Review

Abstract

166 Michigan Historical Review one of the stronger essays in part three, Charles Wilson Goode convincingly argues that men like George Meldrum and William Park made choices during the Revolutionary War that reflected “personal preferences” rather than political ideals or national loyalties. Although each man made a different choice (Meldrum remained in the United States while Park moved across the Detroit River), each did so to preserve his local political and social status. By moving, Park remained “a prominent figure in a British settler society” (p. 135). Similarly, by remaining in Detroit, Meldrum preserved his place “in the town’s emerging political and social structure.” Each man, then, privileged the benefits of his local ties over his “affection for either Britain or the United States” (p. 136). With varying degrees of success, the essays in this volume contribute further to the dominance of White’s middle-ground framework. Many of the contributions also remind readers that even amidst great international conflict local concerns often shaped how people confronted change in their communities. Perhaps most importantly, however, this collection of essays successfully demonstrates that there is much to learn from those who lived and struggled in the Detroit region during the revolutionary era. Thankfully, the editors have also included an impressive bibliography at the end of the volume, encouraging curious readers to pursue their own investigations of Detroit’s rich and diverse eighteenth-century past. Suzanne Cooper Guasco Queens University of Charlotte Daniel M. Cobb. Native Activism in Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Pp. 336. Bibliography. Index. Notes. Photographs. Cloth, $34.95. In Native Activism in Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty, Daniel M. Cobb hopes to broaden not only our understanding of Native activism but also how Native activism in the 1960s was inextricably interwoven and intertwined with the larger history of the time. Native activism did not happen in a vacuum, Cobb argues, nor was it inherently or exclusively militaristic in character. Cobb contends that Native American activism extended beyond overt militancy expanding to encompass what he calls “reformative goals and conventional tactics” (p. 2). He believes that history’s fixation with the American Indian Movement limits our understanding of the time, the goals of the people Book Reviews 167 involved, and the people themselves. By approaching Native activism from this angle and through this lens, Cobb broadens the spectrum to include not only overt, and often controversial actions like Wounded Knee II and the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building, but also less obvious but equally important actions like letter-writing campaigns, grant writing, and community meetings. Cobb contends that all of these tactics need to be recognized as legitimate forms of activism in order to both appreciate the changes that were taking place and understand this period fully. Central to the book’s theme of “reformative goals and conventional tactics” are the War on Poverty and Point IV programs, which Cobb believes were crucial to discussions regarding sovereignty and selfdetermination within Native communities, even though they were not always successful. These programs were essential because they linked what was happening in Indian Country not only with what was happening within the larger United States but also with what was happening globally. In fact, according to Cobb, “politics of tribal sovereignty and self-determination cannot be understood apart from the larger global policies of modernization and decolonization or the turbulent contests over race, poverty, and war at home” (p. 3). Cobb’s arguments are informed by many disciplines, including sociology, community-development theory, and anthropology; and he uses new archival sources and extensive interviews to support his hypotheses. His use of interviews is particularly important because he includes the obvious players of the time as well as those who were less well known, thus supporting his overall thesis that it takes all kinds of actions and people to force change. In doing so, however, he admits that neither type of activism—militaristic or conventional—was fully successful. Anyone seeking a broader understanding of Native activism in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s will find this book useful because it does not tell the same old story nor does...