Indian Agriculture in America
Prehistory to the Present
R. Douglas Hurt
xiv, 290 pages, 18 photographs, 6 x 9
Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0802-7, $17.95
This is a sweeping survey of American
Indian agriculture from its ancient origins to the present. It
combines a wealth of historical, anthropological, legal, and
economic information in a clear, readable synthesis.
"This is without doubt the most thorough and comprehensive
treatment of American Indian agriculture in print. It is multidisciplinary
and impressive both in scope and in depth. Hurt shows a deft
hand in summarizing not only the literature on the evolution
of agriculture in North America, but also the dismal failure
of American Indian policy to build on earlier Native American
achievements. This book is the starting point for any serious
consideration of the literature on subjects ranging from the
domestication of corn, to pre-contact irrigation, to current
Indian water rights."--Richard White, author of It's
Your Misfortune and None of My Own
"This extremely worthwhile work is a significant contribution
to both Indian history and general American history."--Gilbert
Fite, past president of the Agricultural History Society
and the Western History Association
"Merits the attention of all who are concerned about
the past, present, and future of American Indians. The chapters
devoted to the past century should be required reading for students
of modern agricultural and American Indian history."--Peter
Iverson, author of When Indians Became Cowboys: Native
Peoples and Cattle Ranching in the American West
"A very thorough and readable account. The scope of this
work is truly impressive. The bulk of it revolves around the
implementation of United States federal Indian policies aimed
at transforming Native Americans into self-sufficient yeoman
farmers and farm families during the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Hurt's chapters on Indian agriculture and water rights
in the twentieth century are very timely and instructive. Should
become a standard text for American Indian history courses."--New
Mexico Historical Review
"A useful introduction to the subject that is organized
in an admirably clear fashion and can be recommended to student
and specialist alike."--Journal of American History
"Offers fresh and vital insights into the life and culture
of the American Indian."--American Historical Review
"A comprehensive, authoritative account of one of the
most significant topics in the history of Indian-white relations."--Western
Historical Quarterly
R. DOUGLAS HURT is professor and director of the graduate
program in agricultural history and rural studies at Iowa State
University and editor of the journal Agricultural History.
Among his many books are American Agriculture: A Brief History
and The Rural West Since World War II.
|