Native American Books

Gabe Horn's Native Heart is written in the voice of a man who walks his path with clear eyes and a loving heart. He does not hesitate to speak the truth, but does so in a way that clearly respects our need as real human beings to accept past (and current) injustices, learn from them and move on to a brotherhood of working together for the good of the People and the Land. Plan to have a highlighting pen near when reading this book to capture the wisdom and burn it into your heart. Once having read the true history of our nation and the continuing bias against any culture which defers from the one in power, there is no excuse for inaction. My personal library of books regarding american indian history, culture and spirit is extensive, and Native Heart now holds a place on honor. I am privileged to be the first person to write a review for this inspired offering and plan to purchase additional copies for my loved ones. We are indeed all related. Walk in Balance. Marsha Anisoquili (Many Ponies) Raymond -

As a sociologist with a specialization in power relations and most particularly racial and ethnic relations in the United States, I should probably have been aware of Gabriel Horn's books a long time ago. That I wasn't is a testimony to the door our culture shuts in the face of its history and continued treatment of and attitude toward indigenous people, including the native nations of North America. That I came across Mr. Horn's work now-finally-is a function, I believe, of being in the right place at the right time thinking the right thoughts to put me in touch with an increasing level of important Truth. Native Heart is a story of survival, strength, and glory in the face of odds that have been truly insurmountable physically, but powerless spiritually. It is also a poem to and about Gabriel Horn's people. It holds back nothing, baring the core of his Being in a way that must have been painful, indeed. I am immensely grateful to have been allowed to walk the earth with Mr. Horn and those he introduces us to-past and present-in his books. If you're at all like me, you will be greatly saddened by Native Heart, but quieted, too, in the ultimate knowledge that where there is life, there is, in fact, hope for all who seek it. And if you, like I did, finish Native Heart with a yen for a second helping, Contemplations of a Primal Mind continues both the story and the reader's education.

'Native Heart' for me offered great depth of insight into Native Amercian spirituality, and the difficulties faced in modern US society preserving that culture. It also highlighted the bigotry Native peoples face here, and the misguided sterotypes other Americans may often work from when dealing with Native Americans.

Read after Gabriel Horn's second book - 'Contemplations of a Primal Mind (****), this was the perfect reading sequence for me, as one led directly into the other.

I would strongly recommend this book to ALL Americans (and non-Americans), as a way to dispel the 'John Wayne' type sterotypes created about Native Americans, and to really understand them as a people, their culture and enlightening spirituality.

Ayukii! ("Hello"! in my native language)

"Native Plants/ Native Healing" is a GREAT book, written by a wonderful and loving person: Tis Mal Crow. I knew Tis Mal personally since the 1980's. He was very knowledgeable about plants and herbs and their medicinal uses. He was also one of my closest friends, but we were more like brothers. There aren't many "root doctors" around - not like Tis Mal. He was one of the best.

I would like to thank Jerry Lee Hutchens, the "Native Voices" editor for the "Book Publishing Company" in helping Tis Mal's dream become a reality by helping him publish this great book.

Tis Mal and I danced at many Pow Wow's, and also made native regalia for many years. We used to sit for hours on end for months at a time to create beadwork. Tis Mal was well known for his bear claw necklaces, and his life-sized carved wooden dolls, dressed in traditional native american regalia.

Tis Mal Crow crossed over into the spirit world April, 2006. He had mentioned to me once that he "carried an old soul". To me, he was gentle, gifted, and wise beyond his years. He respected our Mother/Grandmother Earth, deeply loved her wonderful gifts, and respected all living things.

I miss him, and look forward to seeing him again in the spirit world.

Yootva. (Thank You.)

Jim

email: jimbeads@hotmail.com

I love this book. I dont know much about herbs but this book is very well written and informative. He gives a cure for almost every ailment and shows you how to look at a plant to determine its usage by its shape. My son that I homeschool loves to learn about all the usages of the plants, like cattails being used to make pancakes and clubhouses. I would purchase this book above any other, only because you can't find this information anywhere else. The only request I have of the author is to add more illustratoins of all plants discussed, so the ignorant (such as myself) know what to look for out in the wild.

