Best of
Native-Americans

1963

"I Will Fight No More Forever": Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War


Merrill D. Beal - 1963
    In this superb summation of the ethnohistory of the Nez Perce tribe containing also careful analyses of the military campaigns and political events and a wholly balanced review of facts, opinions, and previous evaluations of the situation and circumstances within have colored the evidence, we have what seems to be the last word...

The Indians of New Jersey: Dickon Among the Lenapes


Mark Raymond Harrington - 1963
    It describes their culture, crafts, and language as no other book has done. Hunters, fishers, artisans of flint and skins and basketry, tellers of traditional tales, dwellers in a region of hills and barrens, of rivers and forests, they had developed a way of life adjusted to the world around them. In presenting the lore and heritage of the Lenapes, Dr. M.R. Harrington does so through the eyes of a shipwrecked English boy who became a captive of the Indians, and was eventually adopted into the tribe. The narrative is lively reading, and the facts on which it is based are accurate. With the accompanying Clarence Ellsworth line drawings, the reader can understand and even reproduce many of the objects the author describes: the Lenape bows and arrows, muccasins and mats, baskets and bowls. This new edition is a reissue of an often asked for an unavailable New Jersey classic, first published in 1938.

Book of the Hopi


Frank Waters - 1963
    The Hopis have kept this view a secret for countless generations, and this book was made possible only as a result of their desire to record for future generations the principles of their "Road of Life." The breaking of the Hopi silence is significant and fascinating because for the first time anthropologists, ethnologists, and everyone interested in the field of Indian study have been given rich material showing the Hopi legends, the meaning of their religious rituals and ceremonies, and the beauty of a conception of life within the natural world that is completely untouched by materialistic worlds."Only a person as deeply steeped in Hopi mysticism as the Hopis themselves could have produced this volume. Mr. Waters and Mr. Fredericks have approached the task of combining Hopi art, history, tradition, myth, folklore, and ceremonialism with dignity and authority.... Deserves to be part of the library of any student of the American Southwest."—American Anthropologist

Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America


Tappan Adney - 1963
    Built with Stone Age tools from available materials, their design, size, and appearance were varied to suit the many requirements of their users. Even today, canoes are based on these ancient designs, and this fascinating guide combines historical background with instructions for constructing one. Author Edwin Tappan Adney, born in 1868, devoted his life to studying canoes and was practically the sole scholar in his field. His papers and research have been assembled by a curator at the Smithsonian Institution.

The Inland Whale: Nine Stories Retold from California Indian Legends


Theodora Kroeber - 1963
    The new foreword by her son. Karl Kroeber, provides context about the author's methods and describes his own personal connection to the stories themselves.