What does it mean to be Indian today? Specifically, what does it mean to be an Alabama-Coushatta Indian living on a reservation in East Texas, geographically far from ancestral territory and removed in time and by the intervention of white missionaries and government agents from the traditions and lifestyles of one's forebears?
All of the most emotional issues among contemporary Southeast Texas Native Americans--including repatriation of remains, educational funding, health care, and cultural preservation--in some way address the question of personal identity. Difficulties in determining...