Contrary to their portrayal in mainstream American media, the native peoples of North America have been demonstrated by numerous scholars to be extremely heterogeneous, culturally as well as linguistically. This linguistic diversity is reflected in the grammatical features of their languages, as well as metalinguistically in beliefs, ideas, feelings, attitudes, and practices concerning these languages. In order to demonstrate the diversity of indigenous North American language ideologies, this volume presents a collection of articles that “all derive from ethnographic studies of language use and interaction and are an exploration of language ideologies in changing Native American contexts” (7). Edited by Paul V. Kroskrity, a professor of anthropology specializing in linguistic anthropology, and Margaret C. Field, an associate professor of American Indian studies whose research focuses on indigenous North American languages, this book includes contributions from scholars in the fields of anthropology, linguistics, American Indian studies, criminology, and law. The book is divided into three sections, intended to highlight the heterogeneity of Native American groups' experiences of language, European colonialism, and revitalization in the face of potential language loss.

Part 1, “Language and language ideological change,” includes five chapters that detail examples of linguistic change in various tribal settings, mostly as a result of contact with Anglo-American language and culture. For example, Field, in “Changing Navajo language ideologies and changing language use,” challenges the long-held notion of “a comparatively conservative and homogenous Navajo speech community” (31). She does this by demonstrating how widespread bilingualism among Navajo speakers is beginning to manifest itself through code-mixing, as well as through structural change in modern Navajo.

In Part 2, “Language revitalization as a site for (re)new(ing) language ideologies,” authors discuss the effects that revitalization projects have had on indigenous language ideologies. In “‘You keep not listening with your ears!’: Language ideologies, language socialization, and Paiute identity,” Pamela Bunte describes how the San Juan Southern Paiute tribe, who have historically not believed that there is an iconic link between speakership of their language and in-group membership (in fact, Paiutes, who were monolingual Navajo speakers, could still refer to Paiute as “our language”), have begun to develop an “essentialized or iconized link … between language and identity” (172) as the result of language programs and other factors.

In Part 3, “Linguistic description, language activism, and reflexive concerns,” scholars discuss issues arising from language activism and planning and examine their own roles in going about these activities responsibly. In Ch. 11, “Language revitalization and the manipulation of language ideologies: A Shoshoni case study,” Christopher Loether discusses how the Shoshoni language, many speakers of which “exhibit a defeatist attitude” (245), can be lent some prestige through various means. Linguists concerned primarily with the structures of languages will appreciate some of the data but may find the book a bit too theory-heavy for their liking, but academics seeking a more ethnographic approach to native American languages will find this book invaluable.