Native American Books

This is an excellent historical account of a very dramatic event in the settling of the great plains. As I read this book, I was struck at the cultural differences and how there was no resolution other than violence.

It appears to be very accurate based on good research. I recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in the plains Indians or the Cheyenne breakout.

The collaborative effort of Vernon R. Maddux and Albert Glenn Maddux, and set just after the defeat of Custer at Little Bighorn, In Dull Knife's Wake: The True Story Of The Northern Cheyenne Exodus Of 1878 is the true story of 350 Cheyenne who, under the leadership of Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf, escaped from the Oklahoma reservation to which the U.S. Government had forced them to move. The Cheyenne were fleeing starvation and disease, and striving to return to their traditional homelands. They frustrated the U.S. Army and brought terror to civilians caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. All sides of this harsh story of the American West are portrayed with evenhanded accuracy in this absorbing and compelling account. In Dull Knife's Wake is a seminal and strongly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

I just began reading Reck's book and it seems to me that it will be very informative and enjoyable. I suppose I have no buisness writing a review when I haven't even completed the book, but I can recommend that Reck's voice be heard by all interested in the effects of globalization on independent cultures through the anthropological scope. I am in one of Reck's classes now, so I can put my word behind this novel. I know what he says is not only out of great knowledge of what he's talking about, but also of tremendous compassion for his subjects. Read this book.

I had the benefit of taking some of Dr. Reck's anthropology courses and reading this book. From what he tells me, there were many who were reluctant to call it anthropology at the time it was written because it was written as a story rather than a positivist ethnography written with a "voice from nowhere." One might criticize the book for not going far enough and demonstrating reflexivity by including himself within the text, but this is a minor point. This book conveys something about the culture in a readable way, which is the essence of a good ethnography in my opinion.

I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about ANY of Dan L. Thrapp's books ( just read my extensive, debunking reviews of his "Victorio and the Mimbres Apaches" and "Conquest of Apacheria" right here at amazon.com and find out!). As for Eve Ball, she has done an excellent job compilling accounts from Apaches themselves, which she expended great time-consuming efforts to draw out of them - especially from Daklugie, the embittered youngest son of Juh, chief of the Nedhnis.

This book is of profound value and importance to anyone who is seriously interested in the Apache and/or in Apache/European conflict because it contains NOTHING BUT first-hand accounts provided by Apaches, as opposed to books by crank writers such as Dan L. Thrapp (who routinely camouflaged his own tastes, likes, and dislikes within his rambling writings on historic facts and incidents).

Understand that while I do not adore the Apaches (in the twisted, Politically Correct sense of today) and that I also do not venerate any of their leaders or warriors of frontier times, I do respect them and have an intense interest in their own perspectives on making the change from the life way of "Wild" Indians to civilized citizens of an industrial and technological superpower. And after reading this book of Eve Ball's, I am very pleased about having purchased it.

Within these pages you will recieve "insider information" on the Apache religion, their social mores, their views of non-Apaches, the logic their leaders employed when trying to make sense of what took place during the European invasion of their territories, and much more.

Most importantly, you will find yourself given intimate information on many of the leaders, on their personalities, their capabilities, their alliances and so forth.

If you read this book and then read anything by Dan L. Thrapp or other cranks who write about the Apache, you'll soon realize what these other so-called "authors" are capable of in terms of distortion of historic fact and also in terms of injecting their own biases, likes, dislikes, and fantasies into historic accounts in order to stear their readers to an opinion on people and events that is desired by these disgusting information manipulators.

Another aspect I really liked about this book is the way the personalities of the various Apaches whom Eve Ball interviewed came through. You can see by their words who still had intensely negative feelings about civilization and who was more accepting. But best of all, there is the correction of details connected to what really did happen during the many Apache wars and their confinement on reservations before being shipped east. These corrections are worth ten times the price of this book alone because they offer sensible and accurate evaluations of various occurances between Apaches and Europeans, and occurances surrounding various prominant Apache leaders and warriors. Much distortion concerning Geronimo, his leadership qualities (always called into question by the crank, Dan L. Thrapp!), his personal life, his views and strategies, his religious observances, his "Powers", and his later years in the east are all set right by never-before-heard intimate details provided by Indians who were with him on the warpath and on the reservations. After reading this book, Geronimo becomes a very interesting, highly astute and intelligent, multi-dimensional personality. A far cry from his popular image of either a one-track-minded, blood thirsty savage or the more recent (and equally inacurate)Politically Correct version which holds him as some sort of poor, persecuted, helpless soul constantly hounded across the Southwestern mountains and plains. The Apache statements concerning Geronimo alone, blow ALL of the drivel spewed out by Dan L. Thrapp right out of the water in terms of credibility.

