Recent Anglophone histories of Indigenous-Colonial relations in northern New Spain can generally be classified into two broad categories. Many tend to be expansive narratives summarizing the history of a given place and time, while others present unfiltered translations of primary documents that provide readers with first-hand accounts of discrete events. With Conflict in Colonial Sonora, author David Yetman (Southwest Center, University of Arizona) skillfully charts an innovative course between these two poles. This book provides the most detailed account yet produced of the tensions that existed among Native peoples, Catholic clergy, colonial settlers, and military personnel between 1640 and 1770 in the region they called the “Ópatería,” known as northeastern Sonora today.
Alert readers will note that the title of this book lacks an article. It is not “A Conflict …” or “The Conflict …” because it does not set out to describe a single incident, but rather a chronic condition. It admirably reveals how conflict was endemic to the Ópatería during this era as various interests vied for control over land and labor. While it would be easy to examine these tensions along the traditional lines of colonizer versus colonized, Conflict in Colonial Sonora avoids such facile traps by examining the interests of multiple differing groups—the Indians, Priests, and Settlers of the subtitle. Yet it goes even further by refusing to treat each of those groups as monolithic entities, recognizing and emphasizing the various conflicts that occurred within each of these groups, as well as between them throughout the 130 years under investigation here. So we hear not only of the Jesuit priests' tensions with their prospective Native congregants, but also with other Jesuits, as well as Franciscans, miners, settlers, and soldiers throughout the region. Not all Ópatas were resolutely opposed to the Spaniards, nor were they all docile colonial citizens by any means. And secular colonists were anything but a unified entity; military and settler components, as well as civil authorities, each had their own (sometimes conflicting) agendas. One of the numerous contributions of this book is its unmasking and underscoring of the variation that existed within and between the agents of the Church, the State, and the Native inhabitants of northeastern Sonora at this time.
Another of its primary contributions is its temporal focus. The period chosen for this investigation is anything but random. By focusing on the time after the initial colonization of Sonora (and Pérez de Ribas's 1645 account) but prior to the better-known entradas of Eusebio Kino, attention remains solidly fixed upon colonial relations with the Ópatas. This is a welcome addition to English language borderlands scholarship, as seventeenth–eighteenth century Sonora has not previously received the scholarly attention it deserves.
The book consists of seven detailed historical vignettes, each drawn from unpublished archival manuscripts, files, and folders. Yetman's treatment of each of these previously obscure or entirely unknown documents is meticulous, providing the reader with blow-by-blow accounts of: 1) early legal struggles of Tuape Indians to reclaim lands taken from them in the initial colonization of the region (with a translation of these documents presented in an Appendix); 2) Native opposition to evangelization in the 1640s, and a resulting military campaign on apostate villages (aided by Indian allies); 3) the ripple effects of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in Sonora, and the tensions that resulted among newly inspired Native rebels and nervous settlers; 4) an accusation of witchcraft and sorcery among early eighteenth-century Ópatas, in which clergymen were conspicuously absent, relying upon secular Spanish officials to deliver justice to an accused Indian hechicero; 5) a 1707 battle for control over Indian labor that pitted Spaniard against Spaniard and made strange bedfellows of local Indians and colonial settlers, who allied against a local priest; 6) Natives' losing struggles against a burgeoning cattle industry that threatened their very lands and ways of life by 1715, aided by a (self-interested) missionary; and 7) the efforts by settled Indians, priests, and colonists, all allied together against the violent raids of nomadic Apaches, Pimans, and Seris, as well as the waning influence of Church officials in the region following the Jesuits' expulsion of 1767 (notwithstanding the efforts of their Franciscan replacements), as detailed in documents dating to 1771.
In the absence of a concluding chapter to contextualize the larger meanings of these individual accounts, readers are left to draw their own conclusions regarding the significance of the cases presented in this book. Whether these seven précis are anomalous or representative of larger trends can only be confirmed by further research. What is clear, however, is that the surface of early colonial history in Sonora has only just been scratched. Yetman's account makes clear the treasure trove that awaits scholars interested in the complex negotiations of colonial life that took place in the Ópatería in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Readers seeking either a comprehensive history or general introduction to colonial Sonora won't find what they're looking for here. Instead, Conflict in Colonial Sonora is a scrupulously thorough study of seven distinct cases, and while it may not appeal to popular audiences, it is sure to be appreciated by any serious scholar of colonial New Spain.
