Choctaws at the Crossroads - by Sandra Faiman-Silva (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Choctaws at the Crossroads examines the political economy of the Choctaws at the end of the twentieth century. Forcibly relocated in the 1830s from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southeastern corner of Indian Territory, the Choctaws today are a dynamic and complex rural ethnic community in Oklahoma. Many work as nonunionized laborers for large corporations, yet they seek to maintain some aspects of their traditional way of life. Combining fieldwork and archival research, Sandra Faiman-Silva uncovers the processes by which the local economic and social practices of the Choctaws have become intertwined with and, in some respects, dependent on corporate and global economic forces. Low wages and often temporary work force the Choctaws to supplement their income through tribal economic assistance and through traditional practices of horticulture, fishing, craft production, canning, and residence sharing. Faiman-Silva finds a troubling paradox in this strategy. Such traditional economic activities are central to Choctaw identity and way of life and are outside the non-Indian controlled, capitalist system; at the same time, these practices help sustain the power and profits of corporations. This sensitive and theoretically informed study makes an important contribution to understanding the historic, economic, and social conditions of contemporary Native Americas.

From the Back Cover

Choctaws at the Crossroads examines the political economy of the Choctaws at the end of the twentieth century. Forcibly relocated in the 1830s from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southeastern corner of Indian Territory, the Choctaws today are a dynamic and complex rural ethnic community in Oklahoma. Many work as nonunionized laborers for large corporations, yet they seek to maintain some aspects of their traditional way of life. Combining fieldwork and archival research, Sandra Faiman-Silva uncovers the processes by which the local economic and social practices of the Choctaws have become intertwined with and, in some respects, dependent on corporate and global economic forces.

Review Quotes

"[A] superlative work . . . Focusing on shifts in the political, economic, and cultural lives of the Choctaw, the author demonstrates the degeneration of the group's political status from nation to tribe to ethnic enclave, as well as its economic marginalization through forced entry into the world capitalist system. . . . Faiman-Silva eschews a simplistic model of victimization without denying the glaring inequalities and injustices of past and present interactions with the surrounding world, and she presents vividly the internal heterogeneity of Choctaw solution seeking."-"Choice"

"ÝA¨ superlative work . . . Focusing on shifts in the political, economic, and cultural lives of the Choctaw, the author demonstrates the degeneration of the group's political status from nation to tribe to ethnic enclave, as well as its economic marginalization through forced entry into the world capitalist system. . . . Faiman-Silva eschews a simplistic model of victimization without denying the glaring inequalities and injustices of past and present interactions with the surrounding world, and she presents vividly the internal heterogeneity of Choctaw solution seeking."-"Choice"

"An important contribution to the literature of the political economy of Indian Country. Faiman-Silva's consolidation of diverse theoretical tools sets an example that will hopefully influence subsequent scholarship in the field. . . . . Significantly, this work provides an outstanding example of how the guiding theories therein should be used, as well as their possibilities when used in unison."-"American Indian Quarterly"

"This book significantly contributes to the literature by advancing the radical explanation of underdevelopment in Indian communities as a global phenomenon. . . . . This work serves well as a case study of the changing relationship between one tribe and its resources and the impact of external economic interests on the political, cultural, and economic lives of a people. It is a worthwhile addition to the economic analysis of underdevelopment in Indian Country."-"Review of Radical Political Economics"

"[A] superlative work ... Focusing on shifts in the political, economic, and cultural lives of the Choctaw, the author demonstrates the degeneration of the group's political status from nation to tribe to ethnic enclave, as well as its economic marginalization through forced entry into the world capitalist system.... Faiman-Silva eschews a simplistic model of victimization without denying the glaring inequalities and injustices of past and present interactions with the surrounding world, and she presents vividly the internal heterogeneity of Choctaw solution seeking". -- Choice

About the Author

Sandra Faiman-Silva is a professor of anthropology at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts.