Individual ethnic re- their "Indianness." newal occurs when an individual acquires or Below I provide a constructionist concep- asserts a new ethnic identity by reclaiming a tual framework for interpreting ethnic iden- discarded identity, replacing or amending an tity generally; review the demographic evi- identity in an existing ethnic repertoire, or dence and explanations for increases in the filling a personal ethnic void. Reclaiming a American Indian population; outline the role discarded identity might entail resuming re- of structural factors, such as political poli- ligious observances or "retraditionalization" cies, ethnic politics, and ethnic political ac- (e.g., the return to orthodoxy by American tivism in prompting or strengthening Indian Jews). Replacing an identity in an existing ethnic identification; and explore the mean- ethnic repertoire might involve religious ing and consequences of activism for Ameri- conversion (e.g., the conversion to Islam by can Indian ethnic renewal. Christian African Americans); amending an existing ethnic repertoire might involve ex- ploring a new side of one's family tree and BACKGROUND including that or ethnicity among Negotiating and Changing Individual and ethnic the tak- one's working identities (e.g., Collective Identities ing on of Armenian ethnicity by an Irish Ar- menian American already involved in Irish In the past 30 years, our understanding of American ethnic life). Filling a personal eth- ethnicity has increasingly stressed the so- nic void might entail adopting a new ethnic cially constructed characterof ethnicity. The identity for the first time (e.g., Americans re- pioneering work of Fredrik Barth (1969), connecting with their ethnic "roots"and join- shows ethnicity to be situational and vari- ing ethnic social, political, or religious orga- able. Many studies have followed that have nizations). Collective ethnic renewal in- found ethnicity to be more emergent than pri- volves the reconstruction of an ethnic com- mordial, boundaries to be more munity by current or new community mem- fluid than fixed, ethnic conflicts to arise bers who build or rebuild institutions, cul- more from clashes of contemporaryinterests ture, history, and traditions (Nagel 1994, than from ancient animosities, ethnic history forthcoming). and culture to be routinely revised and even My thesis is that ethnic renewal among the invented, and the central essence of ethnic- American Indian population has been ity-ethnic identity-to be multifaceted, ne- brought about by three political forces: (1) gotiable, and changeable (see Conzen, Ger- federal Indian policy, (2) American ethnic ber, Morawska, Pozzetta, and Vecoli 1992; politics, and (3) American Indian political Sollors 1989). activism. Federal Indian policies have con- It is this last assertion-that one ethnic tributedto the creation of an urban,intermar- identity can be exchanged for another-that ried, bicultural American Indian population runs most against the grain of common wis- that lives outside traditionalAmerican Indian dom. Sociologists have long identified forms geographic and cultural regions. For these of ethnic change associated with intergroup AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 949 contact, such as assimilation, accommoda- cusses divisions among Americans of Afri- tion, and acculturation (Park 1928; Gordon can descent based on national origin and skin 1961; Glazer and Moynihan 1963). These tone (also see Keith and Herring 1991; Wa- processes have been seen as long-term, often ters 1994). Similarly, many studies describe intergenerational, frequently involving the the shifting and emerging identities of dissolution or blending of immigrant or mi- Latinos (Pedraza 1994; Padilla 1985, 1986; nority ethnicities into a larger dominant eth- Gimenez, Lopez, and Munoz 1992), Asian nicity or nationality (e.g., from "Indian"to Americans (Espiritu 1992; Wei 1993), Native "White" or from "Irish" to "American").In Americans (Cornell 1988; McBeth 1989; the case of ethnic renewal, however, indi- Forbes 1990), and European Americans viduals adopt a nondominant ethnic identity, (Alba 1990; Waters 1990; Lieberson and Wa- and thus move from membership in a domi- ters 1988; Bakalian 1993; Kelly 1994). nant group to become part of a minority or While historical shifts do indeed occur in subnational group (e.g., from "White"to "In- ethnic boundaries and definitions, is it really dian" or from "American"to "Irish Ameri- possible to change one's individual ethnic- can" or "JewishAmerican"). This resurgence ity? The answer, of course, is yes. Individu- of nondominant ethnic identity does not fit als change their ethnic identity often, singly clearly into traditional models of ethnic and en masse. Perhaps the most common change which carry a heavy presumptionthat form of ethnic switching is religious conver- ethnic change invariably moves in the direc- sion. This sort of ethnic change is most likely tion of assimilation (i.e., from minority to to occur when a particular religion-based majority). ethnicity is especially stigmatizing. Scher- Opportunitiesfor individual ethnic change merhorn (1978) reports a common form of vary. Certainly some people, for instance, ethnic switching in India, where Hindu Un- American Whites, have a wide menu of "eth- touchables convert to Islam to escape un- nic options" from which they are free to touchability.Another instance of mass ethnic choose (Waters 1990). It is more difficult for change occurred in the former Yugoslavia members of other racial or ethnic groups to during Ottoman rule, when Christian conver- change their ethnicity, particularly commu- sions to Islam created a permanent ethnic nities of color. This is because in the United boundary; contemporary conflicts between States such groups confront a world of the descendants of these Muslims and the "hypodescent," where one drop of particular Christian Croat and Serb populations illus- blood (African, Asian) dictates a specific trate the resurgentpower of ethnicity and na- ethnic group membership, leaving limited tionalism, as these conflicts involve commu- options for individual members (see Harris nities marked by varying degrees of inter- 1964; Davis 1991). EuropeanAmericans and marriage, residential integration, and reli- African Americans represent two ends of an gious tolerance (Hodson, Sekulic, and ethnic ascription continuum, in which Massey 1994). Another type of ethnic change Whites are always free to remembertheir an- is "passing"-hiding or camouflaging a dis- cestry and Blacks are never free to forget advantageous ethnicity while adopting the theirs. These ethnic boundaries are main- dress or behavior of a more advantaged tained and policed by both Blacks and group. Nayar (1966) notes that in India many Whites, although their content and location instances of passing were motivated by the can change over time (see Collas 1994 for a British colonial preference for Sikh military discussion of "transgressing racial bound- recruits: Hindus and others identified them- aries"). selves as Sikhs to qualify for army posts. Despite such strict racial regimes, and per- Sometimes ethnic switching is pursued bu- haps because of their constructed character, reaucratically. Lelyveld (1985) describes there is constant flux at the edges of indi- how individuals petitioned the South African vidual ethnic identity and ethnic group government to change officially their own or boundaries. For instance, despite the "one others' racial designations under apartheid drop rule," Davis (1991) describes centuries regulations. Similar challenges to racial des- of defining and redefining "Blackness" in the ignations on birth certificates have been United States (also see Stein 1989), and dis- mounted in the United States (Davis 1991). 950 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

