Playing Indian - Paperback

by Philip J. Deloria (Author)

"[A] brilliant book. . . . This book reminds us that at least one question about America has been settled. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that prevailed throughout most of our history, the Indians will remain."--Peter Iverson, American Historical Review

This provocative book, now reissued with a new preface, explores how white Americans have used their ideas about Native Americans to shape national identity in different eras--and how Indian people have reacted to these imitations of their native dress, language, and ritual.

"Not since I first read Michel Foucault, Fredric Jameson, or bell hooks has a text crackled with so much theoretical frisson. Its historical insights are rich and political repercussions profound. American culture will never look the same."--Joel Martin, author of Sacred Revolt and Native American Religion

Winner of the 1999 Outstanding Book Award given by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America

Author Biography

Philip J. Deloria is Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvard University. He is the author of Indians in Unexpected Places and Becoming Mary Sully, and coauthor of American Studies: A User's Guide.