My first research focus has long been on Native North America and the
historical relations between Native and European cultures, past and present.
Particular emphases have included Native American perceptions of Europeans in
contact situations, perspectives on warfare and violence, and the maintenance
of ethnic identity. This research has included consulting with tribes on
questions of land claims, recognition, and repatriation, as well as extensive
archaeological and archival research. I have focused on two areas,
Algonquian groups and the Pacific Northwest, with particular foci on the
Powhatans of Virginia and the Tlingits of Alaska.
Beginning in the mid-1990s I have also studied the Spanish Caribbean,
particularly U.S. involvement there and its relationships to U.S. Indian policy
and its practice. My primary focus here has been on Puerto Rico, secondary on
Cuba. I also study tourism and travel in Puerto Rico and Cuba, nineteenth
century to the present, and representations (in art, photography, material
culture, literature, advertising, etc.) and their relationships to identity
issues in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Most recently I have been researching a
forgotten Puerto Rican singer/dancer/actress and her position in the history
of Latino performers in the US.
In approach I emphasize methods and theories for interpreting material and
visual culture and documentary evidence, including textual and semiotic
approaches and quantitative methods, along with ways to integrate such
research with other streams of evidence. I have produced photographic and
poster exhibits, websites and videos as well as publications, and have taught
a wide range of courses in all of the traditional subfields of the discipline.
I also am actively engaged in research on the history and development of the
Americanist tradition in anthropology and archaeology, with foci including
the work of Frank Speck and his students and the University of Chicago and
University of Wisconsin departments. My interest in other disciplinary
traditions of the world is reflected in the philosophy and contents of
Histories of Anthropology Annual, which I co-founded and co-edit. I am
active in professional organizations at the national and international
level, and received the AAA President's Award in 2002 for my work on the AAA
Centennial Commissions.