American Indian Ethnicity: Opting for an some of whom speak native languages, most Indian Identity of whom converse in English, some of whom live on or regularly visit reservation "home- American Indians reside at the intersection lands," most of whom live off-reservation, of two racial regimes: hypodescent and self- some of whom participate in tribal commu- identification. In some portions of the United nity life, most of whom live in urban areas. States Indianness is strongly socially as- Despite this diversity, researchers assert cribed and often mandatory (e.g., in the that, indeed, there are "Indians,"and this all- Southwest or the Northern Plains). In these encompassing category can be seen as an settings Indian ethnicity is regulated in two "ethnic group."2 For instance, Deloria ways. The first is informal and external to (1992a) argues that as American Indians be- Indian communities, and involves ascription came increasingly involved in off-reservation mainly, though not exclusively, by non-Indi- political and economic life after World War ans. In this instance of classic hypodescent, II, they came to see themselves as minority any visible "Indianness"labels an individual group members and as part of the larger as "Indian." The second, more formal way American ethnic mosaic. In fact, many Na- American Indian ethnicity is regulated can be tive Americans carry within their portfolio of both internal and external to native commu- ethnic identities (which may include identi- nities, and involves official membership in ties based on kin or lineage, , reser- Indian . In this case, tribal, state, and/ vation, language, and religion) a supratribal or federal governments recognize an indi- or pan-Indian "Indian"identity, which is of- vidual as an "enrolled" member or not. ten reserved for use when interacting with In much of the United States, however, non-Indians. Finally, as further evidence of American Indian ethnicity is largely a matter the existence of an "AmericanIndian" ethnic of individual choice; "Indian"ethnicity is an group, in recent decades increasing percent- ethnic option that an individual can choose ages of Americans who identify their race as or not. This is not to say that anyone can "Indian" fail to specify a tribal affiliation, choose to be an Indian or that all observers suggesting that their primary ethnic identity will unanimously confirm the validity of that is supratribal or "Indian" (Masumura and choice. Indeed, there is enormous contro- Berman 1987).3 versy among native people about who should be considered an Indian for purposes of re- Patterns of American Indian ceiving tribal services, federal benefits, affir- Identification, 1960-1990 mative action consideration, or rights to par- ticipate in tribal governments (Larimore and The U.S. Census provides data for examin- Waters 1993; Reynolds 1993; Snipp 1993). ing both ethnic choice and ethnic ascription An important point to make here about in American society. Beginning in 1960, the supratribal "American Indian" ethnicity is Census Bureau moved from a system where that it is purely a social construction. That enumeratorsassigned each person a race to a is, the Native American population is com- system that permitted individual racial self- prised of many linguistic, cultural, and reli- identification. This move from ascription to gious groups, more than 300 of which are racial choice opened the door to individual separately recognized by federal or state racial "switching," especially for those eth- governments in the lower 48 states (with nic categories not strongly governed by so- many more in Alaska and Hawaii); each group has its own political, legal, and police 2 Some native scholars and commentators have system, economy, land base, and sovereign taken offense at the notion that Indians are a authority.Around two-thirds of American In- "mere" ethnic group, arguing that they are in- dians identified in the U.S. Censuses are of- stead, sovereign (Trask 1990, 1991; Morris 1989; Deloria and Lytle 1984; Stiffarm ficial members of these recognized commu- and Lane 1992). nities (Snipp 1989). Thus, when we speak of 3In 1980, about one-fifth of U.S. Census re- an "American Indian" race or ethnicity, we spondents who identified their race as "American are of necessity referring to a group of indi- Indian" did not report a tribe (U.S. Bureau of the viduals from various tribal backgrounds, Census 1981). AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 951

Table 1. American Indian Population, 1900-1990 American Indian population" (p. 174), the offspring of whom identify themselves as In- Population Percent Change Census Year Size from Previous Year dian. Steiner (1967) characterizes individu- als likely to be included in the ranks of the 1900 237,196 unaccounted for Indian population as "new 1910 276,927 17 Indians"-urban, educated, and multicul- 1920 244,437 -13 tural-people whom Snipp (1989) describes 1930 343,352 40 as "individuals who in an earlier era of American history would have 'passed' unrec- 1940 345,252 1 ognized into white society" (p. 57). Eschbach 1950 357,499 4 (1992) depicts the Indian population explo- 1960 523,591 46 sion as the result of "new identification" by 1970 792,730 51 Americans of varying degrees of Indian an- 1980 1,364,033 72 cestry who formerly reported a non-Indian race, but who changed their race to "Indian" 1990 1,878,285 38 in a later census. And, finally, there is the Sources: For 1900-1970, Thornton (1987:160); somewhat unkind, informal description of for 1980 and 1990, U.S. Bureau of the Census newly identified census Indians as "wan- (1991, table 1). nabes," non-Indian individuals who want to be American Indian and thus identify them- cial conventions of hypodescent. Table 1 selves as such (Deloria 1981:140; Giago shows the growth in the American Indian 1991; Taliman 1993:10). Census population from 1900 to 1990. Between 1970 and 1980, the American In- DESCRIBING THE "NEW" INDIAN dian population increased the most: The POPULATION population grew from 792,730 in 1970 to 1,364,033 in 1980, an increase of 72 percent. Although researchers seem to agree that in- Researchers wondered what accounted for dividual ethnic change is an importantfactor this growth. They searched for the usual ex- in the recent growth of the American Indian planations: increased birthrates, decreased population, the reasons remain unclear. death rates, immigration, changes in census Phrased as research questions, we might ask: coding procedures.4 As these explanations Who are these "new" Indians? And, what were examined one by one and each failed to motivates them to change their ethnicity? account for Indian population growth, re- A survey of U.S. Census data and demo- searchers looked to alternative, more socio- graphic research on the characteristics of the logical explanations. For instance, Passel and American Indian population provides some Berman (1986) and Deloria (1986) argue that answers to the first question. Demographers the unexplained percentage of Indian popula- calculate "natural increases" in the popula- tion growth is the result of "'recruitment,'i.e., tion by subtractingdeaths from births; when changes in self-definition" by individuals population growth exceeds this number, the from non-Indian in one census to Indian in difference is referred to as the "errorof clo- the next (Passel and Berman 1986:164). sure" (Passel and Berman 1986:164; Harris Thornton (1987) suggests that such increases 1994).5 The largest growing segments of the are the result of "'biological migration': the migration of non-Indian genes into the 5Errors of closure in the Indian population were estimated to be 9.2 percent for the 1960- 4Researchers believe that the racial self-report- 1970 decade, 25.2 percent for the 1970-1980 de- ing introduced by the U.S. Census in 1960 con- cade, and 9.2 percent for the 1980-1990 decade tributed to the 46 percent increase from 1950 to (Passel and Berman 1986; Harris 1994). In 1980, 1960. After 1960, however, census coding proce- the year of largest Indian population growth, the dures were no longer a major explanation for errorof closure translatedinto more than 350,000 American Indian population growth (see Snipp "new" Indians (Passel and Berman 1986:164); 1989; Thornton 1987, 1990; Stiffarm and Lane many of these new identifiers most likely identi- 1992; Eschbach 1992; Passel and Berman 1986; fied their tribe as "Cherokee" (Thornton, Snipp, U.S. Bureau of the Census 1988). and Breen 1990:200). 952 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

