Native American Books

He is a favorite from many approaches: Native American folklore, attractive art, great read-aloud choices.

Mr. Goble is to be applauded for his engaging stories and fine, impressive illustrations. All children should own at least one of his books. I think my daughter likes Buffalo Woman best because the child, who is the main character, saves the day.

A young hunter, waiting at a stream, sees his prey, a buffalo, slowly approaching for a drink and tightens his arrow against his bow. To his surprise, now he sees nothing but a beautiful woman and "he knew at once that he loved her."

She tells him she comes from Buffalo Nation and they she was sent because he had always had good feelings for her people being a good and kind man. "My people wish that the love we have for each be an example to both our peoples to follow."

They marry and have a son, Calf Boy, but the hunter's people are cruel to his wife and child. So they run away and turn back into their true form, buffalo. The man loves them more than anything and chases after them. He finally finds them (after they'd escaped him several times) and his son, Calf Boy, gives him some "tips" [this is what makes the story in my opinion] to help save his father from the buffalo and unite, not just his family but the entire herd and the hunters that hunt them. [Another interesting part of the story.]

I think there's a strong underlying message in this story, not just for us to respect and protect animals but to respect and love each other. "Mitakuye oyasin--We are all related." o8E
Soar!

I am a faithful listen of Don Imus' show "Imus In The Morning". One morning he was talking about this book and how much his son Wyatt loved it. He started telling the story, but just stopped short of the end. I was so intrigued I ordered one up!

The book, although for a child, teaches a valuable lesson about relationships and how strong their bonds can be. I don't have children, but think should be required reading for our youth. I'm 33 years old (at the time of this revies) and I practice some of the ideals revealed in this innocent children's book.

The second edition of "A Cherokee Feast of Days" is as uplifting as the first. One can follow it daily to get an insight or inspiration, or, as I often do, scan it to find something that is pertinant now. The second edition uses more modern day situations than the first, so it will be more meaningful to young people. I only wish this edition had an index like the first edition. So far I have given 3 copies of the firt edition and 3 copies of the second edition to family and friends. I am ordering 4 more copies today.

A collection of uplifing anecdotes--the format is a modern 2 paragraph quote for the day from the writer which is followed by a statement from an Indian from years ago. Well done.

The second edition of "A Cherokee Feast of Days" is as uplifting as the first. One can follow it daily to get an insight or inspiration, or, as I often do, scan it to find something that is pertinant now. The second edition uses more modern day situations than the first, so it will be more meaningful to young people. I only wish this edition had an index like the first edition. So far I have given 3 copies of the first edition and 3 copies of the second edition to family and friends. I am ordering 4 more copies today. It is a wonderful little book!

This book is amazing. The stories are beautifully written and the sketches inside are some of the best I've even seen.

This book is a wonderful collection of Cherokee legends passed from generation to generation, which are still being told today by the elders. These inspiring stories are ones that will enlighten the masses. These stories will touch every socio-economic class, religion, race, and background. It is the most interesting book I have read in a long time. It tells the stories of children at play, things that happened around the sacred Cherokee reservation. Stories in which only the "Little People" could have played a part. These are real stories that continue to develop in the present and will continue developing in the future. This is a never-ending story that I look forward to reading again. It was entertaining and educational. The American Indian was and still is the epitomy of freedom. I beleive that this book emphasizes the importance of studying American Indian history and customs. Although this book is a "story book", it has a certain reality reflected in today's belief that the "Little People" are still a part of everyday life. It has a factual side that should not be ignored.

In closing, this book is the perfect mixture of intriguing, mythical stories and factual events that have shaped, not only the legacy of the American Indian, but also the legacy of this great country in which we live. We must not forget the peoples who first cultivated, depended on, and loved this great land.

This book as a masterpiece both in its writings and the wonderful illustrations provided by Lynn. I have found this book to be inspiring, uplifting and full of truth. The stories written are not fables, but truths in story/picture format for people of all gender/nationalities/age levels to learn from. Lynn has taken the truths of the Cherokee Nation and presented them in a fashion where we can see, understand, know the way to live our lives in a respectful, peaceful, honorable way. The illustrations in the book are awesome. Beautiful artistic talent. I am looking forward to more books from Lynn. Thank you Lynn for taking the time from your busy life to carry forth truth in the manner which Creator has directed. I feel every home, every library should have this marvelous book to learn from.
Linn Bailey, author "Indian Summer" ironangel@attbi.com

The middle school-aged children I've shared this with enjoy the story. It inspires many good questions and comments from them.

I teach reading and language classes. This book is an excellent resource to encourage reading, to introduce new language, and to increase my students knowledge and understanding of other cultures.

