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| Introduction: Ambassador | |
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| Terminology | |
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| What terms are most appropriate for talking about North America's first people? | |
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| What terms are not appropriate for talking about North America's first people? | |
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| What terms are most appropriate for talking about each tribe? | |
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| How do I know how to spell all these complicated terms? | |
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| What term is most appropriate-nation, band, tribe, or reservation? | |
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| What does the word powwow mean? | |
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| How can I find out the meaning of the place names around me that come from indigenous languages? | |
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| History | |
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| How many Indians were in North and South America before contact? | |
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| When did Indians really get to North America? | |
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| Why does it matter when Indians got here? | |
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| What do Indians say about their origins? | |
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| Who else made it here before Columbus? | |
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| Did Native Americans scalp? | |
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| Did Indians practice polygamy? Do they now? | |
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| What are native views about homosexuality? | |
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| How was gender configured in native communities? | |
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| Do indigenous people in Canada get treated more fairly by their government than those in the United States? | |
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| What is the real story of Columbus? | |
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| Why does getting the Columbus story right matter? | |
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| What is the real story of Thanksgiving? | |
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| What is the real story of Pocahontas? | |
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| When did the U.S. government stop making treaties with Indians and why? | |
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| Why do some people use the word genocide in discussing the treatment of Indians? | |
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| Religion, Culture & Identity | |
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| Why do Indians have long hair? | |
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| Do Indians live in teepees? | |
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| What is fasting and why do Indians do it? | |
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| What are clans and do all Indians have them? | |
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| Where are the real Indians? | |
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| What does traditional mean? | |
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| Aren't all Indians traditional? | |
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| Why is it called a "traditional Indian fry bread taco"? | |
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| What is Indian time? | |
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| What are Indian cars? | |
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| I thought that Indians have a strong sense of ecological stewardship, so why do I also see a lot of trash in some yards? | |
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| Do Indians have a stronger sense of community than non-Indians? | |
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| What is Indian religion? | |
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| Why do Indians use tobacco for ceremonies? | |
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| It seems like Indians have a deeper spiritual connection than in many religious traditions. Is that true? | |
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| What are some of the customs around pregnancy and childbirth? | |
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| What are naming ceremonies? | |
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| Can a normative person get an Indian name? | |
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| What are coming-of-age ceremonies? | |
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| How come everyone's laughing at a traditional Indian funeral? | |
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| Do they charge for participation in native ceremonies? | |
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| What is a sweat lodge? | |
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| Do Indians still get persecuted for their religious beliefs? | |
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| Powwow | |
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| What is a powwow? | |
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| What do the different styles of dance mean? | |
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| Why are "49" songs sung in English? | |
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| How come they have a prize purse at powwows? | |
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| Can white people dance at powwows? | |
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| Do women sing at powwows? | |
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| What is the protocol for gifts at powwows? | |
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| Tribal Languages | |
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| How many tribal languages are spoken in North America? | |
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| Which ones have a chance to be here a hundred years from now? | |
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| Why are fluency rates higher in Canada? | |
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| It seems like tribal languages won't give native people a leg up in the modern world. Why are tribal languages important to Indians? | |
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| Why should tribal languages be important to everyone else? | |
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| What are the challenges to successfully revitalizing tribal languages? | |
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| When were tribal languages first written down? | |
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| Many tribal languages were never written. Why do they write them now? | |
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| Why is it funnier in Indian? | |
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| How do tribal languages encapsulate a different world view? | |
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| Politics | |
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| What is sovereignty? | |
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| Why do Indians have reservations? | |
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| Why isn't being American enough? Why do Indians need reservations today? | |
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| Why do Indians have treaty rights? What other rights do they have that differ from most people? | |
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| What is allotment? | |
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| Why does my land have clouded title? | |
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| Is something being done about clouded title? | |
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| If tribes had hereditary chiefs, how come there is a democratic process in place for selecting tribal leaders in most places today? | |
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| What's the Indian Reorganization Act? | |
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| What are the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council? | |
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| Why do so many Indians live in urban areas today? What is relocation? | |
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| What is termination? | |
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| Why do Indians have their own police and courts in some places? | |
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| Why does the FBI investigate murders on some reservations? | |
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| Why do state law enforcement agencies investigate murders on some other reservations? What is Public Law 280? | |
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| Don't tribes ever investigate murders on Indian land themselves? | |
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| Do Indians face racial profiling from law enforcement? | |
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| Should Leonard Peltier be freed? | |
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| Is AIM good or bad? | |
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| What is the Indian Child Welfare Act? | |
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| What is blood quantum, what is tribal enrollment, and how are they related? | |
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| How has tribal enrollment affected you personally? | |
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| How come some tribes ban the use and sale of alcohol? | |
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| Is there a solution to substance abuse in Indian country? | |
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| Do all Indians have drinking problems? | |
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| Why is there so much concern about mascots? | |
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| Why don't tribes do more to support language and culture? | |
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| Why are Indian politics often such a viper's pit? | |
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| Are tribes getting better? | |
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| Why do Indians have so many kids? | |
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| I heard that a lot of Indians serve in the U.S. military. How do they reconcile their service with the fact that the U.S. Army killed so many of their people? | |
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| How do Indians feel about the use of Geronimo as the code name for Osama Bin Laden? | |
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| Economics | |
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| Do Indians get a break on taxes, and if so, why? | |
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| Do Indians get a break on license plates? | |
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| Why should Indians be eligible for welfare if they are not taxed the same way as everyone else? | |
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| Are all Indians living in extreme poverty? | |
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| Are all Indians rich from casinos? | |
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| How has casino gambling affected Indian communities? | |
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| How have per capita payments affected Indian communities? | |
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| What is the future of Indian gaming? | |
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| What should tribes be doing to improve the economic condition of their citizens? | |
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| Education | |
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| What were federal residential boarding schools? | |
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| How come 50 percent of-Indians are flunking their state-mandated tests in English and math? | |
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| Is there anything that works in the effort to bridge the achievement gap? | |
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| How does No Child Left Behind affect Indian country? | |
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| Do all Indians have a free ride to college? | |
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| Perspectives: Coming to Terms and Future Directions | |
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| Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood? | |
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| As a white person, I don't feel privileged. So what do Indians mean by that term? | |
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| Why don't tribes solve their own problems? | |
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| All these problems are not my fault. Why should I be asked to atone for the sins of my ancestors? | |
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| Is there anything wrong with saying that some of my best friends are Indians? | |
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| Is there something wrong with saying that my great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess? | |
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| I might have some Indian ancestry. How do I find out? | |
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| Why is that picture End of the Trail so popular in Indian country? | |
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| Regarding casinos and treaty rights, I'm not racist, but it doesn't seem fair to me. What's wrong with that line of thinking? | |
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| I'm not racist, but it all happened in the past. Why can't Indians just move on? | |
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| Why do Indian people often seem angry? | |
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| Do Indians ever work together? | |
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| What are some good books to read about Indians? | |
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| Are there any good Indian movies? | |
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| Have you ever been the object of direct racial discrimination? | |
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| You're a testament to your race. How did you turn out so good? | |
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| How can I learn more? | |
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| Conclusion: Finding Ways to Make a Difference | |
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| How can I help? | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Recommended Reading | |
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| Notes | |
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| Index | |
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| Illustration Credits | |