Reviews - Riverside Public Library

Book News

Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples is the most comprehensive, affordable, one-volume reference on Native American people, covering Native American history, contemporary culture, important events and figures, languages, arts, and much more. The book provides a historical overview of Indian-White relations in the United States and eleven chapters focusing on Indian nations by region, as well as a final chapter on urban Indians. Appendices cover topics such as the indigenous peoples of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greenland; powwows; and Native-owned and -operated museums. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Booklist Reviews

The authors forthrightly admit this work is not an unbiased reference source. They support the rights of First Peoples and believe the health of this country is determined by the health of indigenous people. Against this backdrop, the first chapter provides a lengthy overview of Indian-white relations in the U.S. Subsequent chapters address specific geographic areas, such as the Northern Plains or the Southwest, generally introducing the nations of First Peoples living there and chronicling their interactions with Europeans. All conclude with short biographies of selected individuals. The work does not limit itself to the continental U.S. Coverage extends to First Peoples in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greenland, though it is included as appendixes rather than chapters. Additional appendixes include a bibliography of suggested reading and a listing of geographic locations sacred to nations of First Peoples. This almanac is open to criticism on many fronts, but the temptation to do so needs to be avoided lest the point the work makes be missed. The volume succeeds simply by conveying the legitimacy and distinctiveness of hundreds of nations, their cultures, their languages, and more. Recommended for academic and public libraries. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Choice Reviews

Initially intended as an update to Native America: Portrait of the Peoples, by Duane Champagne (1994), who also edited The Native North American Almanac (CH, May'94, 31-4704), this single-volume work contains a preponderance of new material. A well-written, 52-page introduction succinctly covers 500-plus years of prehistory and history, providing context for the entries that form the corpus of the almanac. Treated are such key legal issues and laws as the 1823 "Doctrine of Discovery" and topics ranging from removal, allotment, relocation, termination, and sovereignty to language and cultural resource protection. Entries are organized into broad geographic areas of the continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii and a final chapter on Native urban areas; Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greenland are covered in appendixes. Chapters often begin with a section titled "A Bird's Eye View" and a historical overview, with sections on "Science and Technology," "Games and Sports," etc. Along with biographies of prominent individuals, it is refreshing to see a chapter on Native Hawaiians and inclusion of indigenous nations from Central and South America. Suggestions for further reading organized by geographic area and more than 100 pages of helpful appendixes (e.g., "Native Owned and Operated Museums") enhance the almanac's usefulness. The detailed index maximizes discoverability. Though there are many reference works relating to Native Americans, one is hard pressed to find a more comprehensive, affordable text written with such understanding and sensitivity to Native American indigeneity—a reflection of the authors' cumulative decades of research and writing and in-depth experience of Native history, culture, and affairs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.

--M. Cedar Face, Southern Oregon University

Mary Jane M. Cedar Face

Southern Oregon University

Library Journal Reviews

Originally planned as an update to Duane Champagne's Portrait of a People, this book is mostly new material written by Dennis (education director, Children's Cultural Ctr. of Native America; A Kid's Guide to Arab American History), author and editor Arlene Hirschfelder (with Dennis, Children of Native America Today), and Shannon Rothenberger Flynn (writing, Dutchess Community Coll.; English, Westchester Community Coll.), who has served as a Native American consultant on books for young readers. Organized by geographic areas, the chapters contain historical data, as well as social, economic, and political perspectives of the First Peoples. Each of the geographic area chapters includes facts about the peoples living in that region, their lives in relation to overall U.S. history, their languages, treaties with the United States, health, education, literature, arts, and biographies of famous people. The authors state in the introduction that this volume is "not meant to be scholarly work, although it is well researched." While there are suggestions for further reading, there are no in-text citations. There are errors as well (for instance, Abraham Lincoln did not visit Kansas during his presidency, and various dates for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition are referenced throughout the chapters. VERDICT This volume provides a solid beginning for students as well as general readers with no background in Native American studies.—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews

This hefty softcover resource presents an overview of the many indigenous nations, tribes, language groups, and cultures known to have thrived in what is now the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Following a lengthy introduction, the text is organized by major regions of the U.S., surveying the Native American inhabitants of each area, both before and after contact with Europeans. Each of these dozen narrative sections ends with brief biographical sketches of prominent Native American individuals. Appendices provide highly condensed coverage of the aboriginal cultures of neighboring regions: Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the CaribbeanAll three authors are experts on their topic, each having published previous nonfiction on Native Americans. Their account is frank, without being strident or polemical, concerning the pervasive mistreatment of First Peoples by colonizing settlers, government officials, and soldiers; as well as problems that continue today. For example, the double-edged aspects of Indian gaming (gambling casinos) on tribal lands are given balanced treatment. Considerable attention is paid to the politics of indigeneity; in general, the text is stronger on recent centuries and contemporary issues than on the anthropology of Pre-Columbian peoples Features include a classified bibliography, a dozen appendices, index, and some 300 small black-and-white illustrations, mainly stock photographs. There are no source notes or curricular features. With its many short essays, the book is accessible for teens and for general audiences as a modestly-priced, strong, one-volume introduction to the topic, or as a starting point for further research.—Walter Hogan Index. Biblio. Appendices. Photos. Copyright 2011 Voya Reviews.