
Unpapered
Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging
University of Nebraska Press
Published on 1. May 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
254 pages
978-1-4962-3500-8 (ISBN)
Description
Unpapered is a collection of personal narratives by Indigenous writers exploring the meaning and limits of Native American identity beyond its legal margins. Native heritage is neither simple nor always clearly documented, and citizenship is a legal and political matter of sovereign nations determined by such criteria as blood quantum, tribal rolls, or community involvement. Those who claim a Native cultural identity often have family stories of tenuous ties dating back several generations. Given that tribal enrollment was part of a string of government programs and agreements calculated to quantify and dismiss Native populations, many writers who identify culturally and are recognized as Native Americans do not hold tribal citizenship.
With essays by Trevino Brings Plenty, Deborah Miranda, Steve Russell, and Kimberly Wieser, among others, Unpapered charts how current exclusionary tactics began as a response to "pretendians"-non-indigenous people assuming a Native identity for job benefits-and have expanded to an intense patrolling of identity that divides Native communities and has resulted in attacks on peoples' professional, spiritual, emotional, and physical states. An essential addition to Native discourse, Unpapered shows how social and political ideologies have created barriers for Native people truthfully claiming identities while simultaneously upholding stereotypes.
With essays by Trevino Brings Plenty, Deborah Miranda, Steve Russell, and Kimberly Wieser, among others, Unpapered charts how current exclusionary tactics began as a response to "pretendians"-non-indigenous people assuming a Native identity for job benefits-and have expanded to an intense patrolling of identity that divides Native communities and has resulted in attacks on peoples' professional, spiritual, emotional, and physical states. An essential addition to Native discourse, Unpapered shows how social and political ideologies have created barriers for Native people truthfully claiming identities while simultaneously upholding stereotypes.
Reviews / Votes
"This remarkable collection of stories and essays about Indigenous identity shakes off the tired tropes established under colonial dominion to bring urgency and honesty to a divisive topic. Each of the contributors brings an incredible wealth of personal narratives and emotional integrity to a much-needed conversation that is a necessary balm to the vitriol of our internet age."-Lee Francis, executive director of Native RealitiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
4 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4962-3500-8 (9781496235008)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Diane Glancy | Linda Rodriguez
Unpapered
Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging
E-Book
05/2023
1st Edition
University of Nebraska Press
€24.99
Available for download
Persons
Diane Glancy is an emerita professor of English at Macalester College. She is the author of numerous books of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including most recently Home Is the Road: Wandering the Land, Shaping the Spirit and A Line of Driftwood: The Ada Blackjack Story. Linda Rodriguez is the author of Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, the Skeet Bannion series, and three books of poetry. She is the coeditor (with Diane Glancy) of The World Is One Place: Native American Poets Visit the Middle East.
Content
Introduction by Diane Glancy
Show Your Papers Paperwork
Kim Shuck
Things You Can Do with Your Chart for Calculating Quantum of Indian Blood
Deborah Miranda
The White Box
Kimberly L. Becker
Seeking the Indian Gravy Train
Steve Russell
Unpapered
Diane Glancy
Finding the Way On Chumash Land
Terra Trevor
A Salmon-Fishing Story
Abigail Chabitnoy
Confessions of a Detribalized Mixed-Blood
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Thinking with Bigfoot about a Jackpine Savage: Cryptogenealogical Reflections
Carter Meland
Identity Wars “You Don’t Look Indian”
Michele Leonard
Pretend Indian Exegesis: The Pretend Indian Uncanny Valley Hypothesis in Literature and Beyond
Trevino Brings Plenty
Dead Indians. Live Indians. Legal Indians.
Ron Querry
The Animals’ Ballgame
Geary Hobson
We Never Spoke
Linda Boyden
Why We Matter On Being Chamorro and Belonging to Guam
Craig Santos Perez
Aunt Ruby’s Little Sister Dances
Kimberly Wieser
Buffalo Heads in Diners: Remnant Populations
Denise Dotson Low
And Thus the Tribes Diminish
Linda Rodriguez Source Acknowledgments
Contributors
Show Your Papers Paperwork
Kim Shuck
Things You Can Do with Your Chart for Calculating Quantum of Indian Blood
Deborah Miranda
The White Box
Kimberly L. Becker
Seeking the Indian Gravy Train
Steve Russell
Unpapered
Diane Glancy
Finding the Way On Chumash Land
Terra Trevor
A Salmon-Fishing Story
Abigail Chabitnoy
Confessions of a Detribalized Mixed-Blood
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Thinking with Bigfoot about a Jackpine Savage: Cryptogenealogical Reflections
Carter Meland
Identity Wars “You Don’t Look Indian”
Michele Leonard
Pretend Indian Exegesis: The Pretend Indian Uncanny Valley Hypothesis in Literature and Beyond
Trevino Brings Plenty
Dead Indians. Live Indians. Legal Indians.
Ron Querry
The Animals’ Ballgame
Geary Hobson
We Never Spoke
Linda Boyden
Why We Matter On Being Chamorro and Belonging to Guam
Craig Santos Perez
Aunt Ruby’s Little Sister Dances
Kimberly Wieser
Buffalo Heads in Diners: Remnant Populations
Denise Dotson Low
And Thus the Tribes Diminish
Linda Rodriguez Source Acknowledgments
Contributors