Native American Books

The world needs more people like the man whose life is explored in this book. Taken from interviews with those who knew Crazy Horse in varying degrees, he is consistently shown to be highly principled, ethical, and devoted to the welfare of his people. His example best expresses the difference between a "Leader" and a "manager" or "CEO". All are necessary, be we have lately begun to mis-order their importance, and have begun to choke on our own bitter mediocrity.

If you ever wanted to know what month the "moon of the popping trees," or who "the little people of the air" are all about, you only have to start this book. I have read it more times than you can count on five hands and it still moves me everytime. CRAZY HORSE probably paints the picture of exhiliration and despair of the 19th century Lakota(Sioux)and the end of their world as no other book on the subject I've read. (And I've read a lot of them.) When you've dried your tears at the end of this book, you begin to feel a kindred spirit with the Lakota and their struggle to save the world they know, and anger and contempt for the treaties and the word of the United States. Custer fans will be surprised that the so called "Battle of the Little Big Horn" appears with little fanfair in the book, it's almost over before you know it. The fact is, that's how the battle occured: just another skirmish with the soldiers, but one which the Lakota find out later is the turning point in their long struggle with the United States. A great tragedy in the classic sense of the word.

Very nice addition to my collection of works pertaining to Crazy Horse. What is contained in the book are images of the original ledgers at Camp Robinson. Amazon doesn't stock this book, try the Nebraska Historical Society website. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you find there!

If I could give this more STARS I would. Anyone interested in researching the Lakota society should consult this book. This book contains a census in ledger form of Indian tribes (Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho) residing at the Red Cloud Agency towards the end of the Sioux War. It is exciting to see the followers of Crazy Horse identified. What makes this book truly unique is that it is not an abstract of the ledger... it is a page-by-page photograph of the ledger -- as written in the 1870's (in good handwriting too!). So you don't have to rely on someone else's interpretation of the names. I only wish more books of this kind were published this way! The Ledger format consists of: Arraprahoes, Cheyennes, Young Man Afraid of Horses, American Horses, Red Cloud, Red Leaf, Yellow Bear, Little Wound, Departures, Arrivals from the North, Transfers to Spotted Tail, Indians from Spotted Tail on Passes, and Crazy Horse. Also included are Beef Records, Ration Tickets, etc., as well as a historical introduction (nicely documented). This book has enabled me to successfully locate Sioux families that I am researching. I highly recommended it. (Printed on acid free paper.)

This was an excellent book for all children and adults that like to read.
Thank you.

"The Cree of North America," by Deborah B. Robinson, is a fascinating look at the Native American people known as the Cree. The book combines an easy-to-read text with many full-color photographs. Also included are maps, a glossary, an index, many sidebar articles, and other supplementary features.

Topics covered include the Cree language, their environment, plants and animals in their areas, early Cree history, traditional arts and crafts, and more. Robinson doesn't shy away from controversial subjects; for example, she discusses the impact of the anti-fur movement on the Cree, for whom hunting and trapping have been important economic activities.

I thought this was a good book. My son who is more educated in Creek Indian culture differs in opinion. He felt that it wasn't authentic enough. My personal feelings are that it held plenty of knowledge for my interest level. It was a quick and fun read. I leave it in the guest room for visitors to browse. I had a few visitors who have stayed up too late because they got caught up in reading it. I would classify this as a book that might get you interested in knowing more. The author doesn't claim to be the last and only expert in this area.

If you are descended from any of the Nations that are from the SE of the US, you should read this book. It is a great book that gives a first person account of traditional Mvskogi medicine traditions passed through a particular family of the bird clan. Ok, there was an anthropologist involved...but he keeps his distance and admits his shortcomings. I really commend him for that. The account is what the medicine person himself wanted to say...

The navajo are a mysterious and beautiful people that are in the most honest fashion brought to life by Jeanne Simonelli and her photographer Charles Winters. The beautiful pictures taken of the people of Canyon de Chelly mirror and compliment the beautiful stories they tell and the lives revealed in Simonelli's intimate portrayal of Navajo life. This is a joy to read, and an essential companion in the study of the Navajo, or in any visit to the Navajo Reservation.

Ze-ee-lo-ee is the Navajo name for a grass that grows in Canyon de Chelly, which I learned along with a few other words from Lupita McClanahan. A former park ranger, Lupita and her husband Jon now lead private tours through the Canyon and are included among those profiled in this fine 109-page documentary of the Navajo way of life.

That way is a slower way, one that stops to greet the sun rising in the east, and puts in the time to paint in detail with grains of sand or threads in a woven blanket. A photograph of one such portrait is included with dozens of images of people and places in the Canyon. The portrait painted in a carpet is indistinguishable from the man portrayed.

The book explains some of the pre-requisites of life within the Navajo Nation, from the border towns of Flagstaff, Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico to the interior. It also details the history of the reservation, establishment of missions and schools in the 1910s, 20s and 30s, and the 1933 livestock reduction program that brought wealth to a few and poverty to many.

But it also delves deeply into the Canyon de Chelly microcosm, which is a community and family unto itself. Readers learn of ceremonies, both serious and light-hearted, as they are performed by the people who live here. The Kinaalda, for example, the puberty ceremony for young women, requires them to rise before the dawn on the second of four days and run into the sunlight. By the last day, the women are ushered into womanhood.

Of course, there are problems in the Canyon, chief among them the lack of employment opportunities. One of these is provided, of course, by the tourist industry. But that alone cannot absorb enough workers to accommodate a population of more than 150,000.