When gathering plants out in the bush for medicine, it is useful to carry some kind of field guide. For the uninitiated, the most comprehensive field guides quickly overwhelm, frequently with "skull and crossbones" designations of toxicity.

Native healer Tis Mal Crow reigns it all in by describing only 22 or so widely available and ubiquitous plants. Without the distancing effect of the western botanist describing "traditional uses", Tis Mal Crow gets down to earth: This is what it is. This is what it looks like. This is what it's for. This is how to use it - with appropriate cautions. Most importantly of all, Tis Mal Crow outlines the spirit and intent with which you must go gathering, to bond with and elicit the cooperative spirit of the plant involved.

Native Plants, Native Healing is engaging. If you only ever work with these 22 plants, you will have learned much.

I agree with both previous reviews. Cannot really add anything other than it was completely enjoyable to read and certainly sheds new light on many aspects of how we have viewed and are now viewing the Maya and their spectacular civilzation...so nice toknow that the longer the culture existed the better off the lot of the common people.

There are many books written on the subject of the Maya civilization. What sets

Jeremy Sabloff's book apart from the rest is how he approaches the subject. He refers

to his book as a story, and provides his reader with a very concise overview of the Maya

civilization. The clarity of his text enhances the usefulness of the book, which in turn

broadens the audience from anthropology students to anyone interested in learning

about the Maya. Sabloff sets out his `story' to combine history, theory, methods and

fieldwork and best describes the text in his own preface, an "attempt to explain how

early archaeologists arrived at the `traditional model' of ancient Maya civilization that

was popular in the first half of the century and how fieldwork has given birth to new

discoveries of the Maya." (Sabloff, preface). The text is broken down into six chapters

and in each chapter he uses subheadings to organize his interpretation of the

information and to reveal an accurate knowledge of Maya studies.

Using Maya archaeology as an extended study, Sabloff uses relevant sites

during specific time periods as case studies to examine the area he wishes to describe

to his reader.

The first chapter is entitled `Growth of Modern Scientific Archaeology',almost

beginning were the preface left on in terms of what Sabloff views as the `traditional

model' of early Maya archaeology. This begins with the idea of what stream of

questions the archaeologist should ask. In the `traditional model', Sabloff shows that

the `what' and `where' questions of the past are no longer as relevant as the newly

replaced `why' and `how' shift. It is in this chapter that Sabloff introduces the first of

many different scholars to emphasize each section. Schiffer and Binford are discussed

as well as one of their more popular methodological issues of the past, linked cultural

activities.

The next two chapters give the reader a contrast with the `traditional model' of

ancient civilization and new views of the classic period. With these topics, Sabloff

refers to the findings of Morley and Thompson in chapter two and Willey and

Proskouriakoff in the following section. The way he introduces these scholars is one of

respect. Sabloff does not bash the early ideas of archaeologists (knowing now that the

information is not thorough), he describes their work prior to the archaeological

revolution as successful and that many of their ideas were not wrong, just not

developed enough. With regards to the later of the four scholars, Sabloff explains

Proskouriakoff's remarkable findings from the Usumacinta River sites of Piedras and

Yaxchilan and the breakthrough idea that Maya texts record history. What Sabloff

seems to stress is that with each decade, the scholars and the information they have

gathered help the next generation of archaeologists in their quest to better understand

Maya civilization.

Chapter four evaluates new views of the Pre-classic and Post-classic period.

Sabloff introduces specific case studies such as the areas of Chichen Itza and

Cozumel. By focusing in on these areas, Sabloff is able to convey to his reader an

understanding of what archaeology can accomplish.

The remaining two chapters analyze the emergence of a new model and takes a

look at archaeology under this new modern world. Sabloff highlights the scholars

Webster and Gonlin and their research on the emergence of more distant rural

areas among the Maya subareas.

With each chapter, Sabloff gives the reader a new finding in terms of Maya

civilization. He frequently looks for parallels between ourselves and the Maya which

make this civilization even more real and exciting to the reader. The `story' concludes

with Sabloff asking questions to the reader, and having read the book, the questions

encompass so much information in only a few lines. Sabloff leaves the reader thinking

as well as feeling confident enough to ponder the questions himself.

After the final word has been read, there are ten pages of further readings listed

by chapter, which include everyone mentioned in the book and then some.

