Contested Pasts and the Practice of Anthropology

With this issue, the editors of the American Anthropologist introduce the first Contemporary Issues Forum, “Contested Pasts and the Practice of Anthropology.” We find it incumbent upon the flagship journal of the profession to encourage productive discussion of current issues of relevance to anthropologists and the public. The editors have targeted broadly significant and controversial topics as foci for the forums with a view to encouraging productive dialogue. With this initial forum we open an arena for debate regarding anthropological practice and discourse and their consequences in the contemporary period of ethnic resurgence and (neo)colonial disempowerment. We recognize the debated nature of these issues and the potential importance of such controversies to the profession. Commentary on the forum papers from the readership of the American Anthropologist is welcome.