Number 1 March, 1981 EXPLORATIONS IN SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Annual Review Supplement to Explorations in Ethnic Studies Published by NAIES Ethnic Studies Department California State Polytechnic University 3801 W. Temple Avenue Pomona, California 91768 EDITOR: Charles C. Irby Cal ifornia State Polytechnic University ASSOCIATE EDI TORS: Gretchen Bataille Iowa State Univers ity Helen MacLam Dartmouth College ASS I STANT ED I TOR: Mered ith Reinhart California State Polytechnic Univers ity A Modest Beginning With this inaugural issue of Explorations in Sights and sounds, NAIES has begun the development of what we hope will become a major resource for everyone interested in ethnic studies. We want to emphasize its interdisciplinary nature and, accord­ ingly, plan to review as many current materials as possible in as many areas and formats as possible. NAIES is a visionary organization with a pur­ pose: the exploration of solutions to cultural oppression, and particularly, to the cultural op­ press ion experienced by ethnic people of color. This first issue of Sights and Sounds reflects this perspect ive. "Aprender a luchar; luchar es aprender." H. �l. EXPLORATIONS IN SIGHTS AND SOUNDS No . 1 - March 1981 CONTENTS Thomas Wildcat Alfo rd, Civilization and the Story of the Absentee Shawnees, reviewed by Elme r R. Rusco . 1 Evelyn Gross Avery, PebeZs and Victims: the Fiction of Richard Wright and Bernard Malamud, re vie we d by Edith Blicksilver . 3 David W. Baird, The �uapaw Indians: a History of the Downstream PeopZe, review ed by David R. McDonald . 5 Gretchen M. Bataille and Charles L. P. Silet (Eds.), The Pretend Indians: Images of Native Americans in the Movies, re viewed by Barbara F. Lue bke .. .. 6 Fran Leeper Buss, La Partera: Story of a Midwife, reviewed b y Caroline Whit e . 8 Hanay G eioga mah , New Native American Drama: Three Plays, re vi ewed by Louise C. Maynor. .10 He rman Grey, Tales from the Mohaves, reviewed by Dona Hoilman .12 Had ley Irwin, We Are Mesquakie, We Are One, reviewed by Kath l een Hickok . 13 Jane B. Katz (Ed.), This Song Remembers: Self-Portraits of Native Americans in the Arts, reviewed by Gretchen M. Bataille . 14 Michael Kereszt esi and Gary R. Cocoz zoli, German-American History and Life: a Guide to Information Services, r e v ie wed by Rach el A. Bonney . 1 6 Kevin Marjoribanks, rthnic Families and Children's Achievement, re vie we d by Shirley Vining- Brown ..19 John Chester Miller, The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery, reviewed by Roland L. Guyo tt e ..21 Explorations in Sights and Sounds Charles C. Moskos, Jr., Greek Americans. Struggle and Success. reviewed by Phylis Cancilla Martinelli . 23 Kolawole Ogungbesand (Ed.), New West African Literature. reviewed by Jean Bright . 24 Harold K. Schneider, TI!e Afl,icans: an Ethnological Account. reviewed by Gary Y. Okihiro . 26 Monica Schuler, "Alas. Alas. Kongo": a Social History of Indentured Immigration into Jamaica. 184l-1865. reviewed by David M. Johnson . 29 Robert L. Schuyler (Ed.), Archaeological Perspectives on Ethnicity in America: Afro­ American and Asian American Culture History. reviewed by Lyle Koehler . .. .. 31 Ellease Sutherland, Let the Lion Eat Straw. reviewed by Janet Cheatham Bell .34 Graham B. Taylor, The ,':ew Dea l and American Indian Tribalism: the Administration of the Indian Reorganization Act. 1934-45. reviewed by George W. Sieber ..36 Vladimir Wertsman, The Pomanians in America and Canada: a Guide to Information Soul'ces. reviewed by Ernestine Paniagua . 38 George Woodcock, The Canadians. reviewed by John W. Larner, Jr. 39 Paul Berliner with Kudu, The Sun Rises Late Here. reviewed by Ricardo Valdes . 40 Ethnic Studies: the Peoples of America. reviewed by David N. Mielke .42 Prejudice: Perceiving and Believing. reviewed by David N. Mielke . .44 Thomas Wilocat Alforo. Civilization and the Story of the Absentee Shawnees. (Norman : Universitv. of Ok lahoma Press, 1979) ix, 203 pp ., $12.50. Thomas Wildcat Alf ord was born a Shawnee and died a white man . While an oversimplification, this is not an unfair summary of hi s memoir, "told to" Florence Drake. A reprint of the 1936 edition , the book has a brief preface by aut hor Angie Debo (wh ich, however, has little infornl ation) . Alford was born in Indian Territory in 1860, a member of the Ab sentee Shawnees who had come to re st in what be cam e Okl ahoma . Du ring his chi ldh ood, Sh awn ee life was little influ enced by white soc