`The New Archaeology and the Ancient Maya' is lavishly illustrated with

photographs, site plans and maps all of which are in colour. All of these visual aids in

conjunction with the accurate read, help to summerize this complicated subject with

success. Sabloff hits his target perfectly with how he feels this story should be told,

his story is "to understand the development of a past culture, not find lost arks".

I found this book very informative. It demonstrates how much archaeology and our knowledge of the Maya has changed since the Mayan ruins were first 'discovered' in the 19th century.

The cultural biases of the early archaeoligts now explain many of the 'facts' put forward in early books on this subject. Acutally many of these 'facts' were just guesses, but because they were put forward by prominent people they were taken on face value. Much of the work, especially since the 1960's has disproved or changed out of recognition these early 'facts'.

The last overview book on the Maya I read had them as peace loving people in lovely cities in the jungle, who just "gave it all up for no decent reason". This book completly changed my view on that. It made me realise on how slim a foundation many of the earlier works lay.

I'd reccomend this book to anybody who wants to know how much archaeology has changed - and why what these people have discovered is not only in the past, but also has a bearing on us today..

This nicely illustrated book provides an excellent introduction to the history and culture of the early Indian inhabitants of the New England region. Stretching back to 30,000BC, the book opens with descriptions of the first inhabitants of North America, the Paleo Indians, and continues up through the Archaic and later Woodland cultures, finally concluding with the early years of contact between the eastern Algonquians and Europeans in the region that would become Massachusetts. This book is filled with well researched information and detailed illustrations and depictions of everything from spear and arrow points, to flintknapping techniques, clothing, cookware, and religious rites.

This book is perfect for someone with little or no previous knowledge of pre-historic Indian culture in North Americ, but can be a nice addition to a collection of someone already familiar with the subject and is well worth the price. It should lead the interested reader to even more in-depth works on the subject.

C. Keith Wilbur's expertise on the fascinating subject of the daily lives of the New England Indians is stunning. Anyone who has wondered how they withstood the harsh winters, how they sheltered and clothed themselves, and how they raised their families, will have his questions answered. The topics are endless: firemaking, snares, stone tools and weapons, needles and thread, canoes, language, ornamentation, their Iroquois adversaries, and the first contact with European settlers; it's all here. Where the archaeological and historic record is equivocal, the author makes educated guesses, such as the probable way stone tools were hafted to their shafts. One exception stands out, and that is his guess as to the earliest dates for Indian habitation in New England. For some reason Wilbur states this date as 32,000 years ago. In fact, there is no evidence that humans inhabited New England earlier than 15,000 years ago, following the end of the Wisconsin Ice Age. With this minor (and unnecessary) error, the book constitutes a rich compendium of factual detail about New England Indian life.

This nicely illustrated book provides an excellent introduction to the history and culture of the early Indian inhabitants of the New England region. Stretching back to 30,000BC, the book opens with descriptions of the first inhabitants of North America, the Paleo Indians, and continues up through the Archaic and later Woodland cultures, finally concluding with the early years of contact between the eastern Algonquians and Europeans in the region that would become Massachusetts. This book is filled with well researched information and detailed illustrations and depictions of everything from spear and arrow points, to flintknapping techniques, clothing, cookware, and religious rites.

This book is perfect for someone with little or no previous knowledge of pre-historic Indian culture in North Americ, but can be a nice addition to a collection of someone already familiar with the subject and is well worth the price. It should lead the interested reader to even more in-depth works on the subject.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the "knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories," is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the "knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories," is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

I hope that Dr. Faris will not be put off by me considering this book a masterpiece. It is one of my favorites, the details I'll omit. Very few scholars have grasped the complexity and beauty of Navajo ceremonialism and creation stories as well as the author has in The Nightway (Haile, Matthews, Zolbrod, McNeley). There are small portions of the book which I think some Nightway singers (medicine men) could disagree with but overall it is an excellent resource of information on the most familiar of Navajo ceremonials among non-Navajos. Reading Dr. Faris's text reinforces my convention that good anthropolgoy still exists. His basic postulate that the knowledges of living authorities of local history concerning the healing arts, that is, Navajo Medicine Men and Women, have knowledge which can be accepted as truths, and are as valid as material remains of the deceased, as interpreted by foreign histories, is refreshing, honest, respectful, and badly needed in so many areas of anthropology.

