American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Pan-Indianism is an ambiguous and controversial concept. There is confusion regarding what the concept means and what purposes it serves. Some scholars describe resistance as the core tenet of pan-Indianism, focusing on the historical intertribal alliances formed to fight colonial powers. Others argue that it homogenizes Indigenous cultures and perpetuates stereotypes and appropriation. Despite these discrepancies, pan-Indianism remains consistently associated with urban spaces. This article explores this association by tracing pan-Indianism to an area of scholarship known as acculturation studies and argues that pan-Indianism functions as a grammar of colonialism.