Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker

Description

Cultural boundaries exist wherever cultures encounter one another. During centuries of contact between native peoples and others in America| countless intermediaries-artists| students| traders| interpreters| political figures| authors| even performers-have bridged the divide. “Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker” provides a new understanding of the role of these mediation in North America from 1690 to the present.

Cultural brokers have shared certain qualities-in particular a thorough understanding of two of more cultures. Living on the edge of change and conflict| they have responded to evolving and unstable circumstances or alliances with a flexibility born of their determination to bring understanding to disparate peoples.

No composite portrait can encompass the complexity of the brokerage experience. To convey the many roles of these intermediaries| editor Margaret Connell Szasz has brought together fourteen distinct portraits| crafted by prominent scholars of Indian-white relations| of brokers across the continent and throughout three centuries of American history-in the colonial world| during the expansion of the republic| in the Wild West| and in the twentieth century.

This fascinating and inspiring collection speaks eloquently of life on the cultural frontier. Key figures in our pluralistic heritage| cultural brokers are no less important today| as society continues to struggle with diversity.