Kimberly Tallbear's The Ecological Indian

Kimberly TallBear analyzes “The ecological Indian”, a book by white anthropologist Shepard Krech. In the book, Krech challenges ecological stereotypes of Native American cultural practices. TallBear, a Native American herself, objectively analyzes the book and some of its reviews for bias. After identifying factors that lead to bias, she concludes that the book itself is quite objective though many of the reviews contain strong bias. As the title, “One Indian's perspective” suggests, TallBear gives her personal opinion on both Krech's book and its reviews. TallBear 's reservation and urban Indian Community upbringing instilled in her ethnocentric beliefs. It was ingrained in her “that frugal use of a natural resource was part of [Native Americans'] undeniable spiritual understanding of resource use.” (TallBear pg. 1) TallBear becomes aware of her bias as she realizes that Shepard Krech's publication touches sensitive subjects such as traditional hunting practices, spiritual beliefs, and ecological impacts. …show more content…
Through critical thinking and after acknowledging the research-based evidence supporting Krech's arguments, she becomes aware of her bias. She comes to realize that she does agree with Krech's thesis. She writes that “ Krech's attempts to interpret and describe, without a hint of moralizing and judgment the religious beliefs that were at the root of tribal practice, is a reason to find this book pro-human and within that, pro-Indian.” (TallBear pg.2) TallBear analyzes negative reviews of the book, and blames critics of automatically accusing Krech of distorting the