Native American Books

Being a direct descendent of Julia German & having known her as a child I have lived with this story my entire life. Arlene's book however makes this true American tale of courage and survival come alive even for those of us who thought we understood it. Highly suggested reading for historians who want to realize the truth as it was on both sides of the Anglo-Indian issues of that time and/or as an inspirational experience for readers of all ages. There's history here for the reader to experience on every page. Thank you Arlene for bringing the definitive non-ficitional illustration of these events to the general public.

THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD PORTRAYAL OF THE GERMAN FAMILY.THE FOUR GERMAN SISTER WERE CAPTIVE OF GRAY BEARD THEIR NAME WERE CATHERINE 17 YEARS OLD AND 12 YEARS OLD SOPHI,ADDIE AND JULIE THE YOUNG ONE'S . CAREFULLY RESERCHED. WHERE WAS CATHERINE IN 1880.

This is a splendid book detailing life in Mexico before the conquest by the Spaniards. Beginning with the inside covers the book is rich in pictoral description. The endpapers are beautiful color reproductions of Diego Rivera's "The Great City of Tenochtitlan", a lavish tribute mural of Aztec life that adorns the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City. The color is magnificent throughout the book and includes many artifacts left from the ancient Aztecs. The book also includes a great little glossary that includes a pronunciation guide to Nahuatl terms. The glossary serves as a fine introduction to the Nahuatl Language and it's phonetics. Although the authors and contributors are scholars, the book is easy to read for the average person interested in archaeology and Pre-Columbian life in Mexico. The color plates are some of the finest and include rare glimpses into Codex's that are housed in museums. A magnificent book to use as reference. The book is also a great source of information for further research as it includes a selected bibliography. An excellent view of Aztec life, it compliments any personal library. If you love the Art of Pre-Columbian Mexico this book is also a source of inspiration.

Developed by four distinguished Mesoamerican scholars for an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History (1992 - 1993). Great photographs of artifacts (jade masks, human skulls, sculptures), buildings and manuscripts. Well-written (not dry or too scholarly). It's been on my coffee table for years but I never tire of looking at it.

This book is clearly the best researched and objectively written work ever produced on the, controversial,"last battle" of the Indian Wars.

An unbiased, original, creative, compelling mastperpiece, Moon of Popping Trees is a brilliant and "professionally detached" work regarding Native American/European American relations prior to and including the Wounded Knee "incident." Of course, by "professionally detached" I mean amazingly separated from this often times over-emotionally approached subject in American History.

Yet, what is most compelling about this absolute masterpiece, is that despite Smith's own emotional detachment, he by no means fails to draw in the emotion of the reader--a danger which "scholarly reflections" often succomb to. Smith's work is perennial, cautious, and yet fascinatingly marvelous in its ability to "suck in" the reader. A subject I often pay little attention to and have little care for...Moon of Popping trees gave me a desire to study this area of history in greater detail.

Over the years, National Park Service Historian Jerome Greene has produced a growing collection of fine books covering various battles of the Great Sioux War--SLIM BUTTTES, YELLOWSTONE COMMAND (Miles' Montana campaign, including the Wolf Mountain and Lame Deer battles), and two books of participants testimony on various battles and skirmishes in the war.

MORNING STAR DAWN picks up where SLIM BUTTES, done in the early 1980s, leaves off. It follows the planning, logisitical preparation, execution and conclusion of the November 1876 Power River Expedition, under the command of General George Crook. The high point of the expedition was reached with the attack on the Red Fork of the Powder River, deep in the Big Horn mountains, when varioius cavalry components under the Fourth Cavalry's Ranald Mackenzie decimated a large Northern Cheyenne village. The battle happened exactly five months after Custer's defeat on the Little Big Horn and resulted in the utter destruction of the village. The Cheyenne were forced to flee the village, losing vital horses,clothing, weapons, and food, leaving the survivors little choice but to perish in the cruel winter cold or give themselves up at the agencies. The battle knocked the Cheyenne out of the remainder of the Sioux War and thus the army could focus its efforts exclusively on the Lakota under Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other leaders.

