Best of
Native-Americans

2001

The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living


Joseph M. Marshall III - 2001
    Marshall’s thoughtful, illuminating account of how the spiritual beliefs of the Lakota people can help us all lead more meaningful, ethical lives.Rich with storytelling, history, and folklore, The Lakota Way expresses the heart of Native American philosophy and reveals the path to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Joseph Marshall is a member of the Sicunga Lakota Sioux and has dedicated his entire life to the wisdom he learned from his elders. Here he focuses on the twelve core qualities that are crucial to the Lakota way of life--bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom, respect, honor, perseverance, love, humility, sacrifice, truth, and compassion. Whether teaching a lesson on respect imparted by the mythical Deer Woman or the humility embodied by the legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse, The Lakota Way offers a fresh outlook on spirituality and ethical living.

Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity


David Hurst Thomas - 2001
    The explosive controversy and resulting lawsuit also raised a far more fundamental question: Who owns history? Many Indians see archeologists as desecrators of tribal rites and traditions; archeologists see their livelihoods and science threatened by the 1990 Federal reparation law, which gives tribes control over remains in their traditional territories.In this new work, Thomas charts the riveting story of this lawsuit, the archeologists' deteriorating relations with American Indians, and the rise of scientific archeology. His telling of the tale gains extra credence from his own reputation as a leader in building cooperation between the two sides.

Power and Place: Indian Education in America


Vine Deloria Jr. - 2001
    This collection of sixteen essays is at once philosophic, practical, and visionary. It is an effort to open discussion about the unique experience of Native Americans and offers a concise reference for administrators, educators, students and community leaders involved with Indian Education.

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving


Catherine O'Neill Grace - 2001
    Countering the prevailing, traditional story of the first Thanksgiving, with its black-hatted, silver-buckled Pilgrims; blanket-clad, be-feathered Indians; cranberry sauce; pumpkin pie; and turkey, this lushly illustrated photo-essay presents a more measured, balanced, and historically accurate version of the three-day harvest celebration in 1621.

Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales Oral Histories


Anton Treuer - 2001
    Treuer introduces each speaker, offering a brief biography and noting important details concerning dialect or themes; he then allows the stories to speak for themselves. And from them we learn about the distant past."--BOOK JACKET.

A Sacred Path: The Way of the Muscogee Creeks


Jean Haya-Atke Hiyutke Chaudhuri - 2001
    Native American Studies. A SACRED PATH is ultimately about Creek peoplehood. It connects the Muscogee sacred history with the land, the spirit world, the confederacy's sociopolitical organization, and the ceremonial cycle in a carefully researched and well-written single volume. The Chaudhuris' understanding of Creek traditions and their insights into the internal world of traditional Native American values and value systems are unequaled. Jean's work as a researcher and storyteller in her native Muscogee language teamed with Joy's background in philosophy and American Indian studies makes this volume a major contribution to the literature on the Creeks as well as a highly readable and fascinating ethno history--Tom Holm, Ph.D. (Cherokee-Creek).

A Wagon Train for Brides


Kent Conwell - 2001
    Mesquite-post tough Howie Forrest just thought he’d seen the elephant when he reached Independence, Missouri with two thousand head of ornery Mexican steers despite tornadoes, hail storms, cattle rustlers, and Jayhawkers.If he’d been holding a squalling bunch of wild tomcats with their tails tied together in each hand, he couldn’t have found himself in more trouble and despair than agreeing to trail boss an ox train of twenty-eight brides over six hundred miles to Palo Pinto, Texas—after he taught the women how to drive oxen.He discovered soon enough that nothing compared to handling twenty-eight independent women, not even breaking up fights, fording swollen rivers, rescuing runaway boys from Kiowa Indians, tending rattlesnake bites, and fighting off Comancheros.

