Best of
Native-Americans

1997

Tallchief


Dinah McCall - 1997
    But now Kathleen Ryder is back in his life--still pursued by the deadly secrets that forced her to flee before. And even though Morgan swears to protect her, he is helpless against his own rekindled passion.Kathleen has never forgotten the achingly sweet hunger that bound them together years ago. Now, still on the run, all she dares ask is that Morgan keep her safe--never expecting that he has the power to breathe life-giving fire to an ember that has grown cold.

Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Nature Symbols, Stories, and Ceremonies


Bobby Lake-Thom - 1997
    If you seek for guidance, you will discover truth." —Bobby Lake-ThomMuch of the ancient knowledge that has been passed down from Native American medicine men, or shamans is in danger of being lost. Bobby Lake-Thom, a Native American healer known as Medicine Grizzly Bear, has sought to preserve this powerful heritage by sharing his wisdom and experience learning from the world around us. The result is Spirits of the Earth, an extraordinary compilation of legends and rituals about nature's ever-present signs. From the birds that soar above us to the insincts beneath our feet, Bobby Lake-Thom shows how the creatures of the earth can aid us in healing and self-knowledge.What does it mean if a hawk appears in a dream? What are the symbolic interpretations of a deer, a skunk, a raccoon? Lake-Thom, who has studied with the elders of many tribes, explains the significance of animal figures as manifestations of good or evil, and shows how we can develop our own powers of awareness and intuition. The first book of its kind, this practical and enlightening resource includes dozens of fashinating animal myths and legends, as well as exercises and activities that draw upon animal powers for guidance, healing, wisdom, and the expansion of spiritual influences in our lifes. You'll discover here:How animals, birds, and insects act as signs and omensThe significance of vision questsHow to make and use a medicine wheelThe role of spirit symbols—and how they affect the unconsciousExcercises for creative dreamingThe power of the earth-healing ceremonyHow to increase your spiritual strength and create sacred spacesAnd more

Echoes of the Elders


Chief Lelooska - 1997
    Now retold in this gorgeous volume and its accompanying audio CD, they are more vibrant than ever. Chief Lelooska was a celebrated painter and carver and a storyteller without peer. This glorious book, completed before his recent death, is his final tribute to the art and lore of the tribe. Full color.

Musicians of the Sun


Gerald McDermott - 1997
    In this retelling of an Aztec myth, Lord of the Night sends Wind to free the four musicians that the Sun is holding prisoner so that they can bring joy to the world.

Hell with the Fire Out: A History of the Modoc War


Arthur Quinn - 1997
    Grant and Quaker activist Lucretia Mott against William Tecumseh Sherman - the destroyer of Georgia - and his outspoken desire for the Modocs' "utter extermination." When it ended in 1873, with the execution of the tribal leaders and the relocation of the Modoc tribe to Oklahoma, the federal goverment's Peace Commission was in tatters. The way was paved toward the more famous, but no bloodier, battle at Little Bighorn and the battle at Wounded Knee, the last battle of the western Indian wars and the final closing of the frontier.

Valley of Shining Stone: The Story of Abiquiu


Lesley Poling-Kempes - 1997
    O'Keeffe saw the magic of sandstone cliffs and turquoise skies, but her life and death here are only part of the story. Reading almost like a novel, this book spills over with other legends buried deep in time, just as some of North America's oldest dinosaur bones lie hidden beneath the valley floor. Here are the stories of Pueblo Indians who have claimed this land for generations. Here, too, are Utes, Navajos, Jicarilla Apaches, Hispanos, and Anglos—many lives tangled together, yet also separate and distinct. Underlying these stories is the saga of Ghost Ranch itself, a last living vestige of the Old West ideal of horses, cowboys, and wide-open spaces. Readers will meet a virtual Who's Who of visitors from "dude ranch" days, ranging from such luminaries as Willa Cather, Ansel Adams, and Charles Lindbergh to World War II scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues, who were working on the top-secret atomic bomb in nearby Los Alamos. Moving on through the twentieth century, the book describes struggles to preserve the valley's wild beauty in the face of land development and increased tourism. Just as the Piedra Lumbre landscape has captivated countless wayfarers over hundreds of years, so its stories cast their own spell. Indispensable for travelers, pure pleasure for history buffs and general readers, these pages are a magic carpet to a magic land: Abiquiu, Ghost Ranch, the Valley of Shining Stone.

Scalp Dance: Indian Warfare on the High Plains 1865-1879


Thomas Goodrich - 1997
    As settlers moved west following the Civil War, they found powerful Indian tribes barring the way. When the U.S. Army intervened, a bloody and prolonged conflict ensued.Drawing heavily from diaries, letters, and memoirs from American Plains settlers, historian Thomas Goodrich weaves a spellbinding tale of life and death on the prairie, told in the timeless words of the participants themselves. Scalp Dance is a powerful, unforgettable epic that shatters modern myths. Within its pages, the reader will find a truthful account of Indian warfare as it occurred.

