Native nation building through the lens of political science

Abstract

ABSTRACTNative American governance is a political science matter, yet mainstream political science has largely neglected Native nations. Critical assessment of mainstream political theory shows that the dominant misconception about Native peoples as ethnic minorities has shaped political thinking in the United States since the nineteenth century to the present. Ideologies of pluralism, liberalism, and neoliberalism perpetuate colonial dominance over Native peoples and pose a threat to their survival as separate political entities. To contribute to political science theorizing about Native American nation building, I propose a case-specific theoretical framework that is sensitive to the different nature of the Native political world. It uses an eclectic combination of Native American studies perspectives, genealogical method, and new institutionalist approaches. I apply this theoretical framework to the case of the White Earth rebuilding process.