Nomads of Niger is an excellently written and colorful depiction of the life of the ancient nomadic Fulani or "Peul" people. Belonging to the group known as the Wodabe or Bororo, these nomadic herders of Niger (actually in this case moving into Chad, Cameroon and Central African Rupublic as well) have roamed for centuries across the sub-Saharan bushland, surviving where few others could. Living very simply, yet loving beauty and esthetics, their intricate culture and open hospitality is fascinating -- especially as it is is found in one of the harshest living environments on earth.

The authors have done a marvelous job of looking inside this virtually unknown culture, and with admiration and respect depicting it in print and photographs. It should be also noted that the Nomads of Niger was also developed as a National Geographic documentary, and brings some of the unforgettable sounds and action of this culture to life. Don't miss the Geerewol!

Dear Sirs,

This book is excellent sourse for those who never visited the countries where nomads of Niger are living. Of course, if it is interesting for you. Splendid photos of different tribes and people. Very good and understandable texts. I enjoyed the jorney when I have read the book. When you read it and look on the photos you feel like you are there, among nomads.
It is also very good for people who are going to visit the countries where the Niger nomads live. You have to read this book before you trip.

Sincerely yours,

Vladyslav.

This is truly a wonderful book. The photos are beautiful and depicts the Wodaabe just as they are. The text is very accurate. Although published in 1983 these people are still very much the same today.

Carol Beckwith, who also wrote an article on the Wodaabe for the National Geographic in 1983, follows a family of the Wodaabe for a period of a year as they move from place to place in search of water for their cattle and themselves. The harshness and beauty of their lives is both portrayed in this book.

Many aspects of their complex culture is described. It is worth reading particularly if you ever intend to visit the area and the Wodaabe themselves.

Excellent value for money.

DK Eyewitness books are great and informative. I am teaching ESOL students who are learning English and taking content courses at the same time. They are unfamiliar with American History and Native American history is an even greater enigma to them. This book which supplies graphics and photos, allows students to gather a lot of information visually at a time when they have troubling reading English.

Great pictures and lots of information throughout. This book captures my 1st grader's attention. Will be a good resource for homeschooling. For those concerned, this book acknowledges that archeologists do not agree when human beings "trekked across the Ice Age land bridge from Siberia". It states various theories as to who & when people were in the Americas. Love the organization of the book and so will be wonderful resource in our American studies.

THIS WAS THE MOST THE BEST DK BOOK I EVER READ
AND I JUST LOVE HISTORY

KYLE VENTURA
(...)

Aime' Cesaire's "Return to My Native Land," one of the great prose-poetry works of the twentieth century, was parented by not one or two but three literary movements: the Negritude Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and French Surrealism. The book's very rich suffusion of cultural and political nuances may be attributed to the Harlem Renaissance and the Negritude Movement while its linguistic dexterity and philosophical daring would have to acknowledge some allegiance to French surrealism. The result is a masterful examination of a soul simultaneously created by and torn between two cultural sensibilities: the European and the African. Like James Baldwin, Albert Camus, and Frantz Fanon in their various works, Cesaire in "Return to My Native Land" takes racism and class oppression to task at the same time that he delves most deeply into the greater nature of the human condition itself.

by Aberjhani
author of I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

Aime Cesaire, from the Carribean island of Martinique, has written an incredibly powerful poem that focuses on the sufferings of Black people under colonialism. The poem, surrealist in nature at times, features rich language and detailed poetic pictures of the inequalities, hard labor, and abuse that the Black people endured under the oppression of colonialist rule. But Cesaire also infuses the poem, in its final passages, with hope for a brighter day in the struggle against racism where the race will be "standing and free." Cesaire was co-creator (with Leopold Senghor) of the concept of Negritude, a literary and cultural movement that emphasized pride in African heritage and culture. His poem is one of the finest examples of 20th century poetry and it demands close reading to unveil its many sparkling diamonds. It is a literary minefield that will enrich all who attend to its beauty and truth.