Table 2. Selected Characteristics of the American Indian Population, 1960-1990

Percent Living Percent Children Given Indian Language Year in Urban Areasa Intermarriedb Indian Racec at Homed

1960 27.9 15.0 _e 1970 44.5 33.0 ee 1980 54.6 48.0 47.4 26.1 1990 56.2 59.0 46.7 23.0

aFor 1960 and 1970, Sorkin (1978:10); for 1980, U.S. Bureau of the Census (1989:150); for 1990, U.S. Bureau of the Census (1992). b For 1960 and 1970, Sandefur and McKinnell (1986:348); for 1980, Snipp (1989:157); for 1990, Eschbach (1995, table 1). c For 1980, Eschbach (1992:150); for 1990, Eschbach (1995, table 2). d For 1980, U.S. Bureau of the Census (1989:203); for 1990, U.S. Bureau of the Census (1992:66). e Data not available. population are those likely to have the high- dian population was growing twice as fast in est "errors of closure," and hence the most non-Indianstates: A 114 percent increase oc- likely influx of new members. Thus, by ex- curred in non-Indian states compared to only amining the fastest growing segments of the a 56 percent increase in Indian states. Indian population we can infer some of the Eschbach (1995:103) examined population social characteristics of the "new" Indians. growth rates in regions of the country with Table 2 summarizes several social charac- states containing historically small Indian teristics of the American Indian population populations similar to Passel and Berman's for the period from 1960 to 1990. Column 1 "non-Indian states."7He found that popula- of Table 2 shows the percentage of the Ameri- tion growth in these regions during the pe- can Indian population living in cities from riod from 1960 to 1990 was six times greater 1960 to 1990. The Indian population became than in the regions containing states with his- increasingly urbanized during these three de- torical Indian populations. These two studies cades, with the proportion of urban Indians strongly suggest that the "new" Indians are growing from 27.9 percent of the total Indian much more likely to be from states with his- population in 1960 to 56.2 percent in 1990. torically small Indian populations. As a result, the urban Indian population has Researchers have also found that Indian grown three times faster than the rural popu- population growth is associated with racial lation. During the 1960-1990 period, the ur- intermarriage. American Indians have very ban Indian population increased 720 percent high intermarriage rates compared to other compared to a 218 percent increase in rural racial groups. For instance, Snipp (1989:157) areas (Sorkin 1978:10; U.S. Bureau of the compared rates of intermarriage of Blacks, Census 1989:150, 1992). Thus, the "new" Whites, and Indians in the 1980 Census and Indians are much more likely to live in urban areas than rural areas. Wyoming; California was excluded because it There are also regional differences in In- "behaved demographically over the last three de- dian population growth. Passel and Berman cades much like a typical 'non-Indian' state" (1986) compared 1970-1980 population (Passel and Berman 1986:171). growth rates in "Indian states" with those in 7 The correspondence between Passel and "non-Indian states,"6 and found that the In- Berman (1986) and Eschbach (1995) is close, but not perfect. For instance, Passel and Berman's 6 Indian states are those states with a native "Indian"states of Michigan, Nebraska, and New population of 3000 or more in 1950: Alaska, Ari- York are contained in Eschbach's six non-Indian zona, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ne- regions, and unlike Passel and Berman, Eschbach braska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North includes California as an Indian region. I follow Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Passel and Berman in excluding California from South Dakota, Utah, , Wisconsin, and Indian regions. AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 953 found that nearly half of Indians were inter- gions, 36 to 73 percent of mixed race chil- married (48 percent) compared to only 2 per- dren were assigned an Indian race. Further, cent of Blacks and 1 percent of Whites. those regions with the greatest Indian popu- Sandefur and McKinnell (1986:348) report lation growth were areas where children of that Indian intermarriage has been increas- mixed marriages were less likely to be clas- ing, rising from approximately 15 percent in sified by their parents as Indians. These find- 1960 to 33 percent in 1970, and Eschbach ings suggest that the "new" Indians are more (1995:93) reported that in 1990, 59 percent likely to assign a non-Indian race to their of married Indians had a non-Indian spouse. mixed offspring. These findings are summarized in column 2 Finally, we come to that major indicator of Table 2. Indian intermarriageis related to of assimilation-native language loss. In- region and rates of population growth. dian language usage has declined dramati- Sandefur and McKinnell (1986:356) com- cally in the past century. As shown in col- pared rates of intermarriage in "Indian umn 4 of Table 2, in 1980, 74 percent of states" and "non-Indian states" (as defined American Indians spoke only English in by Passel and Berman 1986) in the 1980 their homes (U.S. Bureau of the Census Census. They found that the intermarriage 1989:203); by 1990, the percentage had rate in non-Indian states (nearly 70 percent) risen to 77 percent (U.S. Bureau of the Cen- was nearly twice that in Indian states (40 per- sus 1992:66). Snipp (1989) found, not sur- cent). Eschbach (1995:95) also found that prisingly, that native language usage varies rates of intermarriage varied by the by region, with Native Americans from re- "Indianness"of a region, with intermarriage gions with historically large Indian popula- ranging from 16 to 64 percent in Indian re- tions much more likely to speak an Indian gions, and from 72 to 82 percent in non-In- language than are those from historically dian regions. Eschbach also noted that popu- non-Indian regions.8 As Indian population lation growth was greatest in those regions growth is highest in these non-Indian re- with the highest intermarriagerates, increas- gions, we can conclude that the "new" Indi- ing from approximately 151,000 in 1960 to ans are quite likely to speak only English. 