Marxism and Native Americans - Ward Churchill ed Winona LaDuke Russell Means and Others.pdf

n a unique format of intellectual challenge and counter-challenge prominent Native Americans and Marxists debate the viability of Marxism and the prevelance of ethnocentric bias in politics, culture, and social theory.

Don't wait another 20 years to read this
By Bryan Hunt on January 6, 2003
Format: Paperback
I really enjoy this little gem. It met all of my criteria for valuable reading: It made me think, it increased my understanding of concepts, issues and ideas that interest me, it serves as a valuable resource that I will be able to refer to later, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy copies for friends.
The overall strength of this book undoubtedly rests in the way it exposes the cultural blinders with which so many "Europeans", with a special emphasis here on marxists, regard indigenous cultures, essentially any non-European peoples. Grounded in an unapologetic Native American skepticism of marxist ideology and intent, the book consists of a series of essays, alternating between American Indian and marxist contributors, where the onus is placed on the latter to "respond to critique by defining its (marxism's) utility and potential to Indians." Although there are a lot of brilliant and thought-provoking opinions and statements generated throughout, the most insightful analyses remain on the part of the Native American contributors and the editor, Ward Churchill. Debunking the claim that marxism represents the epitome of original and superior analytical insight into the "humanization of society", essays by Russell Means, Vine Deloria Jr., Frank Black Elk, Dora-Lee Larson and Churchill offer very lucid observations and suggestions while providing a fascinating evaluation of what is probably the most influential European ideology from a non-euro perspective. Nowhere is this more evident than in the discrepancy between world views, pitting an all-encompassing integration with nature and its importance for human survival against the European stress on production and control over nature.The writings of the marxist contributors provide some astute summations of, primarily orthodox, marxism and how it might apply to socio-cultural problems in non-euro societies, though in the end they do a better job of revealing an underlying cultural chauvinism, illustrating once again how easily doctrine leads to dogma. This is most evident in the insignificant contribution of the Revolutionary Communist Party, interesting only in that it verifies how ideology inevitably encourages ignorance and arrogance on the part of its fanatics, and certainly dispelling even the notion that communism should be seen as the culmination of progessive socialization.
Another major strength of this book is its readability. Though it covers some heady ground, it is presented and always written in a very accessible manner, never floating off into verbose, over-intellectualized abstractions. A background in marxist theory is not necessarily required, as the essays themselves do a great job of covering the core framework and concepts, while the main themes addressed are done so in a manner that anyone should automatically be able to relate to. Credit much of this clarity to the cogency of the Native American mind. Churchill ends the book with a characteristically direct and wise summary of how marxists can benefit from this type of critique, which is not unique, by the way, to the American Indian perspective, and how everyone benefits from working as allies. To close, Churchill outlines a " rudimentary crash course" for acquainting oneself with the Indian experience in America, with a useful bibliography and a call to action for those who understand that the future of the Native American determines the future of everyone on this planet. A powerful message of utmost exigency, as relevant now as when originally published.
A must read... a real eye-opener.


An enlightening foray into the concerns of Native Americans heretofore unknown and/or unrecognized by white Americans. Masterfully edited by Churchill, the book discusses Marxist ideology and the Native Americans' place within it. Particularly powerful is Russell Means' piece on the "European mentality". Truly an eye-opener.


By kevin rivera on December 13, 2002

We chose to read this book for a group project in a class on Marxism. It's definitely worth reading if you're into Marxism, Native American issues, or radical politics. The book is set up as a collection of essays, with some critiquing previous input from other authors. Whether you end up agreeing with anything the authors say its definitely food for thought, particularly the notion raised that while Marxism does attempt to solve problems of inequity and oppression, it ultimately will do nothing for the plight of native peoples or to conserve the earth's resources. Russell Means (whose cred is very questionable)makes the claim that industrialization is the enemy more so then class conflict, which Marxism does not address. He states that Marxism will continue to see the earth and its resources as something to be exploited, with the only difference being that the wealth is distributed more equitablly. So basically the earth will continue on its downward spiral wrought on by human beings, but at least we'll all have our little piece, at least in theory.
The book doesn't get a 5 only because most of its contributors engage in the typical intellectual abstracts that "activists" with PHd's love to engage in, in order to show how down they are with revolution and radical change. But in the meantime, while another PHd sits at his computer and comes up with the newest scholarly academic interpretation of what Marx means today, the top 5% of the people in this nation own more then the bottom 95%, 30 million Americans live in complete poverty, millions more hover just barely above it but can't do anything to change it because we don't have a liveable wage, 40 million Americans are without health care, we're spending another 350 billion a year on the military, and on the verge of another imperialistic war.
PHd's, students, and activists: GET OFF THE INTERNET AND DESTROY THE RIGHT WING.