This essay places the controversy of who speaks for whom in a broader cultural context by exploring the cultural context for the critical reception of Marilyn Dumont's A Really Good Brown Girl. It begins by outlining cultural criticism and theory on the interdependence of culture and politics then develops an analysis that calls attention to the representation of culture and politics as separate spheres in public policy, media and academic discourses. This separation allows Native societies to be described in exclusively cultural terms that deny their position as political constituencies and, consequently, for literature by Native authors to be dismissed as too political. The conclusion affirms the importance of control over culture for Native societies given the threat to cultural autonomy and political interests posed by assimilationist representation.
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