Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact

by Vine Deloria Jr.

Vine Deloria, Jr., leading Native American scholar and author of the best-selling God is Red , addresses the conflict between mainstream scientific theory about our world and the ancestral worldview of Native Americans. Claiming that science has created a largely fictional scenario for American Indians in prehistoric North America, Deloria offers an alternative view of the continent's history as seen through the eyes and memories of Native Americans. Further, he warns future generations of scientists not to repeat the ethnocentric omissions and fallacies of the past by dismissing Native oral tradition as mere legends.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Science, Native American, Race, Philosophy

271 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Vine Victor Deloria, Jr. was an American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist. He was widely known for his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969), which helped generate national attention to Native American issues in the same year as the Alcatraz-Red Power Movement. From 1964–1967, he had served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, increasing tribal membership from 19 to 156. Beginning in 1977, he was a board member of the National Museum of the American Indian, which now has buildings in both New York City and Washington, DC.

Deloria began his academic career in 1970 at Western Washington State College at Bellingham, Washington. He became Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona (1978–1990), where he established the first master's degree program in American Indian Studies in the United States. After ten years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, he returned to Arizona and taught at the School of Law.

Reviews

[Robin Eseny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Structurally well-written but rife with bitterness (understandable), conspiracy theories, wishful thinking, pseudoscience, red herrings, ad hominem attacks and logical fallacies.

I approached this book hoping to learn about another culture's thinking and traditions but found little but an attempt to substitute mythology as fact for reasoned, evidence-based investigation.

When the author gloated that the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter was vindication for Immanuel Velikovsky's unfounded and speculative "Worlds in Collision", I immediately saw where this tome was headed. From this point on in the book, I thought I was on some evangelical Christian web site reading refutations of evolution, the effect was similar.

Academia and the science community are populated with imperfect humans but DeLoria's massive conspiracy theories regarding the suppression of Native American cosmology sounds like an ideological twin to the "911 Truther" crowd. Or the idiotic mental primitives of Ayn Rand idolaters.

No doubt some academics do/did approach archaeology with a white, Western European Christian bias, bent on vindicating their own biases and cultural superiority. But the massive conspiracy theory here drips with bitterness and substitutes an equally inane theory of its own.

I rarely do not finish books, but after 2/3's of the book refuting cosmology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, paleontology, archaeology and physical evidence, I could not go on. I got whatever message the author intended.

It is curious that the book does not mention genetics at all, the word does not appear in the index at all. Genetic research at the time this book was written still had enough evidence to trace groups of people to their roots. Native Americans today resist genetic testing because it might refute their assertion that they originated on "Turtle island". Sorry, we white Europeans had to get over our Biblical mythology, time for the rest of you to do the same. Genetics these days could render this book as useless, boring and ridiculous.

Utilizing the same arguments as Young Earth Creationists and other religious apologists, this book refutes all attempts at using evidence-based research and substitutes the author's desires and cultural myths without a shred of evidence except "the elders told us", therefore it must be true.

Most myth contains some remnant of actual events but not this much. Great book if you want to substitute indigenous tribes cultural myths for science and slap the "White European Man" in the face. He raises valid concerns about biases in anthropology but then throws out the entire scientific edifice as the solution. You may as well read books from the creationist Discovery Institute or log on to Young Earth Creationist web sites and get the same effect as this sadly useless tract.

[Jon Zelazny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read anything lately that challenges accepted norms?

The late Mr. Deloria begins with the fairly modest goal of promoting Native American wisdom as worthy of serious historic and scientific consideration, but in getting there he comes out swinging against such sacred cows as the Bering Strait crossing, overkill theory, and the La Brea tar pits, not to mention pillars like the ice age, radiocarbon dating, evolution, academia, and science itself.

Neither a geologist nor biologist, Deloria doesn't bury you in the data. He's more like a Richard Feynman, or a thoughtful sage from a Frank Capra movie: he doesn't know "the truth," but with folksy common sense, he pokes any number of holes in beliefs most would consider settled science.

I don't know how the various fields have addressed his arguments over the last quarter century, but living two blocks from the La Brea tar pits, I'd say my neighbors got some 'splainin' to do.

[Jaybird Rex]

Want to be coaxed into some genuine outside-the-box thinking? Deloria very casually picks apart several fundamentals of modern western science (evolution, geology, carbon dating, migration and glacial theories) that most of us tend to take as a matter of faith, despite serious gaps and unanswered questions. Having discredited these, he proceeds to consider numerous Indian oral traditions and stories as possible remembered explanations of ancient events. Obviously these are worth exploring, but Deloria points out that science can't seem to get its collective head around doing so -- even after science has independently verified that an event mentioned in some old story really did occur. There are plenty of juicy examples from all over the place, but my favorite is the ancient city of Troy. For centuries European science thought it to be merely an ancient story. Along came Heinrich Schliemann in the mid-1800s, discovering the actual site in modern Turkey. Of course this was not in the Americas, but it is a popular, powerful example of the fragility of the fundamentals. Deloria also discusses how these fundamentals contribute very subtly to a view of Indians as barbarians or somehow less human.

