From the Editor

I accepted the editorship of American Indian Quarterly in the fall of 2005. Serving in this capacity for the past eight years has been one of the highlights of my academic career. I have had the opportunity to work with extremely talented scholars, to immerse myself in the most current conversations in the field of American Indian studies, and to play a role in shaping the direction of those conversations. In addition, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the extraordinarily dedicated aiq editorial team, Alison Fields and Lloyd Lee, our editorial board, and our publishers at the University of Nebraska Press.

After much reflection, however, I have decided that it is time to turn my attention to new academic challenges. Furthermore, I believe deeply that the academic discourse within our field of study benefits from the periodic injection of new editorial voices and perspectives. As we are currently slating articles for the 2014 cycle (volume 38), 2014 will be my last year of service as editor.

I am extremely pleased to announce that Lindsey Claire Smith, associate professor of English at Oklahoma State University, will assume the editorship with volume 39, no. 1 (Winter 2015). She is an excellent scholar, and I know that her work as editor will be outstanding in every way. As of September 1, 2013, please send any new submissions to Lindsey Claire Smith at aiqsubmissions@okstate.edu, as they will be considered for the 2015 volume. My editorial team and I will continue to handle previously submitted items.

In my first editor’s note, I noted that all journals are inherently collaborative, representing the work of the contributors, reviewers, publishers, and readers. I expressed then my hope that aiq would be more than merely collaborative—that it would be a cultural product, communitist in spirit. aiq—like the star quilt on the journal’s cover—has been pieced together by many hands. I am confident that the journal, like the star quilt, will continue to serve as a symbol of cultural tradition, cultural change, and cultural sovereignty. To all those who have had a hand in the continued creation of AIQ, let me say thank you.

We begin volume 38 with “The Logic of Recognition: Debating Osage Nation Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century” by Jean Dennison. Dennison draws on sixteen months of careful ethnographic research in her examination of Osage Nation constitution writing within the context of the nation’s 2004–6 citizenship and government reform process. Specifically, she focuses on settler colonialism’s “logic of recognition” through a case study of the 2004–6 reform debates, contending that a primary challenge of nation building in the twenty-first century is “an insistence on bodily rather than territorial forms of recognition.”

In the second article, “’Therefore Ye Are No More Strangers and Foreigners’: Indians, Christianity, and Political Engagement in Colonial Plimouth and on Martha’s Vineyard,” Jason Eden complicates previous interpretations of petitions written by sachems of tribes surrounding the Plimouth area. In his thought-provoking analysis, Eden argues that the use of Christian scripture in the petitions was not, as other scholars have suggested, an example of the missionary success or an illustration of assimilation and cultural change. Instead, Eden contends that “Indians in colonial New England strategically used and engaged Christianity in their diplomatic correspondence.” By analyzing numerous court records and petitions, Eden presents a compelling interpretation of Christian rhetoric as an important means by which Native peoples achieved political alliances, financial resources, and other significant material benefits.

In “Navigating the Maze: The Gila River Indian Community Water Settlement Act of 2004 and Administrative Challenges,” David DeJong discusses the ways in which outdated Bureau of Indian Affairs (bia) administrative policies are impeding the Gila River Indian Community from making full use of its settlement waters. DeJong, who has served as the director of the tribally operated and federally funded Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project for eight years, offers a frank and accessible assessment of obstacles to water utilization and agricultural implementation. Significantly, DeJong considers well-reasoned and circumspect solutions to the obstacles he discusses.

In the final article, “Indigenous Studies and ‘the Sacred,’” Mary...