928,000 in 1990-a 500 percent increase Adding the above data together, a picture (1995:103). The implication of this research emerges of the fastest growing segment of on Indian intermarriageis that the "new" In- the Native American population: Compared dians in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses to the total American Indian population, are more likely to be intermarried. these Indians are more urban, more concen- The race assigned to children in mixed trated in non-Indian states without reserva- marriages provides another important piece tion communities, more often intermarried, of information about the characteristics of less likely to assign their mixed offspring an the fastest growing segment of the American Indian race, and more likely to speak only Indian population. Where hypodescent does English. These characteristics are all de- not dictate the race of mixed race children, scriptive of a population more "blended" parents may choose their child's race. In into the American demographic and cultural 1980 and 1990, mixed Indian-non-Indian mainstream than their reservation co- couples assigned the race of the Indian par- ethnics, more likely to have more flexible ent to only about half of their offspring (see conceptions of self, residing in parts of the column 3, Table 2). Eschbach (1992, 1995) country that permit a wide range of ethnic reported that in the 1980 Census, 47.4 per- options. In other words, under the proper cent of children from Indian-non-Indianpar- conditions, the fastest growing portions of ents were assigned an Indian race (1992: the American Indian population are avail- 150); that proportion fell slightly in 1990 to able for ethnic renewal. 46.7 percent (Eschbach 1995:97). Region mattered in such racial decision-making. 8 For instance, Snipp (1989:175-76) reports Eschbach (1995:97) found that in non-Indian that in the Mountain states 62.0 percent of Indi- regions the proportion of children given an ans report speaking a native language at home, Indian race in 1990 ranged from 33 to 45 per- compared to only 3.6 percent in the South Atlan- cent; in comparison, in historically Indian re- tic states. 954 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

ACCOUNTING FOR AMERICAN mates that from 1952 to 1972, federal pro- INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL grams relocated more than 100,000 Ameri- can Indians to a number of targeted cities, What are the conditions that promote Ameri- including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Den- can Indian ethnic renewal? Restated, what ver, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oklahoma City, has motivated these new Indians to change Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San their ethnicity? The answers to this question Jose, Seattle, and Tulsa (Sorkin 1978:chap. can be found in policy and politics: federal 3). By 1970, nearly half of American Indians Indian policy, American ethnic politics, and lived in cities as a result of relocation pro- Native American political activism. grams and other general urbanization pro- cesses. The combined result of decades of these federal Indian policies was the creation Federal Indian Policy of an urbane, educated, English-speaking In- Beginning in the nineteenth century, federal dian constituency that was available for mo- Indian policy was designed to assimilate bilization when the civil rights era arrived in American Indians into the Euro-American the 1960s. cultural mainstream(e.g., throughforced En- Not only did federal Indian policy help ur- glish language acquisition, Anglo-centric banize the Indian population, many programs education in Indian boarding and day had a major impact on the organizationalfab- schools, and reservation land reduction pro- ric of urbanIndian life. For instance, reloca- grams). Despite a brief pause in federal as- tion programs directly funded the creation similation programs during the "New Deal" and operation of a number of Indian centers era,9 the net result of decades of federal In- in both relocation target cities and cities near dian policy was the creation of an English- large reservation populations (Ablon 1965). speaking, bicultural, multi-tribal American These centers were established to provide Indian population living in U.S. cities. World services and meeting places for burgeoning War II also spurred the urbanizationand ac- urban Indian populations. Further, as an in- culturation of the Native American popula- direct consequence of relocation efforts, tion, as Indians volunteered and were drafted other urban Indian organizations blossomed: into the military and non-enlisted native intertribal clubs, bars, athletic leagues, workers left reservations for wartime indus- beauty contests, powwows, and dance trial jobs in urban areas. Many of these In- groups, as well as Indian newspapers and dian veterans and workers never returned to newsletters, social service agencies, political the reservation (Nash 1985; Bernstein 1986). organizations, and Christian churches Post-World War II programs for job training (Hertzberg 1971; Guillemin 1975; Steele and urban relocation were specifically de- 1975; Mucha 1983; Weibel-Orlando 1991). signed to reduce reservationpopulations dur- In a few urban areas, some of these orga- ing the "termination" era of federal Indian nizations had a specific tribal character and policy, and provided a further push in the were frequented only by members of a par- reservation-urban Indian population ticular tribe (Hodge 1971). However, the vast stream.10 For instance, Sorkin (1978) esti- majority of urban Indian organizations were intertribal and had names reflecting their 9 For instance, the Indian Reorganization Act inclusionary character:the Cleveland Ameri- of 1934 (IRA) reaffirmed tribal rights. Many crit- can Indian Center, the Inter-Tribal Tribune ics maintain that the IRA was also an accultura- (newsletter of the Heart of America Indian tion program of sorts, because it created tribal "councils" with "chairmen"linked to the Bureau officially suspended when the Kennedy adminis- of Indian Affairs (Deloria and Lytle 1984; Cham- tration took office in 1961, although a number of pagne 1986). tribes were terminated after that date. A 1970 10 The "termination" era in federal Indian statement by President Richard M. Nixon that policy began in 1946 with the creation of the In- embraced Indian "self-determination"marked the dian Claims Commission, which was designed to official turning point in federal Indian policy, settle all Indian land claims, and so to begin a shifting it from "termination"to "self-determina- process of ending (terminating)the federal-Indian tion" (see Cohen [1982] for a summary of federal trust relationship. Termination policies were un- Indian policy). AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 955

Center, Kansas City), the Los Angeles Hugh Davis Graham (1990) writes in the In- American Indian Bowling League, the Many troduction to The Civil Rights Era: Trails Indian Club, the First Southern Bap- tist Indian Church (Weibel-Orlando1991). In This is a storyabout a rareevent in America:a such intertribal organizations, many urban radicalshift in nationalsocial policy. Its pre- Indians "sought refuge from the terrible loss conditionwas a broadersocial revolution,the black civil rights movement that surged up of identity that marked modern urban exist- fromthe South,followed by the nationwidere- ence" (Clark 1988:289). The diverse organi- birthof the feministmovement. (P. 3) zations that populated the urbanIndian orga- nizational landscape formed the core of an The demographic changes that underlay the intertribalnetwork and informal communica- rise of Black militancy in American cities, tion system in urban Indian communities. namely, the "greatBlack migration"from the They were important building blocks in the rural south to the urban north (Cloward and development of a supratriballevel of Indian Piven 1975; Edsall and Edsall 1991; Lemann identity and the emergence of a pan-Indian 1991), were paralleled by the movement of culture, both of which were essential ingre- American Indians off the