At Tsaile, at the eastern end of the Canyon, Navajo Community College gives young men and women higher education, while promoting them into the world of professionals. But until these youths advance, the book notes, the older generation has been left to "flounder between two worlds."

For those who wish to learn the trials and joys of Navajo life, this book is an excellent place to start. Reading it, one comes away with a sense of what it means to "walk in beauty."

--Alyssa A. Lappen

This is a perfect resource to help teach about the Penobscot Nation located in Maine. Due to a new law, LD291, Wabanaki studies need to be taught in every grade in the state of Maine. This is a great book to introduce Wabanakis in grades 2-4. It does not include typical Native American stereotyping. The author obviously did a lot of research before writing this book.

_Crossing the Starlight Bridge_ is an extremely insightful novel for children that touches on both the imperfections of family as well as the importance of culture and identity. The protagonist, a young Penobscot girl from Maine, is unwillingly transplanted from an island where she lives with other Penobscot families and friends to the mainland, over the "starlight bridge". The reason for this move is that her father has left her mother, and for financial reasons they are forced to go live with her grandmother on the mainland. Of course all of this change is devastating for a young girl who feels robbed of everything familiar and comfortable in her life on the island, including her family, house, and Penobscot culture. Rayanne, the protagonist, is unwillingly forced to adapt to a new lifestyle.

Alice Mead does an excellent job of expressing the thoughts and feelings of this young girl as she struggles with the separation of her parents, resentment toward her mother and father, and the less peaceful ways of the mainland. Adapting to this new life is not easy for Rayanne, but her grandmother, who has learned to embrace Penobscot culture and yet function in the culture of the mainland, makes this transition much easier for her.

The grandmother's character is wonderfully written, and exudes comfort and stories and all that grandmothers should be. She is an imaginative woman, and sparks Rayanne's imagination through her own stories of Penobscot culture. As a result of this support, Rayanne is able to rebuild her life on the mainland and find her own niche with new friends and her family.

This is an excellent book for any child, but I think that kids who are dealing with major changes in their lives, especially their parents' divorce or separation, would especially appreciate _Crossing the Starlight Bridge_.

According to the introduction of the book, this story was told in the indigenous language of Keresan by a well-known elder of the Cochiti Pueblo near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1928. This traditional story is part of a larger tradition of Native Americans in teaching values and right ways of living in community through storytelling. Crow is impatient and leaves her eggs in order to do the things that she wants to do. In essence, she gives up her responsibility towards her children. When Hawk comes by and sees the eggs abandoned, she sits on the eggs, hatches the eggs and feeds the chicks. She has taken on a responsibility that was not originally hers and will not give it up even when Crow comes back and is indignant that Hawk will not give up the young fledglings. While it is a hard story for Crow, one does notice later that Eagle is comforting Crow in her loss. As for the colorful and vibrant illustrations, childen will definitely enjoy them as they are led to think about personal responsibility and the costs associated with giving it up.

This book reveals how modern adoption suits should be handled. The answer was plain, simple, and correct--how ironic that the bird which symbolizes America could see it so easily.

This book is interesting, adventurous, informative, accurate, captivating - a must read! It involves North American Indian history during the last half of the 1800's, in the Northwest US and Western Canada. The major focus is on the Blackfeet Indians of this area. Learn how critical the land and the buffalo were to so many Indian Nations, and how they lost both of these critical necessities of their life and culture. Read this book and learn that there were peaceful Indians, and there were violent Indians, rather like the rest of the world! Read this book and you will never think or say the North American Indians "were savages", as many people still do! This book should also be a must read for every high school student in North America! I highly recommend it!

This book is interesting, adventurous, informative, accurate, captivating - a must read! It involves North American Indian history during the last half of the 1800's, in the Northwest US and Western Canada. The major focus is on the Blackfeet Indians of this area. Learn how critical the land and the buffalo were to so many Indian Nations, and how they lost both of these critical necessities of their life and culture. Read this book and learn that there were peaceful Indians, and there were violent Indians, rather like the rest of the world! Read this book and you will never think or say the North American Indians "were savages", as many people still do! This book should also be a must read for every high school student in North America! I highly recommend it!

When this book first came out I was in an Intensive Care ward not expected to live. As a 50th birthday gift, one of the nurses put this book under my pillow. I did not know it was there. During the night I had 'visions' of a Native American man sitting next to my bed talking with me in a language I did not speak but somehow could understand. He told me many things. None of them could possibly come true. A couple of days later the Gail, the nurse, told me about the book under my pillow. When she pulled it out for me to see I almost went into cardiac arrest! The man in my vision was the same man from the book! A Lakota Medicine Man. I told Gail about my dream and she said she hoped it meant he was looking after me. Long story short; Months later I found myself on his reservation. The entire story is a book and a half. Incredible things happened to me from the time the book appeared in my life. Because of that book I am still alive today, fourteen years later. I hope to write a book of my own so that I can tell the entire story. This book is magical. Everyone who needs spiritual guidance to the right path should have it in their home.

This is an excellent book on the subject of Native Americans. This book is filled with beautiful photographs and significant qoutes from various Native Americans, as well as brief descriptions of Native American history up to the present day. There is a very strong emphasis on various religious ceremonies such as the Sweat Lodge and Visionquest. Certain groups, namely the Sioux, Navajo (Dine) and Pueblos, are focused in on. All in all, however, this is an excellent book, more emotional and intuitive than anything else. Hopefully you'll be as moved by it as I was.