Perhaps Native Americans can break through the dilemma of acculturation
and become modern and Indian. Certainly their artists have accomplished this.
Only since the 1930s have Inuit artists in Canada been carving soapstone, a
material that in the previous century their ancestors used for making pots. This
sculpture, Dancing to My Spirit, by Nalenik Temela, is a beautiful example of
syncretism.
Improved histories might increase the chances for syncretism on both sides
of our ideological frontier. If we knew the extent to which American Indian
ideas have shaped American culture, the United States might recognize Native
American societies as cultural assets from which we could continue to learn.
At present, none of our textbooks hints at this possibility; even the more