Actually, I can't say enough about this book in the positive sense. I'm glad Eve Ball produced it. She did both the Apaches and we Whites a great service in giving us a document that really does allow us to understand one aspect of Frontier history accurately. Equally, it serves as a means to FINALLY discredit the blathering swamp of details which comprise fanciful, distorted, and biased works by the likes of Dan L. Thrapp!

If you want great reading on the Apaches and on their role in frontier history, read "Indeh, An Apache Odyssey". Its superb! The bottom line is, "go to the source" and who better to explain aspects of the Apaches than the Apaches themselves?!

Completely indispensable text for the weaver, curator, researcher, student, collector or just plain curious. Not a theoretical text; rather, the intent is to enable the reader to identify any basketry work produced by Native North Americans from the Arctic to the Southeast.

This book has scores of photos, including a preliminary section where baskets from each geographical region are reproduced in good color photos. Good but simple overview of the history of Native basketry, *great* overview of techniques with schematic drawings. Also has a thorough bibliography. A must-have reference book for any Native American or art-focused library.

I first learned of this book from a basket trader in Tucson who was explaining why I could never find any Pima baskets that matched a photograph in a booklet I had. He suspected the photographer used a brown filter to enhance the appearance. He pulled out a copy of "Indian Baskets" to show me the difference and told me if I was serious about baskets I needed to get this book. In it, I found along with beautiful photographs large enough to see in detail of many tribes' baskets: an encyclopedia of information including a list of tribes that still made baskets with descriptions of the designs each uses, detailed drawings and descriptions of the many different stitches used in baskets, a chart that can be used to find which tribes make baskets with your favorite stitches, and even a list of prices for baskets sold a few years ago. It was the book I longed to find on this topic. The one obvious omission was a list of sites where tribes sell baskets today, but fortunately that information is readily available from other sources.

Mr. Brady takes you into the west during a time when the Native Americans were making their last stand. His exhaustive journalistic studies have given us a timeless account of what it was like to both be a Native American and a Calvary fighter during the 1870's. Although Mr. Brady attempts to take an objective view of both sides, he is biased towards the Calvary and one cannot help but to ponder the Native Americans view point as they struggle for their freedom aganist unbeatable odds. I would recommend this book to anyone! I particulary enjoy reading historical accounts and this is one of the best I have ever read. 2/18/97 Tate Perazzelli 102212.2751@compuserve.co
I have since changed my email...whew! this review was written back in the day when an email could only be #'s!!!

Mr. Brady takes you into the west during a time when the Native Americans were making their last stand. His exhaustive journalistic studies have given us a timeless account of what it was like to both be a Native American and a Calvary fighter during the 1870's. Although Mr. Brady attempts to take an objective view of both sides, he is biased towards the Calvary and one cannot help but to ponder the Native Americans view point as they struggle for their freedom aganist unbeatable odds. I would recommend this book to anyone! I particulary enjoy reading historical accounts and this is one of the best I have ever read. 2/18/97 Tate Perazzelli 102212.2751@compuserve.co

A part of the rather impressive "Cultures in Review" series from Hancock House Publishers, Indian Healing: Shamanic Ceremonialism In The Pacific Northwest Today by anthropologist and cultural expert Wolfgang G. Jilek (Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and Research Affiliate, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia) showcases Native American ceremonial rituals and practices while dispelling commonly held misconceptions and documenting the therapeutic effects of traditional Native American rituals as practiced for centuries among the Northwestern tribes. Enhanced with extensive references, as well as a glossary of key terms, Indian Healing is a welcome and seminal contribution to Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

We had this book at The Evergreen State College Reservation Based Program. This Winter Quarter and I found my journal notes to be about twenty six pages long, this is how much it meant to me. I am thankful for the people to have shared this information with us to be able to treasure in our hearts for ever.

The slides in this book are all in color which is great. Even though it says from cave temples to the colonial period there is not much on the earlier cave temple times. I think it serves more as background information on the Mughal period art. Of which, the book focuses on with a brief look at some 20th century pieces. Overall it is a good read with analysis of the work it contains. A very nice museum collection. Well worth it!

Over a hundred examples of Indian painting history and styles, in full color, grace the pages of INDIAN PAINTING FROM CAVE TEMPLES TO THE COLONIAL PERIOD, a far-reaching survey of illustrations selected for their ability to reach the non-artist, non-Indian-specialist viewer. A history of Indian painting styles and trends covers scriptures, music-inspired images, and historical renditions while full-page color selections liberally dose almost every page. Over a hundred works from the MFA's holdings make for an exceptional presentation.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Each page is a poem ten thousand years long. You can never finish the book, because one page opens one hundred more books, and when you're done reading those you will find yourself on an endless journey that will only end-or perhaps begin anew-when you enter the spirit world.

