The American Indian Mind in a Linear World: American Indian Studies and Traditional Knowledge

by Donald L. Fixico

Overview

Currently, there are three approaches to studying American Indians: from how white Americans approach Indian studies, from the dynamics or exchange of Indian-white relations and from the Indian point of view. Donald Fixico, an American Indian, has been teaching and writing history for a quarter of a century. This book is the direct result of his experience as a scholar who 'thinks like an Indian' in an academic environment created predominantly by non-Indian thinkers. This book addresses current approaches to studying Native American traditional knowledge and acknowledges an Indian intellectualism that has up until now been ignored in studying Native American history. Written primarily from inside the Native world, but fully cognizant of the American cultures outside of that world, his unique voice speaks to a need for understanding the interior Native world: a world in which linear thinking is atypical and circularity is preferable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135389673
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/04/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Donald L. Fixico is the Thomas Bowlus Distinguished Professor of American Indian History, CLAS Scholar, director of the Indigenous Nations Studies Program and Center, and editor of Indigenous Nations Studies Journal at the University of Kansas. He is an American Indian (Shawnee, Sac and Fox, Muscogee Creek, Seminole).

Table of Contents

PREFACE 1. INDIAN THINKING AND A LINEAR WORLD 2. ORAL TRADITION AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE 3. AMERICAN INDIAN CIRCULAR PHILOSOPHY 4. NATIVE AMERICAN GENIUS AND INDIAN INTELLECTUALISM 5. INDIAN MINDS AND WHITE TEACHERS 6. RISE OF AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES 7. CULTURAL PATRIMONY AND NATIVE SCHOLARS 8. INSTITUTIONALIZING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE 9. THE FULL CIRCLE AND ITS CENTER BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editorial Reviews

"Donald Fixico, a leading historian of the indigenous experience, writes with a powerful voice from Indian Country. His provocative message about Indian ways of thought should be considered by anyone interested in Native American Studies." — Peter Mancall, University of Southern California
"This provocative and courageous work by a leading American Indian scholar makes an important contribution to American intellectual and cultural history. It provides a valuable synthesis of key ideas and insightful introductions to major individuals, programs, and institutions. Donald Fixico has written an honest, searching, and significant book." — Peter Iverson, Arizona State University
"Drawing on both personal experience and the abundant literature on Native Americans, Donald Fixico argues for the uniqueness of the American Indian mind, which he characterizes as representing a visual and circular philosophy based on relationship to the natural world. The book is a call for American Indian intellectual sovereignty and for the importance of perpetuating tradition to maintain identity in the modern world." — Raymond J. DeMallie, Indiana University
"Written from an American Indian point of view, The American Indian Mind in a Linear World is a searing critical multidisciplinary review and analysis of the differences existing between the Indian and Anglo-American mind." — Leonard Bruguier, University of South Dakota

From the Publisher