Indians and Open-Ended Political Rationality

Abstract

M W 1any scholars write from the perspective of the mainstream culture without being explicitly conscious of it. Even political theorists who are well meaning and sympathetic to Indian issues may miss important aspects of their analysis because of a failure to include the experience of Indian people. Also, someone from an Anglo background may not have the same interest in critiquing the practice of his or her society. There is less at stake for them in challenging the historical practices of their interpretative location. Furthermore, as members of the dominant culture, they are not required to defend their lived narratives in the same way as minority scholars are. As minority scholars, we must constantly argue against the tacit assumption that ; our cultures are inferior. We must constantly validate the importance of our lived stories and experiences. If one accepts the paradigms of the mainstream society and o scholarship without critical examination, then this acceptance amounts to a sort of assimilation. It is often tempting for a young aboriginal 53 scholar such as myself to compromise his or her ideas in the hope of gaining mainstream acceptance. Cornel West in Keeping the Faith documents and articulates this phenomenon from an African American perspective. Another obstacle is the compartmentalization of knowledge at universities, which in many ways is diametrically opposed to a holistic conception of issues relating to Indians. I feel that a new model is