The Work of Sovereignty is a study of organizing campaigns and grassroots, ad hoc collective political actions carried out by employees trying to increase control over their workplaces and their say in the political life of their communities in Indian Country. By studying them, the author takes an on-the-ground approach to tribal labor relations that puts tribal workers at the center of the action. Attending to indigenous peoples as both economic and political members of their community in this way also sheds light on processes of indigenous self-determination that are not always as readily visible as those in courtrooms and tribal council chambers.
David Kamper is professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University. He is author of The Work of Sovereignty: Labor Activism and Self-Determination at the Navajo Nation (School for Advanced Research Press/UNM Press, 2010).
