Resources and Services for Iowa Indigenous Peoples

Poet Chrystos is a member of Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. -- Eloquent words are Chrystos's tool for survival and her weapon in fighting for social justice. "Chrystos is writing a poetry which indeed changes the world." -Lambda Book Report

Author Anne Makepeace is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. -- Bold, sometimes abrasive, forever passionate, Edward Curtis was the quintessential romantic visionary. Curtis struggled through an impoverished boyhood in Minnesota to become a successful society photographer in Seattle. But he soon moved far beyond weddings and studio portraits to his life's work: a multi-volume photographic and ethnogrpahic work on the vanishing world of the North American Indian. Initially, Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan backed the ambitious project. But as the work stretched over years, Curtis found himself alone with his vision, struggling to finance himself and his crews. The 20-volume North American Indians, finally completed in 1930, cost Curtis his marriage, his friendships, his home, and his health. By the time he died in 1952, he and his monumental work had lapsed into obscurity. In this richly designed book, Anne Makepeace, creator of an award-winning documentary on Curtis's life, reexamines the lasting impact of his work. Curtis's photographs, once ignored, now serve as a link between the romantic past and contemporary Native American communities, who have used his images to reclaim and resurrect their traditions.

Author Douglas C. Cox is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. -- "In a multi-cultural society, differing worldviews among groups can lead to conflict over competing values and behaviors. Nowhere is this tension more concrete than in the wilderness, where people of different cultures hunt and fish for the same animals. White Americans tend to see nature as something external which they have some responsibility to care for. In contrast, Native Americans are more likely to see themselves as one with nature. In Culture and Resource Conflict, authors Douglas Medin, Norbert Ross, and Douglas Cox investigate the discord between whites and Menominee American Indians over hunting and fishing, and in the process, contribute to our understanding of how and why cultures so often collide. Based on detailed ethnographic and experimental research, Culture and Resource Conflict finds that Native American and European American hunters and fishermen have differing approaches--or mental models--with respect to fish and game, and that these differences lead to misunderstanding, stereotyping, and conflict. Menominee look at the practice of hunting and fishing for sport as a sign of a lack of respect for nature. Whites, on the other hand, define respect for nature more on grounds of resource management and conservation. Some whites believe--contrary to fact--that Native Americans are depleting animal populations with excessive hunting and fishing, while the Menominee protest that they only hunt what they need and make extensive use of their catch. Yet the authors find that, despite these differences, the two groups share the fundamental underlying goal of preserving fish and game for future generations, and both groups see hunting and fishing as deeply meaningful activities. At its core, the conflict between these two groups is more about mistrust and stereotyping than actual disagreement over values. Combining the strengths of psychology and anthropology, Culture and Resource Conflict shows how misunderstandings about the motives of others can lead to hostility and conflict. As debates over natural resources rage worldwide, this unique book demonstrates the obstacles that must be overcome for different groups to reach consensus over environmental policy."

The author, Ada Deer, is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. -- "This stirring memoir is the story of Ada Deer, the first woman to serve as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Deer begins, 'I was born a Menominee Indian. That is who I was born and how I have lived.' She proceeds to narrate the first eighty-three years of her life, which are characterized by her tireless campaigns to reverse the forced termination of the Menominee tribe and to ensure sovereignty and self-determination for all tribes. Deer grew up in poverty on the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin, but with the encouragement of her mother and teachers, she earned degrees in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Columbia University. Armed with a first-rate education, an iron will, and a commitment to justice, she went from being a social worker in Minneapolis to leading the struggle for the restoration of the Menominees' tribal status and trust lands. Having accomplished that goal, she moved on to teach American Indian Studies at UW-Madison, to hold a fellowship at Harvard, to work for the Native American Rights Fund, to run unsuccessfully for Congress, and to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs in the Clinton administration. Now in her eighties, Deer remains as committed as ever to human rights, especially the rights of American Indians. A deeply personal story, written with humor and honesty, this book is a testimony to the ability of one individual to change the course of history through hard work, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to social justice."