In Dinéji Na'nitin, Robert McPherson has written a good addition to the recent literature that seeks to interpret traditional Navajo (Diné) thinking on human events and the cosmos in general. Like many other works in this group (Farella Citation1984; Frisbie Citation1987; Gill Citation1981; Griffin-Pierce Citation1992; Kelley and Francis Citation1994; CitationMaryboy and Begay 2010 [2005]; McNeley Citation1981; McPherson Citation1992; Schwartz Citation1997, Citation2001; Witherspoon Citation1977, and the monthly magazine Leading the Way, to mention the most accessible), McPherson's book is partly a response to the lament of Diné elders that Diné culture is dying because the minds of Diné youth have been hijacked by global mass culture through formal schooling and entertainment media. This literature in general, though, finds most of its readers among scholars and other professionals. McPherson's book not only will interest such readers, but also seems better suited than most for Diné students. It is compact, reasonably priced, accessibly published, and written straightforwardly, without jargon and excessive theorizing, and with judiciously selected, rather than overwhelmingly encyclopedic, examples and background material.
The book's theme is “the role of traditional Navajo thought in daily life, its pervasive interpretation, and incidents that fostered its change” (p. 5). The book consists of an Introduction and nine chapters that illustrate this theme, many of which are updated versions of previously published journal articles (which should be mentioned in the book's acknowledgements and cited in the bibliography, but are not). It is good to have these scattered pieces compiled along with new material in one accessible volume.
The book begins with an Introduction, which succinctly lays out the basics of Navajo thought on the organization and working of the cosmos: that the Holy People (deities) organized the cosmos so that everything has a specific place and role to play in the whole; deviations in place and role cause disruptions in the cosmos and human misfortune. (Two other basic assumptions are covered in later chapters: that opposites are necessary to maintain the dynamic balance of creation; and that things that resemble each other, and things once physically connected to each other, have the power to affect each other over time and space.) The other nine chapters alternate between those that give more detailed cultural background and those discussing particular historical events (mostly in southern Utah) for which the preceding background chapter provides context. In all chapters, cultural context and interpretation of events are given mainly by Diné of southern Utah born in the first third of the twentieth century, most of whom were interviewed in the past three decades by McPherson (another item that should be in the acknowledgements: reference to a Navajo Nation permit to conduct ethnographic field research on Navajo Nation lands, required for personal and scholarly research after ca. 1990). Also included are voices of other elders consulted by McPherson's students and other scholars, plus background material from several generations of scholarly research on Diné oral traditions, customs, and lifeways. In addition, the chapters about historical events seem to leave no documentation unturned and tell fascinating stories.
The book's main method of illuminating Diné thought is through encounters with non-Diné, offering not only the Diné interpretations but those of the others for comparison. Chapter 1 discusses traditional methods for knowing invisible or unwitnessed past and future events (“divination”), and provides background for Chapter 2 on the 1918–1919 influenza epidemic, as well as later chapters. Chapter 3 presents various Diné thoughts on witchcraft, sorcery, and wizardry (“sacred evil”), thereby providing background for Chapter 4, an account of resistance in a Utah Navajo community to a new federal Indian agent in the first years of the twentieth century.
Chapters 5–8 are linked by the role of metaphors and symbols in Diné thought, which have power because they connect with what they symbolize. Chapter 5 introduces some traditional Diné symbols. Chapters 6 and 7 then give historical accounts of a remarkable Episcopal mission established in the 1940s (Chapter 6) and of the 1920s collection of three hide shields from an archaeological deposit, with the subsequent claims to them by their Mormon collectors, a Diné ceremonialist, and others (Chapter 7). Chapter 8 moves the presentation of Diné metaphors into recent innovations. Chapter 9 concludes the book by presenting Diné predictions of the future of Diné tradition (not optimistic). The predictions are based on oral traditions about the past, namely the fate of the pre-Columbian Anasazis. McPherson does not make a concluding statement relating to the theme, such as nutshelling the role of traditional Diné thought in daily life, its interpretation, or how and why it has changed. To have done so would have presented his voice as “above” those of the Diné, which he has avoided.
REFERENCES CITED
- Farella, John R. 1984 The Main Stalk: A Synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- Frisbie, Charlotte J. 1987 Navajo Medicine Bundles or Jish: Acquisition, Transmission, and Disposition in the Past and Present. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
- Gill, Sam D. 1981 Sacred Words; A Study of Navajo Religion and Prayer. Greenwood Press, Westport, CN.
- Griffin-Pierce, Trudy 1992 Earth Is My Mother, Sky Is My Father: Space, Time, and Astronomy in Navajo Sandpainting. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
- Kelley, Klara Bonsack, and Harris Francis 1994 Navajo Sacred Places. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
- Maryboy, Nancy C., and David Begay 2010 [2005] Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy, 4th edition. Rio Nuevo, Tucson.
- McNeley, James K. 1981 Holy Wind in Navajo Philosophy. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- McPherson, Robert S. 1992 Sacred Land, Sacred View: Navajo Perception of the Four corners Region. Brigham Young University Press, Provo.