reservations. The dients in the Red Power political mobiliza- federal response to Black protest-civil tion of the 1960s. rights legislation and the War on Poverty- spilled over into other minority communities, including American Indian communities, American Ethnic Politics which were quickly mobilizing in the wake Two forces converged in the 1960s to end the of Black insurgency. The ethnic militancy of assimilationist thrustof federal Indian policy the 1960s redefined mainstream America as and to set in motion the contemporaryperiod "White" and exposed and challenged its ra- of American Indian ethnic renewal. One was cial hegemony. For America's ethnic minori- the civil rights movement and the shifts in ties it was a time to cast off negative stereo- American social and political culture that types, to reinvent ethnic and racial social followed in its wake. The other was President meanings and self-definitions, and to em- Lyndon Johnson's solution to the problem of brace ethnic pride. For American Indians it race in America-the Great Society, the War marked the emergence of supratribalidenti- on Poverty, and the civil rights legislation of fication, the rise of Indian activism, and a pe- the 1960s. The fluctuating currents of cul- riod of increased Indian ethnic pride. Despite tural change and reform politics that marked their often brutaltreatment by United States' the 1960s were responded to by increasingly authorities and citizens throughoutAmerican cosmopolitan and sophisticatedAmerican In- history, American Indians have ironically, dians who lobbied successfully to send fed- but consistently occupied a romanticized eral War on Poverty and community devel- niche in the American popular media and opment resources into impoverished urban imagination (Berkhofer 1978). The durable and reservation communities (Witt 1968:68; symbolic value of the American Indian as a Deloria 1978:88). cultural icon was furtherenhanced by the in- This mix of volatile ethnic politics and an creased ethnic pride characterizing the civil explosion of federal resources, many ear- rights era. The result increased the appeal of marked for minority programs, combined Indian ethnicity for many individuals, and no with earlier federal Indian policies, which doubt contributedto the resurgence of Indian had concentrated large numbers of tribally self-identification. diverse, educated, acculturated, and organi- In addition to the symbolic allure of In- zationally connected Indians in American dian ethnicity, there were also material in- cities. The result: a large-scale mobilization centives. Castile (1992) notes the connec- of urban Indians marked by a rapid growth tion between these ideational and material of political organizations, newspapers, and realms, commenting that American Indians community programs. To grasp fully these were able "to manipulate their symbolic po- dynamic changes in many American commu- sition [in American history and society] in nities, Indian and non-Indian, it is important ways that grant[ed] them a political leverage to recall the atmosphere of the 1960s. As far greater than their numbersjustifiedd. By 956 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW keeping a sharp eye on the political waves American Indian Activism: Red Power of ethnicity, which they [could] not raise themselves, shrewd timing . . . allowed] The shifting political culture and protest cli- them to ride those waves and maximize their mate of the 1960s and 1970s spawned many impact in positive ways" (p. 183). American Indian activist organizations, such as the Indians indeed were able to navigate the (AIM) and the changing currents of American ethnic poli- National IndianYouth Council, and produced tics, and their successes resulted in in- a number of Indian protest actions: the 19- creased federal spending on Indian affairs, month occupation of Alcatraz Island which making American Indian identification a began in 1969; the 1972 Trail of Broken more attractive ethnic option for many Treaties which culminated in a week-long Americans of Indian descent. The settlement occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in of land claims by the Indian Claims Com- Washington, D.C.; the 71-day siege at mission and the U.S. federal court system Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1973; the during the 1970s and 1980s was another im- 1975 shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Reserva- portant source of funds for Indian communi- tion in South Dakota which resulted in the ties. Churchill (1992) reports that more than imprisonmentof Leonard Peltier; and numer- $128 million in Indian land claims awards ous protest events in cities and on reserva- were disbursed between 1946 and 1970, and tions around the United States, concluding by 1978 the total amount of claims awards with the 1978 Longest Walk to Washington, exceeded $657 million (also see Lurie D.C. These events and this era stand out 1978:101). In addition, a number of major boldly in the publications and accounts of land claims were settled during the early Native Americans living at that time, particu- 1980s, some of which involved large contro- larly native youth (see FortunateEagle 1992; versial settlements. Most notable are the Crow Dog and Erdoes 1990). Red Power claims of Maine's Passamaquoddy and played an important symbolic role in moti- Penobscot tribes, who in 1980 recovered vating individual ethnic renewal on the part 300,000 acres of land and received a pay- of Indian participantsand observers; this eth- ment of $27 million (see Jaimes 1992). nic renewal took two forms, and both forms Increased federal spending in general and are relevant to the argumentI present here. land claim awards in particular, along with The first type of individual ethnic renewal the inclusion of Indians in many affirmative involves individuals who most likely would action and minority set-aside programs, have identified themselves as Indians in ear- contributed to the American Indian ethnic lier censuses, and thus is best summarized as resurgence in part because they increased a resurgence in ethnic pride which did not both the symbolic and the potential material involve taking on a new ethnic identity (e.g., value of Indian ethnicity. Individuals of In- does not involve racial switching). Instead, dian ancestry became more willing to iden- this type of individual ethnic renewal in- tify themselves as Indians, whether or not volved a reaffirmation,reconstruction, or re- such identification was a strategy to acquire definition of an individual's ethnicity. For a share of real or putative land claims example, the slogan, "I'm Black and I'm awards or other possible ethnically-allo- proud" reflected such a redefinition of "Ne- cated rewards (such as scholarships, mineral gro" in the U.S. in the 1960s. These individu- royalties, employment preference). It was in als did not change their race, rather they this atmosphere of increased resources, eth- changed the meaning of their race. This par- nic grievances, ethnic pride, and civil rights allels the resurgence of Native American eth- activism that Red Power burst on the scene nic pride among individuals who already in the late 1960s and galvanized a genera- identified themselves as "Indian." tion of Native Americans. The rest of the The second type of individual ethnic re- country watched as the media covered such newal involves individuals who would not events as the occupation of Alcatraz Island, have identified themselves as Indian in ear- the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs lier censuses, but ratherwould have "passed" headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the into the non-Indianrace categories. For