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Publications
included in this list have been selected according to the following criteria:
1) they are special in some way--many are classic and still generally accurate
while others fill an informational void or offer new perspectives which
are particularly sensitive to current Indian views, 2) they are available--either
in print at the time of this list's publication or popular enough to be
available at most public libraries, 3) they are priced reasonably and easy
to understand.Deloria, Ella Cara. 1988. Waterlily. Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press. 244 p.
Written nearly 50 years ago, Waterlily is an unusual
novel about Sioux women's life from the viewpoint of a Sioux ethnologist.
Ms. Deloria, the aunt of distinguished author, Vine Deloria Jr., also
collaborated with Franz Boaz to produce three books on Sioux linguistics
In the 1940s. Waterlily is of special value because it provides
the reader with a detailed glimpse of life through the eyes of a Sioux
woman.
Denig. Edwin T. 1975. Five Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press. 217 p.
A white fur trader among Plains people during the years 1833-1854,
the author provides descriptions of the daily life and history of the
Sioux, Arickara, Assiniboine, Cree, and Crow. His intimate contact
with each of the these groups for such an extended period make his comments
among the most interesting and valued today.
DeMallie, Raymond J, and Parks, Douglas R. (Eds.) 1987. Sioux Indian
Religion, Tradition and Innovation. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
243 p.
The religion of the Lakota people is of increasing interest
to both natives and non- natives. This collection includes chapters on
various aspects of the foundations of traditional religion, on
Christianity and the Sioux, and on Sioux spirituality today. Among the
twelve contributors are such prominent Native American commentators and
spiritual leaders as Arval Looking Horse, Arthur Amiotte. Vine Deloria,
Jr.. and Beatrice Medicine.
Ewers. John C. 1986. The Blackfeet: Raiders on the Northwestern Plains.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 348 p.
At first a group dependent upon transporting their possessions
by dog and travois (a sled pulled by an animal), the Blackfeet eagerly
adopted the horse into their culture and by the mid-1800s warriors were
considered a power to contend with by white fur traders and neighboring
tribes alike. A wealth of information about daily life, religion, and
interaction with the increasing white presence, written by the most renowned
scholar on the subject, contributes to the full picture of an important
Indian nation of the American West.
Hoebel, E. Adamson. 1978. The Cheyenne. (Rev. Ed.) NY: Holt, Rinehart,
& Winston. 103 p.
The Cheyenne are known for their organized governmental system
of jurisprudence. Their social structure, subsistence, war, world view,
and personality are also the subject of this concise, well-written case
study. This short book and the Stanford University anthropology series
it is a part of are classics in their own right.
Iverson, Peter. (Ed.) 1985. The Plains Indians of the 20th Century.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 277 p.
Pressing issues for the Plains Indians today are the subject
of this well-selected collection with topics covered including federal
water projects, Indian participation in World War II, energy resources,
and Indian civil rights. Vine Deloria, Jr, Frederick E. Hoxie, and William
T. Hagen are among the distinguished authorities contributing to this
work. This book meets the need for information on the lives and
struggles of Native Americans of the Plains during the present century.
Lowie, Robert H. 1982. Indians of the Plains. Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press. 222 p.
This work, after 35 years is still considered to be the most
important summary of Plains culture after contact with Europeans although
it contains some dated vocabulary. It includes a general introduction
to the Plains, discussion of material culture (food, homes, wildlife,
dress, tools, etc.), social organization, recreation, art, religion, and,
importantly, acculturation.
Momaday, N. Scott. 1976. The Way to Rainy Mountain. Illus. by Al
Momaday. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 89 p.
The author, a Pulitzer Prize winner for House Made of Dawn,
is a renowned Kiowa poet and storyteller. This is his second publication
and its unusually lyrical format conveys stories related to him by his
grandmother. Dynamic woodcut-like drawings in black and white by his father
are interspersed throughout.
Neihardt, John C. 1988. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press. 272 p.
This may be the best known book in popular literature about
Native American history and spirituality. Told by a Lakota elder and recorded
in the 1930s, Black Elk tells, in eloquent language, of the troubled era
of the turn-of-the-century, His vision, although intended for the native
people of the western Plains, is also for all people everywhere.
Porter, Frank W. III. 1988-1992. Indians of North America Series. New
York: Chelsea House Publishers. All are about 100 pages in length.
Individual tribes, archaeology, literature, federal Indian
policy, and women in Indian society are among the subjects engagingly
presented in the 53-volume series. Including many tribes for which information
for the general reader is scarce, all volumes are colorfully illustrated
with photos of native art and individuals from both the past and the present.
These books are suitable for secondary students, as well as adults. The
Plains volumes published to date are as follows: The Arapaho, The Cheyenne.
The Comanche, The Crow, The Hidatsa, The Kiowa, The Osage, The Paiute,
and The Yankton Sioux.
Sandoz, Mari. 1985. These Were the Sioux. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press. 118 p.
This brief, highly readable account of traditional Sioux life
and customs was first published in 1961 and has since become a classic.
It provides an excellent glimpse into the Sioux world-view. Although written
for young people, this book will delight adult readers. This is an excellent
introduction to traditional Sioux life.
Weltfish, Gene. 1977. The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture. Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press.
A scholarly account written in a literary style, this book
describes life in a typical Pawnee village of the nineteenth century.
Beginning with an insightful look at Pawnee culture from an anthropological
perspective, the author continues with a narrative of a single hypothetical
year, 1867, describing the events that usually took place during the year
for the Pawnee. It includes a discussion of the unusual sacred corn rituals
and Pawnee agricultural methods.
Prepared by the National Museum of the American Indian,
in cooperation with the Public Inquiry Mail Service,
Smithsonian Institution.1992
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