January 18, 2002

Colonialism's Lasting Impact on Indigenous Societies in the Americas

By PETER MONAGHAN

The cultural, religious, and economic agendas that colonial powers brought to the Americas still influence indigenous cultures, says Patricia Seed, a historian at Rice University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She explores those persistent influences in American Pentimento: The Invention of Indians and the Pursuit of Riches (University of Minnesota Press), and says that scholars have failed to understand how colonialism works.

Q: Why do you use the term "pentimento" to