Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art ed. by Denise K. Cummings

“crowd syndrome” of discussing too many artists within one piece); others arise from a lack of theoretical focus (the “fl oating thesis”). Of interest to Great Plains scholars are chapters that discuss the work of Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Jaune QuicktoSee Smith, and Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds. It is instructive and a bit disappointing to note how the same constructs of two decades ago— Stephen Leuthold’s “Indigenous aesthetics” (1998,) Gerald Vizenor’s “survivance” (1993), Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie’s “visual sovereignty” (1998), and Jolene Rickard’s “sovereignty” (1996)— are still being relied upon somewhat uncritically as theoretical destinations rather than signposts for further inquiry. Th is is odd given the introduction’s assertion that the essays will “parallel the contemporary moment from a critical perspective.” Legal scholars have long questioned the imposition of political sovereignty “granted” to Native nations rather than the recognition of inherent sovereignty that predates the formation of the United States. Two chapters escape this didactic theorizing— Joanna Hearne’s “Indians Watching Indians on tv” and Th eodore Van Alst’s “Sherman Shoots Alexie,” both dealing with Native spectatorship. Th ese authors demonstrate how sharp, creative approaches to the arts that employ a wellarticulated theoretical frame can accomplish more than reliance on verbiage alone. I would likely excerpt these two contributions and assign the reading to a 300level or higher college course; however, the compilation itself would not serve well as a textbook, given the unevenness of the essays and the overall dense arguments staged. Th e best Native arts scholarship today looks beyond the eternal dualisms of individual/collective, traditional/modern, linear/ holistic, and corrective/reactive formulas to engage in the specifi c details of singular artTribute to the Plains People was intended as a catalog to accompany a retrospective exhibit. Th e text of the book is a celebration of Howard Terpning’s life and work rather than a critical analysis or a scholarly resource for those researching Plains Indian cultures. As such, the book, which includes 120 fullcolor plates of Terpning’s paintings, will appeal to collectors and admirers of the artist’s work.