Rich Indians - by Alexandra Harmon (Paperback)

About the Book

Rich Indians: Native People and the Problem of Wealth in American History

Book Synopsis

Long before lucrative tribal casinos sparked controversy, Native Americans amassed other wealth that provoked intense debate about the desirability, morality, and compatibility of Indian and non-Indian economic practices. Alexandra Harmon examines seven such instances of Indian affluence and the dilemmas they presented both for Native Americans and for Euro-Americans--dilemmas rooted in the colonial origins of the modern American economy. Harmon's study not only compels us to look beyond stereotypes of greedy whites and poor Indians, but also convincingly demonstrates that Indians deserve a prominent place in American economic history and in the history of American ideas.

Review Quotes

[A] landmark in Native American history.--Western Historical Quarterly

[A] well-crafted discussion of Indian wealth.--Journal of Southern History

[Harmon] unites ethnography, history, and economic thought to offer a fresh perspective on Indian and Euro-American notions of wealth and how these shaped their views of one another. . . . Recommended. Graduate students, faculty.--Choice

A sorely needed effort to integrate Native Americans into the story of American economic development and its consequences . . . . Noteworthy.--American Historical Review

A well-researched history. . . . Highly recommended for college and university libraries and some public libraries.--Tennessee Libraries

An excellent addition to our understanding of Indian-white relations, and an original approach to challenging common assumptions about Native poverty and the desire of Americans to see that poverty end. It will be a stimulating read for historians, anthropologists, and Native scholars alike.--Great Plains Quarterly

An important intervention in a historical discourse that has too long remained inchoate.--Reviews in American History

An original and thought-provoking synthesis of the history of Indian-white relations.--North Carolina Historical Review

Harmon offers a diverse, atypical view of the effects of tribal and American-influenced economics on Indian people.--Indian Country Today

The book's greatest strengths are its synthesis of diverse materials and its ability to clearly articulate profound moral ambivalence. . . . The divergent pieces of history that Harmon connects . . . constitute a radically new way to understand twentieth-century Indian history." --Journal of American History