these siege at Wounded Knee. individuals, a resurgence of ethnic pride AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 957 meant not only redefining the worth and In addition to these interviews, I surveyed meaning of their ancestry, but also involved a large and growing body of oral histories laying a new claim to that ancestry by and published personal accounts of recent switching their race on the census form from Indian history. The responses in the archival non-Indian to Indian. This type of individual material, the published literature, and in my ethnic renewal is, I believe, reflected in cen- interviews were quite similar: The activist sus data; but currently the data do not exist period raised individual ethnic consciousness for evaluating directly the influences of fed- and prompted dialogues about the meaning eral Indian policy, the ethnic politics of the of Indianness. These various sources also re- civil rights era, or the rise of Indian activism flected some interesting regional and genera- on this kind of ethnic renewal. Such an tional differences in assessments of the evaluation would require examining the meaning and consequences of Red Power. backgrounds and beliefs of those individuals The remainder of this paper provides an in- who changed their race from non-Indian to terpretive context for these native voices Indian in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses. speaking about their ethnic identity and how As Sandefur and McKinnell (1986) state, "it it was influenced by the decade of American is not possible to know from census data who Indian activism that began with the occupa- has changed his or her racial identification tion of Alcatraz Island. since a previous census" (p. 348). Indeed, re- searchers are awaiting such a definitive study. Snipp (1993) notes, while it is plau- Activism and Identity: Reversing the Causal Connection sible that census increases reflect the fact that "more mixed ancestry persons are iden- The traditionally understood relationship be- tifying themselves as American Indians than tween identity and activism is that identity in the past, . . . [it] is virtually impossible to precedes activism, making particular indi- prove" (p. 16; also see Thornton, Sandefur viduals more likely than others to engage in and Snipp 1991:365; Harris 1994:592). protest activities (for a review of this litera- ture see McAdam 1988 and Tarrow 1992). Much recent research on social movements PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON questions this assumption, exploring more ETHNIC POLITICS AND RED fully the interrelationships among activism, POWER ACTIVISM identity, and culture. Fantasia (1988) points To begin to understand the role of politics out the capacity of both spontaneous and and Red Power activism in promoting in- planned protest action to reshape concep- creased American Indian ethnic pride and tions of personal and collective identity, re- awareness, I interviewed and corresponded define notions of fairness and justice, and with 25 Native Americans who participated build community consensus and solidarity. in or observed the activist events of the Benford and Hunt (1992), Hunt and Benford 1970s (or, in the case of the 2 youngest re- (1994), and Snow and Anderson (1993) spondents, who had heard accounts of the document the emergence of collective ide- Red Power period from their parents). Of the ologies and identities in social movement or- 25, 11 were women and 14 were men; on av- ganizations and movements, and the inter- erage they were in their mid-40s (the young- play between movement-sited interpretative est was 21, the oldest 79); 5 resided mainly frames and rhetoric and larger political and in reservation communities, 9 were urbanIn- cultural themes in the emergence of collec- dians, and 11 had lived in both settings for tive identity. Taylor and Whittier (1992) and significant portions of their lives; 15 were ac- Groch (1994) focus on the importance of tivists during the 1960s and mid-1970s at the group boundaries and collectively negotiated height of Red Power, another 5 became ac- and defined meaning systems in the emer- tivists in the late 1970s and 1980s, and 5 de- gence of oppositional consciousness among scribed themselves as nonactivists. I asked movement participants and constituents. each of the 25 whether the movement had The resurgence of American Indian ethnic any effect on them or their communities, and identity in the 1970s and 1980s is consistent if so, what its impact was. with these findings and illustrates the power 958 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW of activism to inspire individual and collec- During the next 19 months the Alcatraz tive ethnic pride and to raise ethnic con- occupiers negotiated unsuccessfully with lo- sciousness. My interviews most strongly sup- cal and federal authorities and eventually port the notion that activism has its biggest were removed from the island in June 1971. impact on individuals who themselves per- Despite the failure to achieve their demands, sonally witness or become directly involved as Hauptman (1986) notes, "the events at in protest action. The narrative accounts of Alcatraz were a major turning point in the both activists and nonactivists, however, also history of Indian activism . . . [and] became suggest that social movements exert a wider the symbol to many young, disillusioned In- impact, affecting the attitudes of nonpartici- dians, . . . stimulating a rash of similar pro- pants as well, though to a lesser extent. tests" (p. 227). The occupation highlighted Indian grievances and promoted Indian pride. Deloria (1974) summarizes its importance: Alcatraz, Red Power, and the Resurgence "Alcatrazwas the master stroke of Indian ac- of Indian Ethnic Pride tivism" (pp. 184-85). Writing at the height of The 1960s were characterized by increasing Red Power activism in the early 1970s, he levels of American Indian protest activism, recognized the immediate impact of the much of which tended to be regional and as- movement on American Indian ethnicity: sociated with specific tribalgroups and griev- ances (e.g., the "fish-ins"of the mid-1960s in "Indianness"was judged on whether or not one the Pacific Northwest). The national Red was present at Alcatraz, Fort Lawson, Mt. Rushmore, Detroit, Sheep Mountain, Plymouth Power movement got fully underway in No- Rock, or Pitt River.... The activists controlled vember 1969, when Richard Oakes led a the language, the issues, and the attention. group of fellow Indian students from San (Deloria 1974:184-85) 1" Francisco State University and landed on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Call- The much publicized Alcatraz takeover and ing themselves "Indians of All Tribes,"they the first months of the occupation constituted claimed the island by "right of discovery." a powerful symbolic moment both for those The takeover caught the attention of a Native Americans involved in the protest and already engrossed in the escalating protest for those who witnessed it from more distant and conflict of the civil rights movement, and points aroundthe country (see Johnson 1993; the rhetoric and demands of the Alcatraz oc- also see "AlcatrazRevisited: The 25th Anni- cupiers captured the imagination of many versary of the Occupation,"a special issue of Native Americans. Indians of All Tribes is- American Indian Cultureand Research Jour- sued the following proclamation which re- nal [vol. 18, no.4, 1994]). Just as the civil flected their supratribalroots and agenda: rights movement challenged prevailing racial hegemony by refraining Black ethnicity We, the native Americans, re-claim the land known as Alcatraz Island in the name of all through the assertion of Black pride and American Indians .... Since the San Francisco Black power, Red Power, in the form of the Indian Center burned down, there is no place Alcatraz occupation and the decade of Indian for Indians to assemble .... Therefore we plan activist events that followed, challenged cul- to develop on this island several Indian institu- tural depictions of Indians as victims of his- tions: 1. A CENTER FOR NATIVE AMERI- tory, as living relics, powerless and subju- CAN STUDIES.... 