| A Forest of Time: |
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A Forest of Time: American Indian Ways of History. By Peter Nabokov. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. x + 246. Index, footnotes. In A Forest of Time, Peter Nabokov explores alternate ways of constructing, renewing, and remembering history, particularly as it applies to American Indian communities. He also discusses what meanings or significance may result from specific ways of telling one's history. Nabokov introduces the book as "a preliminary inquiry into what has variously been called the 'folk history,' 'historical consciousness,' 'Native historiography,' or 'historicity' of Native societies of North America" (vi). Here he inventories approaches to history and includes sources in the text and footnotes to allow other researchers to pursue this topic further. Nabokov's first chapter focuses on how the collection of American Indian oral histories had traditionally been done by white historians. Although the modern scholarly community may be well aware of the bias and blatant racism found within those writings, Nabokov brings the examples together to focus on a more pertinent issue: that even today, many question whether American Indian traditions, myths, and stories have value as historical evidence. Equally important is the idea that history continues to be passed down in American Indian communities, so researchers need to respectfully take time to discover these traditions rather than assuming the history was lost years ago. The next chapters examine other issues inherent in researching oral history as well as some of the methods available. Nabokov first discusses some of the dynamics of American Indian historicity, pointing out that a person's position as a storyteller or keeper of information in a community might give him or her status and responsibilities. Sacred narratives can be problematic in particular because telling complete stories or sharing powerful names might "arouse the wrath of spirits and places" (34). Some stories may only be appropriate for a certain audience, place, and time, making it impossible for the subject to tell the story. Stories may also be placed into non-chronological frameworks, which can be confusing for an outsider who expects a linear, chronological narrative. However, an alternative historical arrangement may allow a community to place current events into a cultural framework and to reorient themselves in order to restore harmony and to take charge of their own history. Nabokov refutes the common belief that American Indian oral histories may be accurate no more than 150 years back by pointing out that while other factors sometimes intervene in a historical account, they do not necessarily affect the accuracy of the history. As examples he cites a study linking American Indians to Yellowstone National Park, and a 1997 Canadian Supreme Court Case that vindicated oral history by ruling that it must be placed on "an equal footing with the types of historical evidence the courts are familiar with" (83). He also illustrates how many communities' creation myths map out the geographical landscape through which they traveled, as well as the landscape of the land where they settled, thus literally anchoring themselves and the past "in place" (126). Nabokov considers how memories may be anchored in material objects and how that research can be helpful to scholars. Finally, he discusses how history allows American Indian communities to renew and remember themselves and their traditions, and to resist outside influences and the negation of their stories. The stories—the histories—hold power, not only for knowing the past, but also placing those who hear them in a larger context. The book closes with a consideration of the "Futures of Indian Pasts," which takes into account not only the changing views of oral history and validity but also the function of prophecy (such as influenced the Ghost Dance) in communities. This book takes a multifaceted approach to questions of oral history validity and the multiple meanings and values it may have within a community. Although his focus is specifically on American Indian history, many of the issues are relevant for those who do oral history in other cultures or communities as well. Lisa M. Cook |