Notebook is so beautiful and awe-inspiring that I am loath to attempt a review for fear of failing to transmit how powerful a message it really has. That being said, it is a battle cry and a rallying point for the Negritude movement. Rejecting the roles of slave or victim, Cesaire pounds the reader with a repetition of painful and degrading symbols and words (i.e. the taboo: "nigger"). Using extended metaphors of slave-ships and plantations, Cesaire expresses the deep desire of modern Africans and African-Americans and Caribbeans to merely exist in the world, without any associated emotions of sympathy or messages of oppression. He attacks Christian dogma, concepts of white and/or European supremacy, and modern African-Americans "shaking themselves in various ways to get rid of their stripes." Scathing. Moving. Notebook is WELL worth the read.

This is about the REAL Southwest, neither the Tex-Mexified version east of the Rockies, nor the touristy version of Santa Fe, nor the mythical version of the OK Corral.

Most of this book deals with the largest U.S. desert -- the Great Basin desert. A land of rugged climatic extremes and even more rugged geography, it has largely bent men to its will rather than the other way around.

Beginning with his own childhood reading and first trips to this area, Turner paints a portrait of the Southwest's natural and social history while also describing how he, too, has been shaped by this land.

A wonderful new edition of this lovely book has recently been done by Fulcrum Publishing. The ISBN is 1-55591-486-1. It includes new essays, including one on Gerogia O'Keefe that looks at the west from an artist's perspective that I thought was particularly special.

As of this writing, this well written collection of essays seems to be out of print, and it shouldn't be. Turner has a sharp eye for detail and an ability to craft personal experience and an encyclopedic scale of information into engaging reading on subjects as varied as saguaro cactuses, chili con carne (with a recipe for Basic Texas Red), management of wild horse herds, Billy the Kid, Basque sheepherders in the Great Basin, and a Czech festival each autum in Deming, New Mexico.

Especially interesting for this reader is his essay on the lives of two early 20th-century writers who turned their own frontier experiences into best-sellers that shaped American awareness of the West: James Willard Schultz ("My Life as an Indian," 1907) and Will James ("Lone Cowboy," 1930). Based in Santa Fe, Turner roams over the southern arid states where inhabitants set their clocks to Mountain Time. And his essays are fine examples of travel writing that appreciates both landscape and centuries of human history. This is an excellent addition to any bookshelf of nonfiction Western literature.

Discussing American nationalism (or the maintenance of counter-nationalisms) from the perspective of various Amerindian nations is especially problematic, for these nations and populations remain under colonial geographical and cultural occupation to this day in a sense that is not true for other populations in the United States. In Ojibwe Singers: Hymns, Grief, and a Native Culture in Motion, Michael McNally works to uncover the politics of ritual power and performance with regard to the practice of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) hymn singing. For the Ojibwe, the very real development in harmonic and narrative structure of Christian hymn-singing, nonetheless camouflaged the incommensurability and resilience of Ojibwe language to subjugation from colonial missionary concepts and relations to sacrality. Thus, as McNally demonstrates, a close analysis of Ojibwe hymnody as developed before the 1870's reveals a strong continuity with this-worldly concerns of Ojibwe religion and living life in proper relation to the web of nature through an economy of power (manidoo), rather than an emphasis on Christian transcendence as exemplified by the original English words. Moreover, the Ojibwe Christians, the Anami'aajig, among whom this tradition is strong, see their religious commitment in terms of the practice or ritual prayer, and acting as ones-who-pray, rather than in terms of believing a set of theological suppositions. These ritual prayers turns out to be very different than the hymns intended to be passed along by Christian missionaries.

McNally accomplishes this project by setting up the history of Ojibwe/Missionary encounter alongside the original missionary hymns side by side with the Ojibwe versions, and then English retranslations of the Ojibwe. The retranslations show that Ojibwe (Chippewa) language is itself quite resistant to co-optation by Christian missionaries. While the same words often show through the translations--the words themselves, like "world," "heaven," and "sin" just do not mean the same thing. What this implies is that two cultures can sing the exact same words in a hymn, but yet be singing totally different songs. For example, "sin" (baataziwin) and "grace"(zhawenjiigewin) don't have the character of human helplessness and outside holy intervention in Ojibwe. The terms used imply a simple temporary upset of the integrated relationships of Nature (Bimaadiziwin) the actions undertaken in pity to repair these relationships. Throughout the songs transcendence largely becomes immanence, although the language is as faithful as possible. And the form of performance changed too--as the Ojibwe hymnody largely became associated with moments of grieving and potential loss of persons to the community, and the Ojibwe continued to largely reject or become indifferent to other forms of Christian religious instruction, even as they began to identify themselves as Christians.