This literary piece is well written with the exquisite paintings that amplify the story over all. To have the visual images interact with the writing so well, I have to wonder how such an artist would only have illustrated a few books. A must read and a visual pleaser to the afficianados of art. Irving Toddy is a fine artist whose work should be sought out more. Eve Bunting is a good writer whose work is always complemented by the illustrator. In this case, to have a Native American-Navajo illustrate and to have lived the characters experiences is great.

This CD is unlike anything I've ever seen. Especially in history and art subjects. It even translates all 100 or so works of ledger art and speaks it out loud in Cheyenne! By a real person!

The Virtual walk through of the History museum gives you the feeling of having visited the exhibit.

Every single drawing is detailed with indian and soldier accounts of the drawings; subject, date, etc.

Schools should require this kind of history lesson.

If you are at all interested in the Plains Indians, Native American Art, or the history of the Cheyenne, do everything you can to get a hold of this CD, which takes you on a tour of an exhibit at the Denver Historical Society Museum. The center piece is the legder art of the this fiece warrior society, but many other artistic and historical items are also included.

I have read extensively on this subject, and visited any number of museums, yet I still learned a lot from the text and the narration. In addition you can click on any of the items in the virtual tour and get a detailed description along with a history-and there are many, many items. There is also a separate section on the ledger art which is clearly displayed a beautiful.

Kids will love going through the virtual exhibit, though I found clicking the next button, and viewing items one by one more helpful. There is also a special kids section, so the entire family can enjoy it.

This is well worth the price!

This book reads more like oral history or narrative, than 'native american studies' as it says on the back cover. Margot Liberty has added just the right academic footnotes to explain and clarify, without getting in the way. There aren't any books by a Native and an anthropologist that I know of that are as enjoyable, entertaining, and informative as this one. It is the perfect accurate, objective, in-depth, real counterpoint to much of the cotton candy fluff one finds about native ways and history in the New Age, and the dead, ponderous, dry, over-intellectual tomes that usually come out an institution as prestigious as the Yale University Press. I have rarely learned so much, and enjoyed doing it. I could hardly put it down.

The Cheyenne was undoubtably one of the most remarkable tribes of the Great Plains. Now you can have a very convenient one volume tribal history of them by John Stands In Timber with the help of anthropologist Margot Liberty. Stands In Timber,an old time Cheyenne, in his whole life collected the memories of his elders about the history of their Nation and he succeeded in editing it to a narrative from the creation to the reservation times. The effort of the author is of a rare kind and the result is also a rare one: you can learn the history of a native nation from the inside.

John Stands in Timber is my daughter's great-grandfather on her father's side. I am purchasing this book to let her know the history she shares as a Northern Cheyenne and to show her how much her great-grandfather cared about his people. I have read the book previously and appreciated the sense of cultural awareness John portrayed through his words. It is a lesson for us all to remember where we came from and appreciate how we got where we are now. I would recommend reading this book, to learn the history of the people and to appreciate that he wasn't just a historian, but a father, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather and also a good person.

Have read all the chia information on the web. This book gives you the history, the facts and why chia is so important in the diet - both ours and animals. The authors compare chia to other sources of omega-3 and then discuss why chia is a better source. If you are interested in your health this is a must read.

With 37 pages of documented references, Ayerza and Coates have established credibility with their findings of this old (but new) kid on the Essential Fatty Acid (EFA market. Chia seed, as well as hemp seed, is going to be a valuable source of EFAs in the not too distant future. Our waters are just too polluted and manufacturers too unscrupulous to keep up the facade that fish is the only source for the omega-3s our body needs. Ayerza and Coates goes into much detail on such subjects as the paradox of hunger and abundance; the importance of EFAs and the best sources of them as well as fats in general; why chia seed is one of the best sources of EFAs and many other nutrients; a detailed history of chia and where it seems to grow best (southern Mexico); the history of the Aztec people and their use of the seed; the various varieties and how to recognize them; and the oil's contribution to the preservation of art. The book also includes valuable tables of information and concludes with marketing ideas. Although the seed is a much needed food item, I fear that it can easily be exploited by manufacturers who see the value of the seed for other reasons than food. In this day and age of widespread hunger, food in general and good food (like chia and hemp seed) in particular, remains at the bottom of legislative concerns.

I was so delighted with the Chia book. Not only does the author provide an excellent historical review of chia seed, and its uses - there is also a wealth of information about its nutritional benefits. Long time overdue. I eat chia seeds every day, and cannot believe the dramatic difference they have made in my overall health. Don't miss this one!

I spent hours with some chilenos discussing this book. They laughed and were amazed how the author captured the true meanings and nuances throughout this book. I recommend it to anyone traveling to Chile as a must!

We just took a trip to Chile last month and bought this book off Amazon and were SO glad to have it with us. We used it to learn "Chilean" spanish and it was very helpful. The phrases in the book are quite accurate, according to the locals, and they were surprised to see some of their everyday phrases in the book. I highly recommend it if you're going to visit or live in Chile and you need a jump start on their dialect of the language.

This book will be a great help for anyone planing on going to Chile, and will be a hoot for anyone who's been there (esp. those who know Spanish). Having lived there, I wish I had this book before I went! I love this book.

Being from the dry place called "The Uintah Basin", I enjoyed reading about Chipeta. I read a lot of sports books and I thought the Chipeta book might be boring. It was the best book I've read this year. It was better than Phil Jackson and Paul Hourning's books. It was super.

The collaborative effort of Cynthia S. Becker and P. David Smith, Chipeta: Queen Of The Utes is the simply fascinating biography of the wife of Ute Chief Ouray, and who was to become as well-known as her famous husband. Regarded in stature as a "queen" by both whites and Utes, Chipeta outlived her husband by nearly half a century, adopted many orphaned children (she could not have children of her own), and remained a strong, caring individual in spite of difficult times. Offering a unique glimpse of the woes of the Utes as a tribe, as well as the particular challenges Chipeta and her husband faced at the turn of the century, Chipeta: Queen Of The Utes is an inspirational account of personal character and a welcome contribution to Native American Studies.

Chipeta: Queen of the Utes is an engaging story of life on the Colorado (American) frontier. It was unusual for a woman to be in such an influential and important position in Indian tribes. The authors apparently not only did extensive research (yes, this is a well-documented book) but are delightful storytellers. The oral tradition of Ute tribal legend is codified in a readable book.

Few women had a voice in 19th and early-20th Century America. Chipeta stood out. She became her husband's most trusted advisor. She was also an accomplished artisan, sang and played the guitar. At a time when Indians were marginalized, this Ute woman, Chipeta, traveled with her husband Chief Ouray to Washington DC. She even testified before a Congressional inquiry panel.

There are many historic photographs. The writers dug deep to locate archives not seen before. Ouray and Chipeta had their photograph taken by the famous Mathew Brady. Through the eyes of the writers we see the setting of Brady's studio and such details as the chair Chipeta sat in was the same one used in a famous photo of President Lincoln and his son.

Some of the vignettes tell of the danger and discrimination the Utes felt after the Manifest Destiny doctrines of the 19th Century legislators. The incident at the Pueblo [Colorado] train station is spell-binding. So-called Americans had great animosity for the Native Americans. When the delegation traveled to Washington DC, the officials of the US government wanted to show the military power of the nation. The Utes were not intimidated.

Chipeta's later life was one of mixed blessings. She found a second husband after Ouray's death and adopted a number of children. But she lived a hard life on a reservation in Utah. The stories of her reemergence as a celebrity in Colorado during her senior years is rewarding. The authors draw on newspaper accounts and oral histories by people who knew Chipeta to recount her later life (she died in 1924). She became so popular in Colorado that two towns vied for the right to bury her.

The book includes an Epilogue of related events that occurred after Chipeta's death. An Appendix identifies many places and things that are named in honor of Chipeta. This book would be an excellent high school or college text for classes studying the Native American culture. For the pleasure-reader Chipeta: Queen of the Utes is a nice flowing, well written text about an early American culture.

If you are a chocolate lover, this is the book for you! So many books about this topic look at how chocolate developed outside of Mesoamerica. It is nice to read about cacao in its original cultural context. Interesting and well-organized. A nice addition to any chocolate connoisseur's library.

This volume includes papers by a number of experts on chocolate and Mesoamerica. The chapters are well written and form the most complete coverage of this domesticate in a single volume. The papers consider cacao from multiple perspectives including botany, iconography, ritual, politics, and economy. They also cover a broad geographic area including a number of pre-Columbian and modern cultural groups in Mesoamerica.

This book is a great contribution to the field of Mesoamerican studies. When I ordered it I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have really enjoyed it. The interdisciplinary approach allows for a thorough examination of the role of cacao in the cultural life of indigenous Mesoamericans, past and present. I appreciated the diachronic examination of the subject as it allows the reader to better understand how cacao was and is culturally important to Mesoamericans. Additionally, it demonstrates how this seed become significant to the colonial economy as well as the larger world market. The history of cacao's Native American origins is fascinating. Cacao or chocolate has become an important part of many cultures foodways however its Native American origins are largely overlooked in its contemporary context. McNeil's compilation of current scholarly research about cacao nicely demonstrates the origin and development of this Native American resource.