Description
Living Indian Histories: Lumbee and Tuscarora People in North Carolina is the revised edition of Gerald Sider's 1993 publication, Lumbee Indian Histories. As an anthropologist and political organizer, the author takes his 30-year involvement in Lumbee and Tuscarora politics as the basis for this book. The economic, social and political activities of the Lumbee Indians of Robeson County, North Carolina are explored from the 1960s to the 1980s. Drawing on personal experiences and anthropological theory, the author discusses the recent and often fractured history of the Lumbee and their struggle for federal recognition. Ideas about ethnic identity, concepts of Indianness, racism and discrimination are discussed as these relate to Lumbee and Tuscarora people of this southern state. The increasing interest in tribal identity has led to a cultural resurgence for the Lumbee and Tuscarora. The author also comments on the growing dependence on government social programs. The scholarly title moves from personal recollection and anecdote to theoretical analysis. The reader is often left wondering about recent events as the text moves off into another direction. Despite this the book manages to bring to light, the issues surrounding the struggles for cultural identity of the Lumbee and Tuscarora of North Carolina. Numerous black and white photographs are included.