- Schwartz, Maureen Trudelle 1997 Molded in the Image of Changing Woman: Navajo Views on the Human Body and Personhood. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
- Schwartz, Maureen Trudelle 2001 Navajo Lifeways: Contemporary Issues, Ancient Knowledge. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
- Witherspoon, Gary 1977 Language and Art in the Navajo Universe. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
This compelling history explores the ground-level implementation of assimilationist policy implemented by the United States government toward native people in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focusing on the nuances of local expressions of authority. Andrae M. Marak and Laura Tuennerman study the history of Tohono O'odham interactions with social reformers and agents of economic change in the American Southwest, telling “the story of an uncompleted quest for full assimilation” (p. 9). While this book primarily focuses on the US context, the transnational or “bi-national” nature of Tohono O'odham history allows the authors to draw on Mexico as a brief “counter example” in the final of the book's six chapters. The authors demonstrate that the international border held different levels of significance at different moments in history, and that it continues to play a role in the triangular policy negotiations between Mexico, the United States, and the Tohono O'odham Nation today.
Seeking a balance in focus between national policy and local practice, the authors draw heavily from the broad analysis of secondary literature while also employing extensive primary documents from clergy, government officials, and Tohono O'odham individuals to show how assimilationist theory actually played out in day-to-day, person-to-person interactions. Most notably, Marak and Tuennerman examine how white reformers used gender ideologies to inform their policies toward Tohono O'odham men and women. For instance, officials in the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA) approached “vices” like consumption of alcohol and sexual promiscuity with heavily gendered assumptions, viewing Tohono O'odham women as the “moral guardians” of society in the same way that they imagined white women to hold a similar role in the mainstream family unit. With the heterosexual, monogamous, nuclear family as a building block of society, white reformers in both secular and religious groups sought to enforce mainstream norms on Tohono O'odham women as a way to shape and condition their society into one that reflected white American ideals. Similar to Gail Bederman in Manliness and Civilization (1995), Marak and Tuennerman deftly pick out the contradictions within policies endorsed by white officials and matrons, who educated native women on the value of the woman as mother and homemaker while simultaneously pushing Tohono O'odham women toward cash-paying jobs in cities. Thus, the authors hint at the underlying racial assumptions that positioned white women as homemakers and nonwhite women as workers. The myriad expressions of gender ideologies appear as a recurring theme throughout the book, as the authors balance the prevailing national trends of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the local manifestations of those trends.
While Marak and Tuennerman's explicit emphasis on gender causes this category of analysis to stand out as a central thread, the book's focus on the particularities of the Tohono O'odham experience reveals extensive detail in other areas of daily life as well. For example, tensions between multiple religious orders and secular government organizations created negotiations within the power dynamics of local politics that would likely go unnoticed in a nationwide study. Both Catholics and Presbyterians, for instance, provided resources for building and maintaining schools in remote areas of Arizona—an effort that the federal government was unwilling to match until very late in the nineteenth century. The authors do well to connect some of the local politics to larger national trends of the era, while succeeding in demonstrating that the nuances are vital for providing a more complete understanding of the history of American Indian policy in the United States.
Going a step further, the book's final chapter examines Tohono O'odham experiences in Mexico as a “counter example” to the US context. The authors argue that a relatively weak Mexican national government did not actively work on the behalf of the Tohono O'odham, leading to detribalization, assimilation, and loss of language and cultural practices. At one time, these goals would have suited white policymakers in the United States, but on the northern side of the border a strong, active government did not lead to the same results. The authors show, however, that the Tohono O'odham are largely responsible for the US government's failure in the “quest for assimilation.” In what is becoming a well recognized but valuable narrative in native history, Marak and Tuennerman assert that the “Tohono O'odham did not have to give up their culture to embrace change” (p. 146). Rather, they embraced the changes that were most advantageous to them while continually shaping their own identities as Tohono O'odham. One can see the persistence of this identity in the “bi-national” presence of Tohono O'odham political interests on both sides of the border today.
Ironically, the one theme that seems least explored in the book is the exceptionality of the Tohono O'odham's geopolitical position on “the periphery of empires.” The authors point out that “local forces … had the most chance to impact the implementation of national policies” (p. 2). But is this not true of any setting where clergymen, superintendents, and matrons were charged with carrying policy directives to American Indian communities? Moreover, the authors repeatedly assert that the Tohono O'odham experience “mirrors the national trend” of Progressive Era policy—a refrain that seems to detract from the argument for uniqueness (p. 95). Still, the broader connections drawn by Marak and Tuennerman should be viewed as a strength. The treatment of gender—especially regarding the battles over the sexuality, marital status, and vocations of Tohono O'odham women—stands out as a compelling theme. Marak and Tuennerman persuasively connect the experiences of individual Tohono O'odham women to broadly held notions of American policy reform in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Overall, this is an engaging book that explores the Tohono O'odham as a way to approach a remarkable number of important themes in the history of American Indian policy. The discussion of gendered and assimilationist policies toward indigenous groups—and the native response—receives an important new piece of literature with this book. Moreover, the authors make a persuasive case for viewing these themes as an integral part of the development of American society as a whole at the turn of the twentieth century.
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