American Indians in a Modern World examines the persistence of American Indian culture in a world of explicit antagonism and rapid modernization. Surveying the many facets of Indian life, from tribal ceremonies to Indian humor and gaming tables, Donald L. Fixico shows how Indian nations have survived threats to their culture and their very existence by relying on a flexible mix of traditional and modern values, enabling them to adapt to a world of airplanes, cities, and the Internet. Fixico looks deeply at Indian culture in its inescapable confrontation with the modern world: the formation of tribal governments in the 1930s, the service of thousands of Indians in World War II, the development of activist movements, the evolution of Indian artistic traditions, and efforts to balance traditional and modern education. American Indians have survived and often thrived in a rapidly changing world, he observes, because of their cultural resilience.

Author Biography

Donald L. Fixico is Distinguished Foundation Professor of History at Arizona State University.