Download or read book The American Indian and the Problem of History written by Calvin Martin and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1987 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: North American Indians have traditionally held conceptions of history, time and the universe that are vastly different from those of European civilizations. How, then, can Western historians begin to write accurately and without bias about societies who shunned "history" and who performed in our Western vision and errand of history only through coercion? Here, eighteen prominent authors wrestle with the phenomenon that in writing about Indian-white relations they are perforce trying to mesh two fundamentally different world-views. In pieces written expressly for this volume, the contributors--who include a cross-section of historians, anthropologists, professional writers, and native Americans--cover such diverse topics as cultural pluralism and ethnocentrism, native American dancing and ritual, the experiences of native American women, and attitudes toward the environment. In considering the deep and chronic issues of Indian-white relations, these controversial essays look anew at Indian cultural ideals and restore them to their proper place in American history.