The book's absolutely profound -- no need to agree with any bit of it to recognize that. Read slow and listen to what the man's saying, then think about it yourself.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up while with some friends and thought "Oh dear, more ammo for everyone who thinks I'm a crazy leftist." Well, that was true. Listen, there's some things in here that I'm not sure are so accurate. But academic orthodoxy is always reluctant to question itself, and power structures impose meanings and explanations on the people they oppress which are often absurdly and patently false. It's been this way for far too long, and it's good to question and poke fun at the vain and self-satisfied establishment. Medicine, which use to spit all over the use of herbs as they poisoned their patients with mercury, now scours the world to patent traditional indigenous medicines and charge the same people exorbitant rates to use their own plants. Deloria does not dwell on this as much, but my point is that we need to be questioning power structures and the explanations they hand down. This book does, and I liked it quite a bit.

[Nicolina Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be on every college reading list, but it won't be, as it offers a new and critical perspective on institutionalized knowledge. Even if when you read it you don't subscribe to Deloria's well-researched and clear-cut theories (which when presented are pretty hard to argue with), you will still come away with something worthwhile. And that's a new way of seeing. Deloria asks us all to suspend group thought and use our minds, all of our brain capacity, to reason out hypotheses, theories, scientific method. He dares us to remove "cultural blinders" and step outside the realm of institutionalized thinking, to stop taking for end-all, be-all gospel any and all information presented to us by the "experts in the field" simply because we are told they are such. This is a treatise on critical thinking, a call to arms to identify and eradicate the persistence of incestuous interpretation of "facts". Mandatory reading for ALL if we as a people would like to progress and evolve beyond our current boundaries. Another good read: Of Bakelite, bicycles and bulbs. Speaks to our propensity of "retroactive distortion" when we look to interpret the past and it's inventions. Describes how our current modern outlook, and the fact that we already have a spoiler-alert knowledge of the product finally invented, prevents us from seeing the benefits of the process and therefore inhibits our current inventive minds.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bering Strait Theory is nonsense, argues Deloria. Indians did not migrate across a land bridge from Eurasia to the Americas during the Ice Age, as Western archeologists claim. Deloria exposes the flaws of this popular migration theory and shows that it does not even stand up on its own scientific terms. Deloria also blasts the arrogance of Western anthropologists who purport to know more about the origins of American Indians than the Indians themselves. The author points out that not one myth, legend, story or account exists within American Indian folklore to corroborate the Bering Strait theory. This book is a critique of Western scientific thought as it relates to American Indians. Deloria examines the influence of Christian ideology on Western science and the Eurocentrism it promotes while pretending to be objective. He also questions the theory of evolution, carbon dating and other paragons of Western science.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vine Deloria pulls the curtain on Western epistemology, revealing science's foolish perpetuation of unquestioned philosophical mishaps (à la Descartes and friends) all the way to its current transmission of knowledge, i.e., the security of tenure amongst academics.

From this, he also fleshes out a brilliant exposé of science's premises which allow the marginalization (and genocide) of Indigenous peoples and voices.

The majority of the book is concrete "case studies" questioning scientific dogma from an American Indian perspective, however, the real goods lie in the first three chapters, where Deloria makes his profound theoretical claims challenging the fundamental tenents of Western epistemology.

[Christopher Stegeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pointed out how dominant eurocentric mythologies bolster supreme truth over the indigenous narrative despite that fact that many were haphazardly put together as political fillers to a swiss-cheese plot (particularly baring straight theory)

[Alicedewonder · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Dr. Deloria, Jr. was alive I had the privilege of speaking with him on many occasions about his book Custer Died for Our Sins. When I was half-way through this text I didn't need to call him anymore, but I did just to commend him for his work.
Opinionated? I suppose he had to be in order to protect and defend what little is left of Indian culture, and Indian land.
He was a remarkable man who left his legacy in these outstanding pages.

