Reinventing the Writing of American Indian History in the Twenty-First Century

Studying the history of American Indians today requires an interdisciplinary approach capable of considering both the native peoples’ interaction with the Euroamericans and the internal processes occurring in each distinct population. Researching about American Indians implies an exercise in approximation. The practice of ethnohistory helps the scholar find the necessary perspective for a broad, yet punctual, diachronic and synchronic analysis. However, this approach, initiated in the twentieth century, further evolved as scholars started re-examining the ideological roots of some ethnohistorical studies. Recent scholarship has benefited also from the emergence of native historians and ethnohistorians who have contributed to provide their own reading of American Indian culture and history. Moreover, today scholars from different disciplines subscribe to it as the only possible approach to reach a proper understanding of American Indian history and culture.