Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2017 -

This is possibly one of the best anthropology books this reviewer has read in a while. Menzies (anthropology, Univ. of British Columbia) skillfully weaves together his own experiences as a community member with his ethnographic, historical, legal, and archaeological academic research on (and with) the Gitxaala. Beginning with more general discussions of the Gitxaala--including the evolution of the ethnonym, governance, territory (terrestrial and aquatic), oral history, and fishing--Menzies illustrates their nexus, situated within politico-legal contexts, through discussions of herring, abalone, and salmon--all valued resources and cultural symbols of his people. The author also provides a valuable methodological discussion not only for those working on the Northwest Coast, but beyond as well. Perhaps the closest book in this regard, and highlighting its value beyond the region, is Allice Legat's Walking the Land, Feeding the Fire (CH, Dec'12, 50-2267). Similar books regionally, but not with the same breadth, are John Sutton Lutz's Makuk (2008), Cole Harris's Making Native Space (CH, Jan'03, 40-2981), and Douglas Harris's Landing Native Fisheries (2008). This very accessible read clearly discusses concepts well for those with no background knowledge as well as for scholars, and would be an exemplar of contemporary ethnography in Indigenous North America if it did not set the bar so high in terms of variety of research.Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries.