Natives and Newcomers: The Cultural Origins of North America

Axtell's book shows what can be done with history, without wandering, or deliberately entering into the halls of destructive ideological agendas. Scholars in the social sciences, sociology, anthropology, even psychology and social work can use Axtell's book as a vehicle to understand in a more in-depth way the origins of America, and also as a way to approach and appreciate the communities in which they work, and of which they write. Understanding the differences between historical English and Native values lends to an understanding of the present problems in American communities of color and their continued clash with Euroamerican values and practices, for instance the psychological implications of land and cultural loss for Native Americans, documented so widely in psychology and other academic disciplines. It also helps to understand the cultural mixture that resulted in the America of today.

While Axtell's understanding of Native American religions in the American South has been criticized, for researchers and writers focusing on American populations of color, past and present, this book is one to have, not only as a reference source, but also as a reminder that the study of man occupies different positions in the spectrum of history, often in the opposite extremes, but sometimes among the many shades of grey, as in the unpreventable historical mingling of cultures.

NOTES

1. A term used here to describe writings on Native Americans that exemplify the spirit of Manifest Destiny, which perceives the European and Anglo cultures as superior and deserving of the usurpation of lands inhabited by those of lesser value, the savage, uncivilized, and unchristian natives of color.

Zoly Zentella Springer, New Mexico

Copyright Association of Third World Studies, Inc. Fall 2005
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