Desert Hawk Books

 

Putting land-use conflicts in perspective

American Indians and National Parks

Robert H. Keller
and
Michael F. Turek

 

 

 

319 pages
16 illustrations
6^.125" x 9.25"
Paperback

Quantity: $19.95 & S/H

 

From Yellowstone to the Everglades, many of America's national parks and monuments have been the scene of conflict between native peoples and park officials over issues such as hunting rights, craft sales, cultural interpretation, and sacred sites. This book examines the evolution of federal policies toward land preservation in our parks and explores some of the provocative issues surrounding park/Indian relations.

To investigate these issues, Keller and Turek traveled extensively throughout the parks and conducted more than 200 interviews with Native Americans, environmentalists, park rangers, and politicians. In American Indians and National Parks, they tackle a significant and complicated subject for the first time, presenting a balanced and detailed account of the Native-American/national-park drama. Their book will prove to be an invaluable resource for policy makers, conservationists, historians, park visitors, and others who are concerned about preserving both cultural and natural resources.

"More than simple political history. The authors have included ethnographic details and insights and especially Indian voices—all necessary for understanding the conflicts from various tribal perspectives. . . . This is a mature analysis, well written and argued." —David Rich Lewis, author of Neither Wolf nor Dog: American Indians, Environment, and Agrarian Change

"Former National Parks Director Russell Dickinson once said that he didn't know of `a single major national park or monument . . . in the western part of the United States that doesn't have some sort of Indian sacred area.' . . . This study by two scholars of Indian cultures argues against `the stereotypes of Indian-as-ecologist/Indian-as-victim.' " —Washington Post Book World

Robert H. Keller is a retired professor of history, formerly with Western Washington University, where he taught federal Indian policy and law. He lives in Bellingham. Michael F. Turek is a subsistence resource specialist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Douglas, Alaska.

Locations covered:
• Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
• Canyon de Chelly
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• Death Valley National Monument
• Everglades National Park
• Glacier National Park
• Glen Canyon
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Mesa Verde National Park
• Monument Valley Tribal Park
• Navajo National Monument
• Olympic National Park
• Pipe Spring National Monument
• Rainbow Bridge National Monument
• Wupatki National Monument
• Yellowstone National Park
• Yosemite National Park