This is especially important as two sets of communities took shape in Ojibwe culture over time, one community less assimilated and less economically developed (in an `Anglo' sense) and one more assimilated and more economically integrated into the dominant narrative of `mainstream' American life. The culture of the former became folklorized, preserved as historical artifact yet emasculated from the power to address its more assimilated audience. Yet the practice of hymn prayer itself indigenizes Christianity to Anami'aawin, and its continued practice functions to re-member and maintain a "geography of home," a "singing sodality," or a continued nation identity of Ojibwe in the midst of all-too common violent death/loss of community members, not to mention other ongoing issues related to being occupied and colonized. This habitus of hymnody, this "embodied history" then is the practice of `accommodating' hope, the practice of `resistant' community-indeed the practice of cultural nationalism, in the face of many forces of dis-memberment, through the ongoing American nationalist colonization.
But we cannot stop there, for while we could argue that the preoccupation of white American-ness since the early days of its inception was the place of "Indianness," within a cultural politics of core and periphery, this would misplace the agency examined in McNally's work, which is that of the Ojibwe. In the face of being marginalized (to put it mildly) hymn singing functions to rekindle the identity of the Ojibwe, drawing the departed away from physical death (a limnal periphery to the world in terms of Ojibwe cosmology) into an ongoing core of Ojibwe religious personhood. This is simultaneously replicated in the larger pattern of re-membering the Ojibwe core away from "forgetting," [a cultural death], and contesting "American"ness, which is, for the Ojibwe, perhaps the ultimate peripheralization.

I do want to point out that this project resists the term "religion" in many ways, which is vitally important to undestand. McNally's own conception of Ojibwe hymnody frames it as lifeway "practice," and the process of creating this sound object is for him always already bound in the historical process of Ojibwe language. In Ojibwe religiosity, as with many Amerindians, the emphasis is on personhood, power, and place all negotiated within the field of language, which reflects the underlying assumptions of the lifeway.

Moreover, for the Ojibwe the hardships of contemporary life become a form of `penitential supplication' in their lifeway/religion. Deliberately produced Ojibwe hymn sound objects then occur in the context of the promotion and re-membering Bimaadiziwin ("Nature," understood both as it is and as it should be) in the face of physical challenges like the death of persons, and cultural "forgetting," which is itself a kind of death. Therefore this music exists neither purely as entertainment culture, as in modern capitalist societies, nor as a worship of transcendence, as in most forms of Christianity. Yet it undergoes historical shifts like aspects of any other "culture in motion." Whereas once Ojibwe music was primarily concerned with thaumaturgical power, the "new Ojibwe" music was transformed by its encounters with missionary, as well as other ongoing pressures related to continuing occupation, into a negotiated process/product of colonization. Specifically McNally terms Ojibwe hymn music a "rekindling" of and within the habitus of Ojibwe Bimaadiziwin- a praxis of hope and "re-membering" of the community in the face of dismemberment pressures.

"McNally carefully outlines the place of music within Ojibwe culture and contrasts Ojibwe ideas concerning music with the place of hymnody among nineteenth-century evangelical Protestants. He argues convincingly that the performance of translated musical texts gave nineteenth-century Ojibwe a distinctive idiom for religious expression. Today, Ojibwe hymn singing continues to provide a rich resource of language and culture and promotes the survival of their culture. Highly recommended."

"McNally carefully outlines the place of music within Ojibwe culture and contrasts Ojibwe ideas concerning music with the place of hymnody among nineteenth-century evangelical Protestants. He argues convincingly that the performance of translated musical texts gave nineteenth-century Ojibwe a distinctive idiom for religious expression. Today, Ojibwe hymn singing continues to provide a rich resource of language and culture and promotes the survival of their culture. Highly recommended."