"[An] excellent monograph. . . . One of the author’s important contributions is to detail how the Xavante succeeded in resisting the government efforts to turn them into exemplary Indians. . . . [T]his well-written and admirably researched monograph will be an invaluable source for scholars wishing to compare Indian policies under such disparate political systems as those of Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S."
- Thomas E. Skidmore, Journal of Anthropological Research
"This book should be widely read by scholars of Brazilian history or, more generally, persons interested in Latin American indigenous history. . . ." - Jerry Dávila, Luso-Brazilian Review
"[A] fresh approach. . . . Specialists in various fields will find Garfield’s work useful. . . . Garfield displays a masterful command of the historical and theoretical literature, and his particular framework will help to enlighten the course of the indigenous struggle in other epochs and regions of Latin America. . . . Garfield’s work is a significant contribution. . . ." - Kenneth P. Serbin, American Historical Review
"Seth Garfield deftly straddles the boundary between history and anthropology." - Donna Lee Van Cott, Latin American Research Review
"[A] well-documented study. . . . This book is a valuable source for graduate students in Latin American history, anthropology, and political science, as well as for practitioners working on indigenous issues. Garfield's impressive integration of Xavante history with national policies and frontier dynamics derives from his thorough research and is enriched by the voices of Xavante leaders." - Xenia V. Wilkinson, Hispanic American Historical Review
"This is a lively, well-researched, well-written, and engaging work. . . . This is a must read for scholars interested in modern Brazilian political science, state planning, indigenous peoples, conflict resolution, and frontier dynamics." - Sheldon Avenius, Perspectives on Political Science
“A pioneering analysis of Brazilian government policy toward the indigenous population from the standpoint of contemporary history. Garfield goes beyond the sensationalism which characterizes so much criticism of government policy to provide a thoughtful, well-balanced, and highly revealing study.”—Thomas E. Skidmore, author of Brazil: Five Centuries of Change
“This fine historical study illuminates a host of crucial questions about Brazilian state formation, racial discourses, and national identity. Its pathbreaking reconstruction of the complicated interaction between the Xavante communities and the Brazilian state provides us with vivid examples of the way in which the policies of a modernizing state serve to reduce the complexities of indigenous culture but at the same time create possibilities for entirely new strategies of resistance and negotiation.”—Barbara Weinstein, author of For Social Peace in Brazil: Industrialists and the Remaking of the Working Class in São Paolo, 1920–1964
"[A] fresh approach. . . . Specialists in various fields will find Garfield’s work useful. . . . Garfield displays a masterful command of the historical and theoretical literature, and his particular framework will help to enlighten the course of the indigenous struggle in other epochs and regions of Latin America. . . . Garfield’s work is a significant contribution. . . ."
-- Kenneth P. Serbin American Historical Review
"[A] well-documented study. . . . This book is a valuable source for graduate students in Latin American history, anthropology, and political science, as well as for practitioners working on indigenous issues. Garfield's impressive integration of Xavante history with national policies and frontier dynamics derives from his thorough research and is enriched by the voices of Xavante leaders."
-- Xenia V. Wilkinson Hispanic American Historical Review
"[An] excellent monograph. . . . One of the author’s important contributions is to detail how the Xavante succeeded in resisting the government efforts to turn them into exemplary Indians. . . . [T]his well-written and admirably researched monograph will be an invaluable source for scholars wishing to compare Indian policies under such disparate political systems as those of Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S."
-- Thomas E. Skidmore Journal of Anthropological Research
"Seth Garfield deftly straddles the boundary between history and anthropology."
-- Donna Lee Van Cott Latin American Research Review
"This book should be widely read by scholars of Brazilian history or, more generally, persons interested in Latin American indigenous history. . . ."
-- Jerry Dávila Luso-Brazilian Review
"This is a lively, well-researched, well-written, and engaging work. . . . This is a must read for scholars interested in modern Brazilian political science, state planning, indigenous peoples, conflict resolution, and frontier dynamics."
-- Sheldon Avenius Perspectives on Political Science