From mission to metropolis

Contrary to popular perception, the majority of Indians living in the United States today reside in urban areas. These urban Indians are an invisible minority because their culture is less obvious in the city than on the reservations. Has their "Indianness" been eroded by life in the city and by a lack of tribal culture, or has their ethnicity simply changed in form, been redefined, over time? How do these urban Indians perceive their own ethnic identification? In From Mission to Metropolis, Diana Meyers Bahr applies these questions to representatives of a particular group of urban Indians.

The "metropolis" is the city of Los Angeles, home to the highest number of Indians of any city in the nation. The Cupenos, with 150 members, are one of the smallest bands of California Mission Indians. Using life-history research, Bahr presents the stories of three generations of contemporary Cupeno women: Anna, Patricia, and Tracie.