Choctaws and Missionaries in Mississippi, 1818–1918


Clara Sue Kidwell - 1997
    Clara Sue Kidwell, whose great-great-grandparents migrated from Mississippi to Indian Territory along the Trail of Tears in 1830, here tells the story of those Choctaws who chose not to move but to stay behind in Mississippi.As Kidwell shows, their story is closely interwoven with that of the missionaries who established the first missions in the area in 1818. While the U.S. government sought to “civilize” Indians through the agency of Christianity, many Choctaw tribal leaders in turn demanded education from Christian missionaries. The missionaries allied themselves with these leaders, mostly mixed-bloods; in so doing, the alienated themselves from the full-blood elements of the tribe and thus failed to achieve widespread Christian conversion and education. Their failure contributed to the growing arguments in Congress and by Mississippi citizens that the Choctaws should be move to the West and their territory opened to white settlement.The missionaries did establish literacy among the Choctaws, however, with ironic consequences. Although the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 compelled the Choctaws to move west, its fourteenth article provided that those who wanted to remain in Mississippi could claim land as individuals and stay in the state as private citizens. The claims were largely denied, and those who remained were often driven from their lands by white buyers, yet the Choctaws maintained their communities by clustering around the few men who did get title to lands, by maintaining traditional customs, and by continuing to speak the Choctaw language. Now Christian missionaries offered the Indian communities a vehicle for survival rather than assimilation.

In a Sacred Manner I Live: Native American Wisdom


Neil Philip - 1997
    A collection of Native American speeches and excerpts, from the 17th century to the present day.

Many Nations: An Alphabet of Native America


Joseph Bruchac - 1997
    Illustrations and brief text present aspects of the lives of the many varied native peoples across North America.

Aliens & Fallen Angels: The Sexual Corruption of the Human Race


Stephen Quayle - 1997
    

Hidden Faces


Edward S. Curtis - 1997
    During his journeys in the United States, Canada, and Alaska, from the 1890s through to the 1930s, these aspects of tribal life, recorded extensively on film and in text, played a large part in Curtis's multi-volume publication, The North American Indian. Masquerades, body painting, scarring, and other ritual-related transformations were parts of the cultures of many native nations. Some tribes crafted elaborate masks and costumes to impersonate deities in their highly meaningful ceremonies and celebrations. Two peoples in particular had especially rich masking traditions - the Kwakiutl of British Columbia and the Navaho of tbe American Southwest. In Hidden Faces, striking images of these sacred dramatic displays and the characters depicted have been selected by Curtis expert Christopher Cardozo. Accompanying text, excerpted from Curtis's own writings, explains the role and identity of each image. In many cases, traditional rites had already been lost or were no longer performed by the time of Curtis's arrival. His photographs thus serve a dual purpose, as a record preserving a vivid native religious and cultural tradition and as a powerful artistic expression.

The Way of the Spirit: Native American Ceremonies and Traditions


Time-Life Books - 1997
    Inspiring photographs, short essays, poetry, songs, writings, and art.

Plains Indian History and Culture: Essays on Continuity and Change


John C. Ewers - 1997
    Ewers multifaceted approach to Indian history, an approach that combines his far-reaching interest in American history generally, his professional training in anthropology, and his many decades of experience as a field-worker and museum curator.The author has drawn on interviews collected during a quarter-century of fieldwork with Indian elders, who in recalling their own experiences during the buffalo days, revealed unique insights into Plains Indian life. Ewers use his expertise in examining Indian-made artifacts and drawings as well as photographs taken by non-Indian artists who had firsthand contact with Indians. He throws new light on important changes in Plains Indian culture, on the history of intertribal relations, and on Indian relation with whites—traders, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, and the U.S. Government.

Lasting Echoes: An Oral History of Native American People


Joseph Bruchac - 1997
    Starting with the arrival of the Europeans and moving forward to the present, this is the epic tale of men and women who never forgot their connection to the land, or that their own lives and the lives of their people were one. With sensitivity and grace, Abenaki poet and author Bruchac creates an important and compelling portrait of a proud and determined people.

Traditions of the Caddo


George Amos Dorsey - 1997
    By 1903, when George A. Dorsey was investigating their customs and beliefs, the Caddos, numbering 530, were living on a reservation in Oklahoma. The Caddoan tribes, found along the Red River and its tributaries in present-day Louisiana and Arkansas, practiced agriculture long before they hunted buffalo. The tales collected for this book, first published in 1905, reflect the women’s horticultural practices (supplemented by the men’s hunting), village life distinguished by conical grass lodges, family and social relationships, connection to nature, and ceremonies. The tales vibrate with earthly and unearthly forces: Snake-Woman, who distributes seeds; Coyote, who regulates life after death; the Effeminate Man, who brings strife to the tribe; Coward, son of the Moon; the Man and the Dog who become Stars; the Old Woman who kept all the pecans; Splinter-Foot Boy and Medicine-Screech-Owl; water monsters; animal-people; and cannibals.

Legends of the Delaware Indians and Picture Writing (Revised)


Richard Calmit Adams - 1997
    Four of the legends have been re-translated into the Delaware language by native speakers, revealing the transformation of a transliterated Delaware text into an English-language story.