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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: June 5, 2020 at 12:44:50 PM EDT > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Borderlands]: Hernandez on Rensink, 'Native but > Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American Borderlands' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Brenden W. Rensink. Native but Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and > Refugees in the North American Borderlands. Connecting the Greater > West Series. College Station Texas A&M University Press, 2018. > Illustrations. xv + 300 pp. $40.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-62349-655-5. > > Reviewed by Sonia Hernandez (Texas A&M University) > Published on H-Borderlands (June, 2020) > Commissioned by Maria de los Angeles Picone > > _Native but Foreign_ offers new perspectives in the intertwined > histories of transnational movements and borderlands while focusing > on often-neglected peoples. The newest book in the Connecting the > Greater West series, Brenden W. Rensink's _Native but Foreign_ > connects the disparate histories of peoples in North America by > focusing on the diverse but shared experiences of Chippewa, Cree, and > Yaqui cultures from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. It > retraces these experiences across regions and along the Canadian-US > and Mexican-US international boundaries. _Native but Foreign_ helps > us better understand how various indigenous communities across North > America--while usually not examined as a group nor in the same time > period--had much in common as they negotiated their respective > livelihoods and attempted to prove that they, too, belonged in US > society. It also revisits such concepts and labels as "refugee," > "immigrant," "foreign," and "Native American" and explains their > changing meaning throughout time as well as their use in various > regional contexts. Comparing these three indigenous groups and their > uneven integration into US society is at the heart of Rensink's book > and argument, which outlines how despite the myriad challenges > created by the treatment of indigenous peoples as immigrants, they > nonetheless negotiated their political and cultural identities as > best they could for their own communities' survival. > > In the 1880s, as some of the most resistant indigenous peoples, such > as "Geronimo," a major Bedonkohe leader among the larger group of > Apaches, and others were suppressed, the US government began to view > indigenous groups, including the Crees, as a threat given the > potential for military collaboration with the Sioux and others in the > wake of a declining fur trade during the mid-nineteenth century. > Crees, similar to the Chippewa, moved in search of new economic > opportunities from Canada to the United States. As they carved out > new communities in US-claimed territory, they became "foreigners" (p. > 82). Farther south toward the United States border with Mexico, > Yaquis, who had experienced decades of exploitation and outright > attacks by the Mexican government, sought safer ground as well as new > economic opportunities in the United States. > > While all three groups Rensink examines crossed into the United > States during the latter part of the nineteenth century and as some > became refugees and immigrants, their experiences concerning efforts > to integrate into American society differed greatly. The elimination > of bison herds and settler colonial efforts presented difficulties > for these groups. While the region south of their Canadian homelands > in present-day Montana was "familiar land" for Crees, they were, as > Rensink explains, "forced to live in unfamiliar ways" (p. 95). By > contrast, Yaquis who crossed into Arizona more easily incorporated > themselves into that region's society. Yaquis who gained experience > as miners and railroad workers quickly became commodities, as > employers demanded a skilled labor force. These skills thus were > crucial to overall Yaqui survival. Yaquis also negotiated identity > politics when it was advantageous (that is, labor) and blended in > with the "Mexican" population yet always embraced and claimed their > identity as Yaqui. > > Other groups also negotiated their survival as best they could. > Crees, for example, turned to livestock rustling. However, this > created larger problems for the different generations of Crees. While > perhaps older Crees were able to engage in such activity, younger > generations of Crees now contended with state agents and new federal > laws that worked against these older practices. Some groups of Crees > gained political refugee status, while others blended in with the > larger community as a whole, further complicating the issue of > qualification for refugee status. Worse yet, white settlers in the > region shifted the perception of Crees from "public pity to public > outcry" through biased portrayals in newspapers and complaints > submitted to officials (p. 99). Tragically, this resulted in a > deportation campaign in the late nineteenth century. > > Like their neighbors the Crees, Chippewas turned to negotiating their > status and created alliances with white residents with their own > racialized understandings of indigenous peoples. Rocky Boy's > Chippewas, for example, created strategic alliances with well-known > members of the community as in the case of Charles Russell "the > cowboy artist" of Great Falls. Rensink carefully examines these early > twentieth-century alliances while also providing ample evidence of > the total opposite. Deeply rooted racial ideas about indigenous > people--native _or_ foreign--abounded. In one letter to their > congressman, Montana residents described Chippewas as "the lowest > type ... lazy ... diseased ... wholly unfit to mingle with white > people" (p. 184). > > Eventually, Crees, Chippewas, and Yaquis were able to gain federal > recognition and land to call home. This was only possible through > years of struggle, identity claiming, alliances, and community-based > organizing. For Montana Crees and Chippewas, federal recognition and > land came in 1916. Yaquis, who had for a long time distanced > themselves from a Mexican identity, were recognized as Yaqui > Americans in 1978, although mostly in name (for both the federal > government and Yaquis themselves). Continuing to assert their Yaqui > culture, they received land and their corresponding titles/deeds in > Arizona after the passage of a congressional act in 1964. > > Rensink invites us to rethink the categories of refugees and/or > immigrant (as well as immigration policies or lack thereof concerning > "foreign" indigenous peoples) and the category of Native American. > These case studies of various indigenous groups offer a > counter-narrative to the too-often contemporary-driven image of > immigrants and refugees and their experiences as well as overall > immigration policy. The author's rich portrayal of the long history > of struggle for belonging and inclusion serves as the foundation for > this counter-narrative. Ironically, those groups that had by far > greater claim to North American land, regardless of international > borders, were among those who had the greatest difficulty gaining > land and/or federal tribal recognition. Rensink's work also broadens > our perspectives about the experiences of indigenous peoples that > form part of American society today; that is, many of these groups > faced incredible challenges to simultaneously defend their community > and identity group culture while positioning themselves as US > residents and workers. All three groups were subjected to years of > anxiety and uncertainty because federal immigration policy failed to > adequately address the status of indigenous peoples. > > Other contributions of the book include the incorporation of a wide > variety of primary source material, including memoirs, newspaper > articles, and government and military records. Rensink recreates the > intimate day-to-day lives of indigenous peoples by carefully > analyzing their first-hand accounts. Larger historical processes are > equally valued and serve as the backdrop for these lived experiences > across time and region. While at times, the term "transnational" is > often overused and runs the risk of losing meaning, the sections in > which Rensink shows us how these groups _were_ transnational helps to > address the overuse of the term. > > Although a broad comparative work of this nature can run the risk of > presenting disconnected narratives given the difference in > periodization and specific Chippewa, Cree, and Yaqui histories, > Rensink delivers a nicely woven single narrative. In short, those > interested in the historical struggles of indigenous incorporation, > resistance, and negotiation in the expansive North America will find > a compelling and important narrative based on rich primary sources in > _Native but Foreign_. > > Citation: Sonia Hernandez. Review of Rensink, Brenden W., _Native but > Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American > Borderlands_. H-Borderlands, H-Net Reviews. June, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54577 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
