“Abalone Tales is a beautiful book that does justice to the beauty of abalone itself and to the oral traditions of California coastal tribes. . . . Abalone Tales is a perfect example of collaborative ethnography in which the anthropologist’s calling resonates with the deeply held core identity of the Native Americans with whom he works.” - Robin Ridington, Collaborative Anthropologies
“Les Field and his collaborators have written a rich and multifaceted account of abalone’s profound importance to native tribes of northern California. . . . One of the most compelling aspects of the book is Field’s elegant narration of his careful and self-reflective progression through [the ethnographic] process. This volume is an important contribution to scholarship on indigenous politics and cultural revival in native California and will be of great interest to anthropologists engaged in methods of collaborative ethnography as well as native communities interested in the tools of anthropology.” - Shaylih Muehlmann, American Ethnologist
“Les Field offers an intriguing analysis of the place of abalone shells within the Musekma Ohlone, the Wiyot, Pomo, Karuk, and Hupa cultures and he provides a theoretical framework with abalone as cultural trope. Field also transforms this study into a greater contribution of the field of Native Studies. . . . Read this stimulating book for more than just how abalone were, and are, parts of Native cultures within California.” - Gregory Gagnon, Canadian Journal of Native Studies
“This ethnography deepens our knowledge of how the tasty edible sea snail impacted Native California peoples—as food, adornment, and as tradable commodity and narrative symbol.” - Santa Cruz Sentinel
“This important work by one of the foremost anthropologists working in Native California today employs an innovative collaborative approach. . . . I highly recommend this significant book that exemplifies the writing of collaborative ethnography while delving into important issues of contemporary concern among coastal California Indians. . .” - Kent G. Lightfood, Journal of Anthropological Research
“Though historically important to the people and represented in artifacts, the abalone’s contemporary significance for Native California peoples is made clear in both poetry and essays. Highly recommended.” - L. De Danaan, Choice
“Throughout his journey in Alta, California, Field ties in sovereignty, cultural revivification, government recognition and nearly every contemporary issue affecting Indian country with his abalone shells and tales by inquiring intimately about its use as ceremonial regalia and its history as a resource and commodity.” - Indian Country Today
“Abalone Tales shimmers like the mother of pearl in a California Indian necklace. Out from the shadows of the old colonial tradition, the book fulfills the overdue promise of a new collaborative anthropology. It accomplishes this with remarkable intimacy and intelligence, and in so doing gives us new ways of thinking about ethnography, Native America, and the global politics of indigeneity today.” - Orin Starn, author of Ishi’s Brain: In Search of America’s Last “Wild” Indian
“Abalone Tales is a fine example of collaborative ethnography. It adds immeasurably to ongoing conversations among anthropologists and other social scientists about the still-emergent possibilities for producing dialogic, collaborative, and ethically responsible ethnographies.” - Luke Eric Lassiter Marshall University Graduate College