[A.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!! Great perspective.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and valuable information. Unapologetically a polemic. I'm just not the audience for it. I didn't need convincing. I wanted his wisdom and insight. The anger is justified and will likely inspire some and awaken others. I found it distracting. Deloria has two strong philosophical and scientific legs to stand on without the frequent attacks.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Vine Deloria book I ever read and I have read many of his books since. Deloria deconstructs the current details of the theory of evolution (not to say he speaks as a "creationist" and see "Evolution, Creationism, and Other Modern Myths" for more on that...), but particularly where it blatantly ignores Native American history as experienced by Native Americans. Of particular interest is the deconstruction of the "Indians migrated across the Bering Sea back when there was an ice bridge" theory. When taken apart piece by piece, the theory does not stand strong (what would be the motivation to leave a known land for an unknown land that lay beyond numerous frozen mountain ranges and how did they manage this in fur slippers...or something to that effect...You might like the "ice free corridor" in the glacial mass that allowed the Indians to skate straight to Florida as much as I did). A great book if you question the "absolutes" we have been asked to leave unquestioned. Also a great book: "God is Red" by Vine Deloria and the video "In the Light of Reverence" which deal with the accepted forms of "spirituality/religion" in America. I'm not into any man-made religion, but the issue of religion among humans does fascinate me (spoken like a truly evolved ape).

[David Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

So should scientists consider the lore of Native Americans when doing their research? Is scientific research any more valid than the stories which have been passed from generation to generation?
Food for thought. And some very valid points by the author, Vine Deloria, when thinking about the theory of evolution and the other scientific idea of the bridge from Russia to Alaska which allowed the plants and animals a route to North America.

[Ralphe Wiggins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rant. Deloria has a good point that the belief in a Bering straight crossing 6000 years ago has been used to deny Native Americans legal status - as though European arrival 600 years ago trumps 6000 year history. OK, the problem for me was that the book was one long rant. Recent explorations verify Deloria's point that the Natives have been much longer.

[JL Salty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn’t get into this book. My science holds too strong, I guess. Dnf @30%
It was a fascinating look at Native religion and philosophy.
Rating: g - guardedly. I do not remember language in the 1/3 I read, but…
Recommend: older hs and up for complexity.
9/2022

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the reasons why I didn't go to medical school.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

They took basically a good informative book and just added more words than neccessary.

[Melodie]

don't attempt to read this chapter by chapter, read piece by piece and let it soak in

[Abcdarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-1/2 stars. Not well written, but it does present some interesting counterpoints to currently accepted theories of prehistory.

[Claire Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blown. What an important book.

[Rebecca Lesue · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reaction to this book is mixed. I was eager to learn Native American oral histories and how they line up with geological evidences. I looked forward to an alternative theory to the Bering Strait migration theory for population of the Americas - as I’ve always thought it was an unreasonable theory. I enjoyed the author’s bashing of that theory.

However, the author is extremely bitter and cynical about scientific institutions and Christian religions. While his bitterness is understandable, it is so overwhelming as to nearly obscure the evidences he is writing about, especially in the first several chapters of the book.

I still gleaned fascinating details of Native history and culture, and I learned of many examples of scientist ignoring archeological data and finds that do not support the current popular theories. It is interesting how unreliable radio-carbon dating is. I agree with the author’s basic premise that Native histories should not be dismissed without consideration.

[Damian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great book about the megafauna die off and the floods and how they meshed with native Americans legend. Also a great discussion of the Bering straight ice bridge migration hypothesis and of how science in general has lots of opinion mixed in. He of course mixes in plenty of humor and opinion too.
Downsides: the beginning is a bit wordy and it takes him a while to get to the point. Also, his discussion on carbon dating is too simple. Yes there are errors but he didn’t do it justice.

[Abigail K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening and perspective-changing, this is a necessary read for anyone studying anthropology, archaeology, or history. Though it contains some outdated info (it was published almost 30 years ago), Deloria effectively debunks many of the scientific beliefs of his time (many of which are still around today) and emphasizes the importance of traditional indigenous knowledge .

[LMH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read by a gifted Native writer, especially if you are a Native person (I am) and have skepticism or roll your eyes at the way Western scientific knowledge claims to be “the truth.” Pretty funny at certain points, he has some on point reads of people/Western knowledge, which are a delight to read.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't disagree with the ideas in this book, but I did not enjoy the writing style. It was too verbose and needlessly academic. At 271 pages it wasn't that long of a book, but it just seemed like it dragged on and on, and the same points could have been made in 20 pages or less, but with much more powerful effect.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good book that challenges conventional thinking. Not sure if modern tech dispels Deloria’s assertions but I think his commentary on the dismissal of Native American oral histories is on point.

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very enlightening and well written. The author makes the case for different points of view and backing assumptions does not mean that it doesn't make it fact. I also thought it was an excellent move to make a list of further readings for those who might like to delve further.

[Erica Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to work to get past the first few chapters but once you do it is worth it. He presents a lot of though provoking and interesting information.

[Shayda Abidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jim Dickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gratitude

I'm grateful that I read this book. It made me realize that a lot of the views from science is pure guess work. It reminds me of a lot of "if and then".

Thanks