The book is certainly well-written although not quite as good as the author's previous work, his classic NEZ PERCE SUMMER, 1877. Amidst all the details on the campaign, Greene provides a good retelling of the plight of all combatants, both White and Indian, faced with the burden of war in sub-zero Winter temparatures. The logistical problems of the campaign were greatly exacerbated by the weather, making it difficult to feed horses and mules with the requisite 35,000 pounds of grain a day in such a remote area. Facts such as these make one appreciate the importance of logistics in all wars. In terms of insight into Crook himself, I especially enjoyed the author's including the extracts from the writings of Colonel Richard Dodge and Dodge's low opinion of the close-mouthed Crook as both an organizer and leader of men. Despite Crook's foibles, his tenacity somehow got the job done, that and his having the highly-able Ranald Mackenzie carry out his attack.

Some historians plug gaps in existing scholarship; others built entire levees. Jerome Greene often does both and this book is an example. The Powder River Expedition, though a result of the failure of the Little Bighorn Campaign and often overshadowed by that famous disaster, was an important step in the military defeat and enforcement of the reservation system upon the free Indian nations of the Plains. Until Greene's book, the published resources on Powder River were limited to a chapter in J. W. Vaughan's 1966 _Indian Fights_, a small self-published book Fred Werner, and the fine but limited remarks in Wayne Kime's edition of Col. Richard Dodge's expedition journal. Greene's study does not read quite as well as his _Nez Perce Summer_ and _Yellowstone Command_ books but the book is authoritarive and if the Plains Indian wars are your interest you'll certainly want this book. Dr. Michael A. Hughes, Editor Emeritus, Journal of the Indian Wars

A captivating read of a vanished Rocky Mountain culture who "bucked the trend" of normal society by retreating to the high mountainous regions of the Yellowstone environs.

The authors have carefully pieced together significant evidence and documentation to impart the reader with a respected awe into the lives of the Sheep Eater Indians.
From archeological digs, petroglyphic sites, stone and animal tools, etc. to discussions with contemporary day descendants, this study covers it all in general terminology.

Having visited a few of these sites myself, it never ceases to amaze what had once occured in these landscapes so long ago.

The Sheep Eaters were an amazing people that flourished in the majestic, alpine environments of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, including areas that are now part of Yellowstone National Park. They lived entirely by gathering the natural plant foods of their environment in addition to hunting Big Horn Sheep, which was their primary source of protein. They were renown as a peaceful, highly-skilled, and even industrious people who so thoroughly mastered their rugged alpine environment, they opted to continue living in the mountains even after others in the region adopted the horse, the tipi, and the buffalo-hunting-on-the-plains lifestyle.

The authors provide a thorough picture of Sheep Eater history and culture, including social structure, religious beliefs, and the crafting of their tools, clothes, bows, living shelters, and even their cookware.

This is an excellent introduction to a Native American people that few know anything about. Both scholars and laymen will enjoy the very accessible, easy-to-read material. Mountain Spirit should be required reading for everyone interested in the American West, Native American culture, as well as those seeking inspiration from a people who managed to prosper in one of the most beautiful and forbidding environments in North America.

This story is a wonderful way to move into working with clay. Just as the boy in the story creates his own horse from clay, allowing children to work with clay immediately after hearing this story gives them a chance to experience kinesthetically what they've heard. Rather than going immediately to reflective or responsive writing, use this step to allow the children to spend more time working it through. Then write.

This book has made a lasting impression on my first graders. They loved the story and delighted in the pastel illustrations, especially of the pony in flight. THE MUD PONY fits perfectly in the study of folklore. It appeals not only to the young mind, but to the more mature person as well. The fantasy is delightful and easily grasped by primary children. It makes a fantastic "Read Aloud" book. Read Aloud is a mandatory part of our San Diego Literacy program. We are encouraged to choose only books that "speak" to the children, that instill in them a desire to read more. Moreover, Native American folklore is a precious genre that should be be incorporated into each grade's literary curriculum. Happily, THE MUD PONY can be included in the Multi-cultural category. My students compared and contrasted it with two other books, THE GIFT and EAGLE FEATHERS, both by Owl Goingback. They used the graphic organizer of a triple-circled Venn Diagram which allows for a marvelous overview of the three books, depicting: characters, settings, themes, authors, and illustrators. The children chose a special picture to depict their favorite selections and drew their own rendition onto the diagram. They also searched for "special words" in each book and added them to the large sheet of manila paper covering the front classroom door. All who pass by can read the titles and the information beneath each. As a long-time veteran of the teaching of reading to students of all ages, I am happy to promote THE MUD PONY. Thank you, Caron Lee Cohen, for a book that appeals to the inner child in all of us.