It is a native belief system that began here, as all of us born in America did-and that has meaning. It is intuitive, yet tangible. Nothing about it is forced, and no symbol or person represents it. It is everything...and it is nothing. You can find its masters here...on this continent. It's not imported from China, Israel, Iraq, or Tibet. There are no human founders, prophets or leaders living or dead who are worshiped. No symbols to rally an army or angry mob behind.

In this book, our American ancestors give you a look across many different tribes, each of which has a remarkably similar spiritual essence, born of the land we inhabit. The deserts. The mountains. The rivers, forests and meadows. While I think it is neat to study other religions and philosophies, they all have men, symbols, houses of worship and styles of dress that identify and define them. How well you memorize, display, adhere to and pay homage to these things of man determines your piousness and how well you are accepted into to their community. Indian Spirit frees you from these things.

Perhaps one could study Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Sufism, Judaism, and other philosophies and religions that one respects to nurse out all of the best bits so one can create an amalgam for some personal belief system based on "favorite hits". But why bother? It's like searching endlessly through junkyards to scavenge parts that are only perhaps cosmetically better than the parts you already have on your car. Oooh...a chrome plated ash tray. Wow, a leather covered steering wheel. Nifty, spoked rims.

All the ingredients for a spiritual belief system that is in harmony with our country are here. Open its pages and discover your American ancestors and perhaps a new dimension to your own spiritual journey.

Featuring an introduction by Thomas Yellowtail, and now in a newly revised and enlarged edition, Indian Spirit combines spiritual and religious quotations from Native American leaders, individuals, and rituals with black-and-white photography. The result is a deeply spiritual collection that reaches out to share wisdom and insight to readers of all faiths. An inspirational and memorable invigoration of the soul, Indian Spirit carries the highest possible recommendation. "Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors - the dreams of our old men, given them in the solemn hours of night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sacred medicine men, and is written in the hearts of our people." -Seattle, Dwamish.

I picked this book up not knowing what it was and not sure if I would like it or not. After I finished the novel, I went back and re-read my favorite chapters. I enjoyed everything--the characters, the sense of place on the reservation, and the writing style.

Indian Summers ranks with Winter in the Blood as one of the finest examples of Native American literature yet written. The plot-threads flow together beautifully, echoing the best of what is done in the genre of urban fiction, yet transposing this technique onto the detailed world of a reservation. Gansworth is sure to become an important writer. One of the best first novels I've read in years.

This book describes the affects of Spanish, Mexican, and American settlement in Indian country on Californian tribes. The author points out differences and similarities between northern, central and southern coastal California Indians and how some tribes were affected and therefore reacted differently to new arrivals from Spain, and the east coast of the blossoming United States.

California is unique to all other areas in today's United States in that it was the last area occupied by American settlers. It was also the last place left for fleeing and exiled tribes from the east to go to. This not only caused strife for local Californian tribes, but led to integration of cross-tribal cultures. Native Americans were very unique from not only outsiders, but also to other tribes.

This book is clearly written and moves at a consistent pace because every sentence is pertinent to California's amazing history!

Sutter's treatment of and plan for Native Americans is something so-called "historians" at Sutter's Mill should learn about before they tout him as some kind of heroic frontiersman. Rape, murder, suicide, disease, corrupted politics, vigilantism, paradoxical alliances between tribes and "White" men... and much more are all in here! I couldn't put this book down! Though it is a history book (of sorts), it reads like a dramatic murder-mystery book... only difference is is that this is non-fiction!! I never knew California's history was so unique and full of intrigue! You'll never think of California as the surfer-dude, Hollywood, sunny golden state again after reading this book...

I bought this book for a California History class, but I ended up reading it for pleasure as well. It's an amazing look at the history of this state and the unique Indians that inhabited the area as the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans began to settle it.

It's very easy to read and goes by quickly. It helps that the stories used as examples are very interesting and provide a lot of insight into why certain things are the way they are now in California. The book also paints a vivid and disturbing picture of Sutter and how his often despicable actions affected the Indians.

The main thesis of this work is that the story of Indians in California should not be told as a story of destruction and death (though that of course occurred), but rather as a story of adaptation and the will to survive. In fact, in many cases, their own attempts at survival led to their downfall (such as their entry into the new labor force separating families and leading to decreased reproduction rates). The rape and abuse of women by outside settlers is also discussed.

This is definitely a great read for anyone interested in California and its history, or the history of Indians. I would recommend it, for a class or just for your own enjoyment.