2. AN AMERICAN IN- gated. As a result, the Alcatraz occupation DIAN SPIRITUAL CENTER.... 3. AN IN- stimulated Indian ethnic pride and prompted DIAN CENTER OF ECOLOGY.... 4. A GREAT INDIAN TRAINING SCHOOL ... I I In written correspondence with Deloria in the an AMERICAN INDIAN MUSEUM.... [and] summer of 1993, I asked him about the longer- In the name of all therefore, we reclaim Indians, term impact of the . He island for our Indian nations.... We feel this wrote: "This era will probably always be domi- this claim is just and proper, and that this land nated by the images and slogans of the AIM should rightfully be granted to us for as long as people. The real accomplishments in land resto- the rivers shall run and the sun shall shine. ration, however, were made by quiet determined Signed, INDIANS OF ALL TRIBES tribal leaders" (Deloria 1993, personal communi- (Blue Cloud 1972:40-42) cation). AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 959

a resurgence in American Indian ethnic con- now suddenly they said they were Indian. sciousness. LaNada Means, one of the par- Those with Indian blood hid it, saying they ticipants in the occupation, comments: were Turks or Mexicans or Armenians. Now Indians were coming out of the woodwork. The protest movement at Alcatraz had positive (Anonymous interview, summer, 1993) results. Many individuals were not ashamed to be Indian anymore. People who had relocated Every once in a while something happens that in the cities were reidentifying themselves as can alter the whole shape of a people's history. Indians. (Philp 1986:230; also see Means This only happens once in a generation or life- Boyer 1994) time. The big one was Alcatraz. (Telephone in- terview with George Horse Capture, Fort went on to become Wilma Mankiller, who Belknap, MT, May 24, 1993) the Principal Chief of the of Oklahoma, visited the island many times dur- These quotes communicate a resurgence ing the 19-month occupation. She describes of ethnic pride and an increased willingness the personal impact of the event as "an awak- to claim and assert Indian ethnicity. I have ening that ultimately changed the course of argued that assimilation and relocation poli- her life" (Johnson 1993:125). cies created the population base for a resur- I'd never heard anyone actually tell the world gence of Indian ethnicity in cities. Implicit that we needed somebody to pay attention to in these policies was also the not-so-subtle our treaty rights, that our people had given up subtext of assimilation-that Indianness was an entire continent, and many lives, in return something to be discarded, inferior to the for basic services like health care and educa- larger Anglo culture. While some argue that tion, but nobody was honoring these agree- termination policy was successful in re- ments. For the first time, people were saying pressing Indian identity in many older na- things I felt but hadn't known how to articu- tive individuals (for instance Baird-Olson late. It was very liberating. (Mankiller quoted refers to those over 30 at the time as in Johnson 1993:125) [1994] the "lost generation"), it seems clearly to My interviews with Native Americans who have backfired among the younger genera- participated in or observed the events on tion of urban Indians caught up in the youth Alcatraz and later protest events and who culture of the 1960s. It was on this mostly were young adults at the time, showed simi- younger group that Red Power had its stron- lar reactions. Their reactions affirmed the gest impact. powerful symbolic meaning of the Alcatraz Mary Crow Dog (Crow Dog and Erdoes occupation and its importance in raising eth- 1990) describes the response of young nic consciousness: people on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota as AIM swept through on the in life. Alcatraz was a major turning point my Trail of Broken Treaties, a nationwide cara- For the first time in my life I was proud to be van en route to Washington, D.C. in 1972: an Indian and an Indian woman. I grew up in an all white area. It was very difficult. You The American Indian Movement hit our reser- were constantly struggling to maintain any kind vation like a tornado, like a new wind blowing of positive feeling, any kind of dignity. out of nowhere, a drumbeat from far off get- Alcatraz changed all that. (Telephone interview ting louder and louder. It was almost like the with Frances Wise, Oklahoma City, OK, Au- Ghost Dance fever that had hit the tribes in gust 24, 1993) 1890. . . . I could feel this new thing, almost hear it, smell it, touch it. Meeting up with AIM The movement gave me back my dignity and for the first time loosened a sort of earthquake gave Indian people back their dignity. It started inside me. (Pp. 73-74) with Alcatraz, we got back our worth, our pride, our dignity, our humanity. If you have Frances Wise was on the Trail of Broken your dignity and your spirituality and you can Treaties: pray, then you can wear a tie, carry a briefcase, Many of the people with us were like me be- work a job. If you don't have those things, then fore Alcatraz. They didn't quite understand you are lost. (Telephone interview with Len what was going on, but they were interested. A Foster, Ft. Defiance, AZ, September 5, 1993) lot of people joined us [in the auto caravan When Alcatraz came, suddenly they from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.]. I re- bloomed-all the Metis said they were French, member driving around a freeway cloverleaf 960 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

outside of Columbus, Ohio. All I could see individuals of native ancestry were moti- were cars in front of us and behind us, their vated to reconnect with their ethnic roots. lights on, red banners flying from their anten- For Z. G. Standing Bear, the events on Alca- nas. It was hard to believe, really. We were that traz and his own participationin protests dur- strong. We were really doing something. It was ing the 1970s represented a counterpoint to exciting and fulfilling. It's like someone who's been in bondage. Indian country knew that In- other aspects of his biography, a tension that dians were on the move. (Telephone interview took him years to resolve, but one that he with Frances Wise, Oklahoma City, OK, Au- settled in favor of his native ancestry: gust-24, 1993) I was in Vietnam when I heard about Alcatraz. Despite the power of the times, the actions I thought "Right on! That's great what those of Red Power activists were not easily or en- guys are doing." . . . It was years later, after thusiastically embraced by all Native Ameri- hearing Russell Means talk at Florida State cans. Generational differences were evident University in 1981, that there was a major turn- in attitudes toward the movement: ing point in my life. I had been on a personal journey to come to terms with my service in My parents did not want me to get involved [in the army during the Vietnam War, and Means's activism], they weren't active. They were just talk made me finally decide to go back to my struggling to live. When they got involved it grandfather's culture. (Telephone interview was out of dire need. Their generation was al- with Z. G. Standing