“There are not enough superlatives in a thesaurus to convey my enthusiasm for this book. It is insightful, original, intelligent, thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and more. Paige Raibmon is the first scholar working in Native history to dissect and articulate the connections between assimilationist government policies, the rise of North American anthropology, and tourism, all of which-Raibmon argues with great success-served as agents of colonialism.”-Nancy Shoemaker, author of A Strange Likeness: Becoming Red and White in Eighteenth-Century North America
“There is nothing in the existing historical literature that accomplishes what this book does. It vividly depicts the interplay of ideas, strategies, and practical considerations during a period that has had significant and long-lasting impacts on everyone’s ideas about ‘Indianness.’ Admirably, Paige Raibmon insists that we consider non-Indians’ ideas in relationship to Indians’ ideas and strategies, something few existing works do.”-Alexandra Harmon, author of Indians in the Making: Ethnic Relations and Indian Identities around Puget Sound
“Authentic Indians is a masterful work that carefully weaves together a complicated theoretical argument with a lively historical narrative. Raibmon paints a clear picture of cultural and economic power structures that ruled the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. And, through an innovative reading of a diverse array of primary sources, she finds native voices and tells a story that features indigenous peoples as meaningful historical actors.”
- Colleen O'Neill (Labor)