iety. One intrusion was welcomed by hi s father, however; this was a school operated by missionaries of the Soc iety of Friend s near their home . Young Thomas sp ent four years in this scho ol , learning to read and write English and acqu iring a desire to learn the ways of "civilization ." As he pu t it, "d aily the convict ion grew upon me that there was a better way to live than my people knew." Hi s chance to become "civi.l ized" depended, however , on a decision by his tribe to edu cate tw o of their young men so that the tribe could deal �ore ad equat ely with the federal government and the su rrounding whites. Alford and another young man were selected to go East to school . Th ey were prom­ ised by the traditional chiefs that they wou ld be leade rs of the tribe when they returned and wou ld eventually become chie fs th emselves. Howeve r, all of this was explicitly continge nt upon their not ab andoning Shawnee religion for Christianity . The boys "solemnly pl edged" to pr eserve their faith and went off to several years of school at Ham pton Institute in Vir�inia. As Al ford describes it, from the beginning the boys were eager to learn and acquire the ways of what they assumed to be a superior so ciety . lie did not mention homesickness and indicated that they liked all aspects of their new environment . Alford did report agon izing over his acceptance of Christ ianity, realizing that this meant giving up his �r.b ition to be a lead er of his people . Nevertheless, he ex perienced "b i tter dis­ ap po intment" whe n he returned hom e an d found that his peo ple rejected him and refused to accept his leadership. He managed to secure employment as a teacher for six years and t hen in var ious other Indian Service or local governmen t pos itions . He persist ed in trying to "civilize" other Shawnees, and strongly supported the allotment system, which aimed to make individual lan d-own ing farmers of Indians . (In fact , he recited with pride how he managed to secure a tr ibal roll by secret methods so that even those Absentee Shawnees who had refused to accept allotments cou ld nevertheless be "g iven" them .) He also did his best to keep Ind i ans from losi ng their allotments to non-Indi ans and to pre­ vent exp loit ative leases from being negotiated . He was proud of his part in frustrat ing a massive land fraud sche�e which he said succeeded for a time in misleading the traditional leaders of his tribe. In 1893, eleven years after his return from school, Alford was appOinted a member of a Shawnee Business Commit tee set up by the nat ional government as a kind of government for the Absentee Shawnees. When this Committee elect ed him its cha i rman, he be­ came "in reality at last ... the chief or princi­ pal adviser of my people , recognized as such by the gov ernment at Washington . " The Federal government succeeded in im posing his leadership although his tribe had refused it . Mr . Alford saw a few virtues in Shawnee life. He translated the Bible into Shawn ee, primarily in order to preserve the "purit y and beauty" of the language. Nevertheless , he wi llingly abandoned the essential elements of Shawne e cu lture. It is nota­ ble that his example was not fol lowed by many mem­ bers of his trib e. This account is int eresting , but we need wider theories to explain why and when and under what condit ions the culture into wh ich one is born is ab andoned for anot her . Mr . Alford emerges from his memoir as an appea ling person-- honest, upright, a good husband and father, a man who was doing wh at he thought wou ld benefit his peop le. There are photographs , but no index or bib liography. A few footnotes , pre­ sumab ly by Ms. Drake, add some detai ls to the story. Elmer R. Rusco University of Nevada, Reno 2 Evelyn Gross Avery . Rebels an<! :'ictims: Tlte Fiction of Richard Wright anci SeY'naI'c Malamuc. (N ew York: Kennikat, 1979) 116 pp ., SlO .OO. Ev elyn Gr oss Av er y' s compar ison of Richard Wr ight's works and themes with those of Bernard Malamud asserts th at a clear patt er n of behav ior is discernible in both Af ro-Am er ic an and Jewish­ Amer ic an fiction . Both bl ack and Jew, fac ing a hostile Ang l o-power society, psycho logically and sometimes ev en physically abused, emprg ed as rebels striking out at exp loitat ion and injust ice or as victim s, internalizing their frustrated ang uish . Wri ght's ch ar act er s, pr imarily rebels, ar e found in both th e rural South and urban North wh ile �Ialarr.