Contemporary Native American Architecture: Cultural Regeneration and Creativity Book

Why, during the past thirty years, has there been a dramatic change in architecture by and for American Indians? How does it reflect the revival of language and the renewal and invention of dance, music, and other performance, and the remarkable burst of creativity in Native American novels and poetry? And since architecture requires technical expertise and money, how does this change reflect alterations in the economic, legal, and political situation of American Indians in the past decades? At no other time since the European invasions have the Native nations been as determined to set their own agendas for building or been as successful in reaching their architectural goals. They now claim authority in planning what they need for modern life--office buildings, schools, clinics, religious and community structures, urban cultural centers, houses, and museums, even commercial buildings and casinos. Those agendas often include strategies for making sure that the buildings are culturally appropriate or focus on collective decisions that embody community values brought from the past to the present. In Contemporary Native American Architecture, Carol Herselle Krinsky examines the historical and legal background of this movement of cultural regeneration through the medium of architecture, and records responses of Native American's to ever-changing cultural situations. While some artistic aspects of the new drive for self-determination are familiar, the architecture is not. That may be because finding and photographing examples--most never before published--required about 13,000 miles of travel on tribal lands and in cities from Connecticut to California. Her travels enabled her to conduct many interviews with people closely connected to the architectural works. Krinsky clearly describes many examples of invention on the basis of tradition--the creation of architecture as a form of "medicine" or cultural healing--and addresses issues of authenticity and group renewal in the present age of ethnic consciousness.

The building types presented here are not traditional, but the individual examples reflect Native American culture all the same. It is no longer permissible to think of Native Americans as remote from Americans in general. Through education and training, movement back and forth from reservation to city, exposure to film and television, intermarriage, the mobility granted by airplanes and automobiles, and especially the impact of the Federal government, Native Americans can join the mainstream when they wish and withdraw when traditional concerns are more pressing.

Lively, informative, and lavishly illustrated, this unique work offers a clear and visually engaging way to understand new cultural movements among Native Americans.