Rating: 
Summary: and the fun continues....
Review: What impressed me most about this book was its emphasis that imperialistic exploitation is not a dead relic of a past we Anglos are ashamed of and wish to forget. The fun continues, and it makes little difference what we call it: manifest destiny, bringing civilization to the primitives, or new world order.Another point: we've been long overdue for a Deloria-style criticism of Anglos who exploit Indian folklore and beliefs. I refer to those who claim esoteric knowledge from Native shamans and all the rest of it. What such folks, including the anthropologists and social scientists who pretend more objectivity, never ask themselves is: do I have any right to make a profit and gain a reputation from the people I claim to have learned from? What do they get out of it? Does it benefit them or harm them? (The claim that Indian people don't need any kind of concrete benefits because they aren't "materialistic" is particularly nauseating.) At one point, while contemplating doing some interviews with local Indians about their experience of being blinkered, baffled, and b.s.ed for 250 years, I reread parts of this book--particularly the "we want to be left alone" parts--and decided that I lacked the temerity even to ask for such interviews. Deloria suggests that no research of any kind be done that isn't approved in council and that doesn't clearly demonstrate some use to the Indians themselves. I would also suggest to other Anglo readers that before they involve themselves in matters indigenous they be very honest about their motivations--particularly where any notions of being "helpful" might occur. Our "helpfulness" has been genocidal and even now perpetrates stereotypes, as Indians may tell you if you're genuinely receptive to the feedback. Books like this are a good reminder that the true primitive is he who goes on colonizing others--intellectually, religiously, economically--without having the courage to look at his own dark side as it flourishes in the here and now.
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