Book Review: "Going Native"

In Going Native, author Shari Huhndorf examines the American phenomenon of “going native” and the ways in which it emerged from (and contributes to) problematic visions of American identity and history. In America’s struggle to define itself, going native becomes a fundamental tool in the forming of European-American identities. In the introduction, Huhndorf cites a central motivation of this phenomenon as the “attempts to resolve widespread ambivalence about modernity as well as anxieties about the terrible violence marking the nation’s origins” (p 2). While the representations of Native Americans that emerge from these attempts are widely varied and often contradictory, the result is consistent: the images produced inevitably contribute to the continued subordination of Native Americans. In the chapters that follow, Huhndorf supports her assertions with a wide range of historical evidence to further explore the complex meanings embedded in the tradition of going native.

Chapter one, focusing on the late 19^th century, maps out the major cultural events and influences that used the concept of going native to re-imagine European-American history. A revised history of the nation was essential to creating a unified ‘American’ identity as Huhndorf explains on page 23: “The history of America, a nation born from the genocide of Native peoples and built on slave labor, undermined the values of liberty and equality the nation claimed to hold dear.” The World’s Fairs of 1876 and 1893 proved essential in representing the Indians as savage and primitive – and in direct opposition to the enlightened and technologically advanced European-Americans. These representations were further complicated by the contradictory images depicting Indians as embodying the quintessential American spirit. Class and ethnic struggle also figured into the intricate power dynamics at work. Within the first decade of the 20^th century, however, public ambivalence about America’s origins grew and the problematic representations of Indians became more uncomfortable for European-Americans. The tradition of going native was redirected toward a new American frontier: the Arctic. 

Chapter two explores several cultural documents on “going Eskimo” and the complicated relationships between colonialism and escapism, as well as the racialization of gender. Robert Peary’s conquest of the Arctic, Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North, and Gontran de Poncins’s Kabloona were all essential to the construction of the Eskimos as an idealized, hardworking, and simplistic people (that Americans could assimilate into their identity and history) and not as the victims of American colonialism. I was shocked to learn that Peary actually brought six human beings back from his explorations to live (and soon die) as ‘specimens’ in a science museum. Huhndorf’s ability to reveal the common forces at work in these various events and documents allows her original assertions on “going native” to be understood in a rich historical context.

This thorough look at the origins and functions of going native prompted me to consider today’s practices of going native. In addition to recognizing many current brands and commercial images with European-American colonial overtones, I realized the influence of these same concepts throughout my education and childhood. I would be very interested to hear Huhndorf’s analysis of the meaning produced by the “Othered” representations in our current social and political atmosphere.