Treading Upon Separate Paths: Native American Ideology and Marxist Analysis*

Abstract

Sociologists have paid much attention to the phenomenon of ideology. In particular, there have been numerous efforts to develop theories of ideology formation from a Marxist perspective. However, one finds that such efforts almost without exception deal with shared beliefs which are characteristic of western, industrial societies. Ideologies of so‐called primitive societies, such as Native American tribes, remain largely neglected by Marxist analysis. This can be explained in large measure by the fact that Marxist analysis, with its emphasis on relations of production, is ill‐equipped to deal with Native American beliefs. Relations of production are an appropriate focal point for explaining the ideology of the European, industrial tradition. They are not useful in accounting for Native American ideology, which must be viewed as landbased rather than production‐based. Awareness of this difference leads to an appreciation of the influence of land and nature upon Native American thought.