We Will Always Be Here

In We Will Always Be Here, historian Denise E. Bates gives readers the opportunity to hear directly from Native peoples living in the South. Although modeled on similar collections with a national scope, this volume fills a gap left by often “sparse and unrepresentative” treatment of the Native South (4). It offers contributions from individuals living in a variety of different southern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These contributors represent several generations and play various roles in their communities, ranging from tribal chairperson to community members with no official leadership position. They are members of federally recognized, state-recognized, and unrecognized tribes, and a few contributors have no membership in an organized tribe. This variety aids readers’ understanding of the complexity of the Native South and the unique ways that Native southerners address the common issues facing all indigenous communities.Bates provides a useful introduction that establishes the growing importance of southern Indians in the field of American Indian history, the unique context of the American South, and the impossibility of generalizing the experiences of these diverse communities. She effectively makes the case that archival research alone cannot adequately teach us about these unique indigenous experiences. Instead, we need to learn directly from Native peoples. Bates also effectively sets the stage for each of the book’s four parts. “Growing Up Indian in a Southern Context” contains stories focused on family, place, and the racism indigenous peoples often faced in a biracial South sometimes unwilling to recognize their indigeneity. “The Politics of History and Identity” focuses on the recognition process and questions of authenticity that emerge from it. “Cultural Grounding” discusses the various ways that Native peoples maintain traditional cultural practices, and “Moving Forward” outlines varied and often competing visions for southern indigenous communities in and beyond the twenty-first century.Overall, identity, sovereignty, tribal governance, and economic development emerge as central themes in the book. The varied contributions not only offer different perspectives on these issues but also sometimes highlight debate within the Native South. For example, in “Looking South,” Michael Dardar, former council member for the United Houma Nation, criticizes both efforts to gain federal recognition and economic development through gaming as inconsistent with what he calls “genuine sovereignty” (191). On the other hand, in “Seeking Prosperity and Self-Determination,” Stephanie Bryan, the first woman to chair the tribal council of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, emphasizes gaming’s pivotal role in enhancing her community’s wellness, cultural revitalization, and self-determination. Bates contextualizes these issues without taking a position, allowing contributors to make their case and readers to judge for themselves.These unfiltered discussions produce a complex, multifaceted picture of contemporary life for indigenous southerners. The book is a valuable resource for ethnohistorians studying contemporary Native communities in the South, and because the writing is accessible, it is appropriate for use in college courses at all levels. Ultimately, this book helps readers understand how indigenous peoples retained and continue to maintain their identity in the South

Archaeology · BATES · Context (archaeology) · Ethnology · Genealogy · Geography · Indigenous · Native american · Political science · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science) · Thriving · Tribe · Variety (cybernetics) · Ecology · History · Indigenous and Place-Based Education · Law

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