American Indian Culture and Research Journal

American Indian Societies: Strategies and Conditions of Political and Cultural Survival. By Duane Champagne. Cambridge, MA: Cultural Survival (Volume 32 in Cultural Survival’s Report Series), 1989. $19.95 Cloth. $10.00 Paper. American Indian Societies is a significantly enlarged version of Cultural Survival Report 21 issued in December 1985 under the current subtitle. I note this because the casual scanner of titles might mistake it for a simple repackaging of an earlier publication. This expanded and reorganized publication requires a four-pronged review strategy. First, Champagne’s analysis must be located in current controversies in sociology. Second, the intellectual growth of the author and, more importantly, his contribution to bridging controversies need to be highlighted. Third, an assessment is needed of the work as it is. Finally, the preceding three approaches indicate the value of a positive critique that points the way to future revisions, emendations, and expansions of research on Indian cultural and political survival. The first two are, I hope, useful to readers of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal because of their disciplinary diversity and, I presume, because of an interest in the intellectual qualities of the journal’s editor. The third prong is a standard review. The fourth approach is implied by the previous three and is justified by the importance of the topic. Let me anticipate my punchline. This is a work well worth the time spent reading it. I find it sound, yet provocative, and have decided to use it in my course "Native Peoples of North America."