Description:
Although the idea of the Lamanite is foundational to Mormon discourse, the formation and dissemination of this constructed identity has not been examined in broader terms of colonialism and the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples. This provocative book deepens the intersection of Mormonism, race (Indigeneity), and colonialism in a critical and necessary direction.
Brief description:
Elise Boxer (Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota, citizen of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes) is Associate Professor of History and Native American Studies at the University of South Dakota. She is co-editor of From the Skin: Defending Indigenous Nations Using Theory and Praxis.
Review Quotes: "Boxer brilliantly and bravely traces the history, legacy, and impact of the Pioneer and the Lamanite, two uniquely Mormon settler subject positions. A must read for scholars seeking a nuanced and complex reading of the racial logics that underpin settler colonialism in the United States, told through the lens of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."--Hōkūlani K. Aikau (Kanaka 'Ōiwi, Native Hawaiian) author of Chosen People, a Promised Land: Mormonism and Race in Hawai'i