Bear, Valdosta, GA, June most at the point of being beaten into passiv- 25, 1993) 12 ity. They would say, "There's nothing we can do; government's too powerful." The defeatism Standing Bear's reference to his "personal was very strong. One reason things changed journey" is a theme that runs through many then was that the children of those in power oral and written accounts of Red Power and were resisting. (Telephone interview with of the individual ethnic renewal that has Leonard Peltier, Leavenworth, KS, June 1, taken place since that time. The personal 1993) journeys described by many Native Ameri- Most of the older generation was forced to as- cans involve a seeming contradiction: they similate and are still in the mode of assimila- go forward by going back; or as one native tion. Their attitude toward activism is "don't person characterized it to me, "We become rock the boat." (Interview with Loretta Flores, what we were."This process of becoming of- Lawrence, KS, May 12, 1993) ten involves a spiritual component that for The tendency of the younger generation of many Indians, perhaps for most, represents Native Americans to recapture a fading or the symbolic core of Indianness and is a cen- suppressed Indian heritage and to reaffirm tral part of the ethnic renewal process. Indian identity stood in contrast to the skep- Deloria (1992b) acknowledges the cardinal ticism of their elders. The different reactions importance of spiritual matters in native life to Red Power paralleled the "generation gap" and identifies an underlying spiritual agenda so often used to depict 1960s' America, and in Indian activism. Indeed, activist Frances these differences are consistent with one Wise noted the direct importance of Red trend in the 1980 Census data reported by Power activism in changing policies and cre- Passel and Berman (1986:173). They observe ating a climate that permitted and supported that "the 'new' American Indians [those from individual ethnic renewal through traditional traditionally non-Indian states] are generally dress and spiritual practices. In the early young adults" (p. 173)-precisely the gen- 1970s she was involved in organizing a suc- eration that participated in and witnessed cessful challenge to an Oklahoma school Red Power. board's restriction on men's hair length. She noted the changes that resulted: Activism as a Crucible for Ethnic Pride and Identity 12 To affirm this change, Z. G. reclaimed his family name of Standing Bear. His family's reac- The occupation of Alcatraz Island was fol- tion revealed the continuing generation gap: lowed by dozens of protest actions around "'What are you trying to prove?' one said, 'all the country throughout most of the 1970s. that stuff is over and done with"' (Standing Bear During this and the following decade, many 1988). AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNIC RENEWAL 961

It had a big impact. People now wear long hair, civil rights provided individuals of native an- people who said back then, "Are you sure you cestry (and others as well) symbolic and ma- know what you're doing with this [protest]?" terial incentives to claim or reclaim Indian Now they can wear their hair long-and they ethnicity. Red Power activism during the do. . . . Another outcome is we have greater 1960s and 1970s further raised Indian ethnic numbers of people who have both traditional Indian educations and are also educated in consciousness by dramatizing long held white ways. (Telephone interview with Frances grievances, communicating an empowered Wise, Oklahoma City, OK, August 25, 1993) and empowering image of Indianness, and providing Native Americans, particularly na- During and since the Red Power period, the tive youth, opportunities for action and par- religious and spiritual dimension of tribal life ticipation in the larger Indian cause. Together has become a focal concern among many of then, federal Indian policies, ethnic politics, the Indian people with whom I spoke. Many and American Indian activism provided the reported becoming Sun Dancers for the first rationale and motivation for individual eth- time as adults, many spent time with tribal nic renewal. elders seeking instruction in tribal history and The overall explanation of the resurgence traditions, many learned more of their tribal of American Indian ethnicity I offer here can language, many abandoned Christian reli- be seen as part of a general model of ethnic gions and turned to native spiritual tradi- renewal. The impact of federal Indian poli- tions,13 and some have returned to their home cies on American Indian ethnic renewal rep- reservations. In recounting his decision to re- resents an instance of the political construc- turn to the reservation, Horse Capture (1991) tion of ethnicity (i.e., the ways in which po- believes that he is not the only one embarked litical policy, the structureof political oppor- on such a journey back to what he was: tunity, and patterns of political culture shape Originally I thought I was alone on this quest. ethnic boundaries in society). The impact of But as time has passed, a whole generation and events in this larger political arena on Indian more were influenced by these same forces, ethnic activism and identity illustrates the and we traveled the same course. (P. 203) role of politics and political culture in ethnic mobilization (i.e., the power of political zeit- geist and shifting political definitions to open CONCLUSION windows of opportunity for ethnic activists The rise in American Indian ethnic identifi- and to affirm and render meaningful their cation during the last three decades has re- grievances and claims). The impact of Red sulted from a combination of factors in Power on American Indian ethnic conscious- American politics. Assimilationist federal In- ness reveals the role of human agency in in- dian policies helped to create a bicultural, dividual and collective redefinition and em- intermarried, mixed race, urban Indian popu- powerment (i.e., the power of activism to lation living in regions of the country where challenge prevailing policies, to encourage ethnic options were most numerous; this was ethnic awareness, and to foster ethnic com- a group "poised" for individual ethnic re- munity-building). This model of ethnic re- newal. The ethnic politics of the civil rights newal suggests that, given the capacity of in- era encouraged ethnic identification, the re- dividuals to reinvent themselves and their turn to ethnic roots, ethnic activism, and pro- communities, ethnicity occupies an enduring vided resources for mobilizing ethnic com- place in modern societies. munities; thus, the climate and policies of Joane Nagel is Professor of Sociology at the Uni- versity of Kansas. Her research focuses on the 13 This returnto traditionalspirituality has been politics of ethnicity. Her publications include in prisons, where there has particularly evident "Constructing Ethnicity. Creating and Recreat- been a legal battle over Native American prison- ing Ethnic Identity and Culture" (Social Prob- ers' rights to engage in particular spiritual prac- lems, 1994, pp. 152-76) and American Indian tices (e.g., the building of sweatlodges on prison Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence grounds or the wearing of braids and medicine of Identity and Culture (forthcoming, Oxford Uni- bundles). These disputes led to the introduction versity Press). She is currently working on a in 1993 of Senate Bill 1021, the Native American book, titled Masculinity and Nationalism: The Free Exercise of Religion Act (see Reed 1990). Global Politics of Gender and Ethnicity. 962 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

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