Describes the songs and accompanying dances of the Ponca tribe's Helushka society--a traditional society of warriors, tribal leaders, and men of exemplary behavior. Includes Ponca (Siouan) transcriptions of 12 songs, with English translations and commentaries. Contains 46 references. (SV)

Examines apparent aberrations in the visual structure of the story-poems in Leslie Silko's "Ceremony." Suggests that the poems' texts act as skeletons for a series of illustrations that reflect the texts' content and provide the final ingredient necessary for "Ceremony" to become a ceremony--the invisible spirit helpers. (SV)

Characteristics of All-Indian Rodeos held on the Fort Apache Reservation (Arizona) clearly reflect the evolution of historical patterns of tribal warfare and raiding. Rodeos provide the means to preserve Apache rituals, the warrior ideal, and traditional relationships with neighboring Navajo and Papago tribes. (SV)

Interprets several Native American ceremonies as creative responses to European religion. Discusses (1) the Chippewa midewiwin (Grand Medicine Society) ceremony as a transformation of the Christian (Roman Catholic) sacrament of communion; and (2) the Pima-Papago wi:gita as a transformation of the Yaqui Easter ceremony. (SV)

Examines work of author D.H. Lawrence and John Collier, later Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner, during 1920s when they stayed as Mabel Dodge Luhan's guests in Taos, New Mexico. Examines their perceptions of Pueblo Indian culture, federal-Indian relationship, and Indian influences on Lawrence's and Collier's work. (TES)

Discusses various responses by the Tarahumaras of northern Mexico to past and ongoing evangelization by Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Focuses on the adoption of Christian symbols in traditional indigenous rituals and belief systems and the transformation of the symbols of the conqueror into symbols of Tarahumara identity and resistance.…

There was no need for feminism in the Navajo matrilineal culture. The author remembers growing up on the Navajo reservation, where her female relatives were valued, honored, and respected, and where women passed on to their daughters not only their strength, but also the expectation to assume responsibility for the family and therefore act as…

Discusses the legal history of ownership claim to Black Hills land in South Dakota by Lakota Sioux Indians and federal government. Examines progress of the Sioux Nation Black Hills Act (1987) as a way to establish a Sioux National Council, a vibrant legal panel linking the Lakota with their past. (TES)

Minerva Allen, Assinibone tribal historian and mediator in dealings with off-reservation entities, talks about her poetry, prose, and songs; and her efforts to secure the continuance of tribal languages and traditions. Her role as an educator and writer of textbooks is also discussed. Selected poetry is included. (JMM)

Reviews four autobiographical texts by Native American women: "Talking Indian: Reflections on Survival and Writing" (Anna Lee Walters), "Storyteller" (Leslie Marmon Silko), "The Ways of My Grandmothers" (Beverly Hungry Wolf), and "Saanii Dahataal/The Women Are Singing" (Lucy Tapahonso). All rework the…

Reviews "Native American Architecture," by Nabokov and Easton, an encyclopedic work that examines technology, climate, social structure, economics, religion, and history in relation to house design and the "meaning" of space among tribes of nine regions. Describes this book's use in a college course on Native American architecture. (SV)

Examines works by Deloria, Mathews, Forbes, Allen, and Vizenor concerning how American Indians can face challenges of asserting sovereignty and the place of traditional culture in the struggle. Argues that Indian intellectuals should pursue critical analysis of the dominant society and understanding of the Indian experience in wider contexts. (SV)

At present, Congress is resuscitating the process of bilateral agreements that would restore some tribal autonomy to participating tribes. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has upheld federal-agency property rights or state interests over Indian rights to practice traditional religions and frequent sacred places. Contains 120 references. (SV)

Traces federal and missionary efforts to suppress peyote religion and Pueblo religious practices, 1888-1937. Describes Gertrude Bonnin's personal campaign against peyote and efforts by Smithsonian ethnologist James Mooney and Indian Affairs Commissioner James Collier to preserve Indian religious freedom. Lists state and federal laws against…

Traces the evolution of American Indian studies programs at universities since the 1960s. Counters criticisms of methodology and intellectual legitimacy, arguing that such programs are pioneering intercultural education, contributing to the U.S. national literary canon, and defending the distinctiveness and diversity of Indian cultures and people.…