Wow! I just received my copy of the guide in the mail from, yes, amazon.com, and I think it's a terrific resource. It will be of use to me and my students as i work with them to gain admission to America's top colleges. A college admissions officer told me Mitchell's guide was a great resource for her, and i can tell already it will be a great resource for me as well

This book is very important for minority students. Unfortunately, it is now 2006 and this version was published in 1996. Minority students need to know about colleges and how they can be accepted on campus. They also need to know the groups on a college campus in which they can seek support and help when needed. I hope that a new version comes out at some point so minority students have somewhere to turn.

This book is one of many that deal with the untold travelers of nations that visited this country. It goes against the grain of the history we are taught. The Rio Grande, Mississippi, Ohio rivers etc, were ancient freeways of the days of old .Archeology has proven this. These ancient travelers came to mine the many resources here. Dr.Barry Fell was a great
teacher and linguist who has written many books of the subject as did Gloria Farley & Raymond Capt.

She found a nitch in this book -it had to be a favorite link in her research.

This book is an excellent bioregional overview of Native American structures. What I appreciate most is the way the authors have actually shown HOW the structures were made, sometimes in actual step-by-step procedures, which would allow someone to actually build in that style and using many of the same natural materials today. Another thing I love about the book is that the authors have sincerely tried to understand my Native American relationships to all the materials and the sacredness of the spaces we created. The authors treat that understanding with respect and honor. In this day when material resources are dwindling at alarming rates and the Earth is being devastated by the mindless rape of resources, it is a reminder to us all that we can choose alternatives to conventional wood-frame homes and return to more sustainable and natural housing for our respective bioregions. This book, though maybe not necessarily intended as such, is a hands-on, how-to book for us all. It reminds us that Native Americans lived in harmony and balance with our lands and our local plant and animal family for tens of thousands of years without destroying the places in which we lived. The photographs are instructive and beautiful and the architectural-type drawings are a delight. They make the actual building of these structures possible. I use parts of this book as required reading for all my students, especially my graduate students, and have taught actual classes using this book as the text, though it is not written in a "textbook" style. It is a very readable book and most useful for these times. I recommend it highly to all.

More than a testament to Native American artistic vision and ingenuity, this book is a delightful resource for survivalists as well as historians - and for those who would just like to find ideas for less technological ways of building simple dwellings. Well illustrated with diagrams, photos and how-to drawings for constructing shelters in many different climates and with various resource limitations. Excellent, fun to read and full of eye openning ideas.

Fantastic book which includes beautiful photos of what the dishes should look like -- a must for cooks new to this genre of ethnic cooking. A lot of the recipes were similar to South American and Hispanic dishes, so it wasn't as "different" or difficult as I might have thought. All of the recipes were easy to follow -- and my guests just loved them. I highly recommend getting this book!

I was hunting for a recipe of Indian Frybread because we'd eaten it up at the Makah Nation's summer celebration & wanted some at home. I found Native American Cooking: Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations & gave my Southwest-raised Webmaster a palatable surprise.

I also tried Pozole because hominy has such a primal aroma & flavor - incredible & so simple! We do not, of course, eat anywhere near as elegantly as the photos which present Cornsicles, Arrowheads of Blue Cornmeal Gnocchi or Lamb Stuffed Chiles or Cactus Pad Salad with Fiery Jalapeno Dressing. However, Hohoise Ice or Prickly Pear Ice refresh us up here in our plain bowls just as well!

The Adobe Bread was heavenly, the Dandelion Salad with Mustard Greens Vinaigrette was energizing & the Picuris Indian Bread Pudding with Apricot Sauce - dreamy! What I liked the most was bringing home the sights, smells, tastes & textures of a sunburned country & its people - both in the ingredients I hunted up & Lois Ellen Frank's book.

For a taste of the American Southwest & a glimpse into what has sustained healthy & contented generations, I heartily recommend this one - the recipes work & can easily be adapted to wherever you happen to have settled.