Cultural Resource Management in the Great Basin, 1986–2016

Tracking cultural persistence and change before and through colonial entanglements is an important part of validating cultural authenticity amidst change. The other critical element here is the way Panich builds on the scholarship of others, including most notably that of Lightfoot (1995), to continue to show that the “prehistory” and “history” divide is an artificial one that limits study of longterm change and persistence. Panich richly uses archival and archaeological evidence to consider parallel cases of Native negotiations of colonialism, without a formulaic approach to understanding these colonial entanglements. Panich has produced a well-written and compelling case for reconsidering the historical legacies of colonialism and their impacts on Native societies today. I recommend this book for anyone researching Native California, indigenous identities, and colonialism. This study is unique for its comprehensive read of the historical and archaeological evidence, as well as its complex handling of issues of identity, agency, and cultural persistence. The insightful perspectives on divergent strategies for Native negotiation of colonialism are a powerful reminder of the enduring legacies of colonial structures and the potential for multiple, equally valid forms of indigeneity. This timely and well-researched study contributes an important voice to the fiercely contested (and often political) narrative of tribal authenticity. Anthropologists’ declarations of cultural continuity have a profound effect on federally regulated sovereignty rights and tribal self-determination, and this reframing of cultural authenticity and persistence is an important contribution to contemporary struggles for Native groups.