From the Skin: Defending Indigenous Nations Using Theory and Praxis

Edited by J. Jeffery Clark and Elise Boxer
University of Arizona Press (2023)
279 pages

Review by Stephen Wall

Since the emergence of American Indian/Native/Indigenous studies programs in the late 1960s and 1970s, the issues that led to the creation of those courses of study have become increasingly complex. Political rights, urban migration, identity, language, and cultural revitalization have contributed to this complexity and have created a need for Native scholarship. These programs have provided the foundation for increased Native scholarship, analysis, and insight into the changes and complexities of Indigenous lives in communities throughout the world. Obviously, Indigenous studies has evolved as tribal existence has become more complicated. Starting from a smattering of courses offered at a few colleges and universities across the United States, these programs have expanded, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and even doctorate degrees.

From the Skin: Defending Indigenous Nations Using Theory and Praxis is an excellent volume that demonstrates how Indigenous studies and scholarship provide the theory upon which Indigenous community building and protection rest. The foreword, written by Nick Estes, provides an overview of the importance of this book. After a lengthy but informative introduction by Jeffery Clark and Elise Boxer, there are eight essays on specific community responses to challenges faced by several Indigenous communities. These essays provide an overview on how Indigenous studies programs have informed and provided a foundation upon which a community-based praxis can move forward.

One of the challenges that American Indian/Native/ Indigenous studies programs face is the question of their relevance in a world dominated by STEM and more “practical” degree programs. Indigenous studies programs were born out of the early Red Power movement, which coincided with the development of ethnic and women’s studies programs. While many commentators conflate ethnic, women’s, and Indigenous studies, there is a difference between them. As illustrated in From the Skin, Indigenous studies programs work to rebuild Native nations, revitalize Indigenous communities, and provide a pathway to justice. As a discipline, Indigenous studies moves beyond individual educational desires and into communally defined missions.

From the Skin reminds us that Indigenous studies programs exist to serve our Indigenous communities, reservation or urban, and they deploy Indigenous scholars for a community praxis, regardless of the environment.

Stephen Wall, JD (Ojibwe) is the founding chair of the Indigenous Liberal Studies program at the Institute of American Indian Arts and author of American Indian Tribal Governance: A Critical Perspective.