Uneven Ground: American Indian Sovereignty and Federal Law


David E. Wilkins - 2001
    As sovereign entities, Indian nations have been able to establish policies concerning health care, education, religious freedom, law enforcement, gaming, and taxation. Yet these gains have not gone unchallenged. Starting in the late 1980s, states have tried to regulate and profit from casino gambling on Indian lands. Treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather remain hotly contested, and traditional religious practices have been denied protection. Tribal courts struggle with state and federal courts for jurisdiction. David E. Wilkins and K. Tsianina Lomawaima discuss how the political rights and sovereign status of Indian nations have variously been respected, ignored, terminated, and unilaterally modified by federal lawmakers as a result of the ambivalent political and legal status of tribes under western law.

Legends of the Rainbow Warriors


Steven McFadden - 2001
    One dominant myth is formed by advertising images of vast, luxurious wealth-the myth of materialism. Another myth is conjured in the bloody, sorrowful images that pervade movies, music and computer games-the myth that the world is hate-filled and chaotic beyond redemption. The Legend of the Rainbow Warriors offers a spiritual alternative of hope and real possibility based upon respect, freedom and responsibility.As drawn from dozens of historical accounts, the Legend of the Rainbow Warriors relates that "when the Earth becomes desperately sick, people of all colors and faiths will unite, and rise to face the overwhelming challenges with insight, honesty, caring, sharing, and respect."Veteran writer Steven McFadden weaves the myths and the headlines together seamlessly in a rich work of literary journalism that is adroitly crafted, eye-opening, and soul-inspiring.

Everlasting Sky: Voices Of The Anishinabe People


Gerald Vizenor - 2001
    In this, his classic first book of essays, Vizenor presents a stark but vital view of reservation life in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a collection that Studies in American Indian Literatures called "memorable portraits of real people who defied yet finally were overcome by the dominant society."Focusing on the people of the northern reservations, particularly the White Earth Reservation where he grew up, Vizenor puts a human face on those desperate and politically charged times that saw frequent government intervention and the emergence of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In his trademark style, Vizenor juxtaposes these snapshots of contemporary life against images and dream sequences from Anishinabe folktales and ceremonies. As the Chronicle of Higher Education has observed, Vizenor's "paradoxical achievement has been to garner a reputation as an innovative avant-garde writer by embracing, and revitalizing, ancient oral storytelling traditions."In an introduction composed especially for this edition, Vizenor reflects on the changes that occurred on the reservations in the previous decades and updates the lives of this fascinating and various cast of characters.

Markings on Earth


Karenne Wood - 2001
    . . “Impressions of the past, markings on earth, are part of the world of Karenne Wood. A member of the Monacan tribe of Virginia, she writes with insight and grace on topics that both reflect and extend her Native heritage.Markings on Earth is a cyclical work that explores the many dimensions of human experience, from our interaction with the environment to personal relationships. In these pages we relive the arrival of John Smith in America and visit the burial mounds of the Monacan people, experience the flight of the great blue heron and witness the dance of the spider. We also share the personal journey of one individual who seeks to overcome her sense of alienation from her people and her past.Wood’s palette is not only Nature but human nature as well. She writes pointedly about shameful episodes of American history, such as the devastation of Appalachia by mining companies and the “disappearance” of Indian peoples. She also addresses forms of everyday violence known to many of us, such as alcoholism and sexual abuse. Wood conveys an acceptance of history and personal trauma, but she finds redemption in a return to tradition and a perception of the world’s natural grace.Through these elegantly crafted words, we come to know that Native writers need not be limited to categorical roles determined by their heritage. Markings on Earth displays a fidelity to human experience, evoking that experience through poems honed to perfection. It is an affirmation of survival, a work that suggests one person’s life cannot be separated from the larger story of its community, its rootedness in history, and its timeless connections to the world.

He Made It Safe to Murder: The Life of Moman Pruiett


Howard K. Berry Sr. - 2001
    

Stone People Medicine: A Native American Oracle with Cards


Manny Twofeathers - 2001
    Renowned Native American author and workshop leader Manny Twofeathers explains the history of the method, then provides readers with clear instructions for conducting their own readings by choosing from the 12 included divination cards, laying them out in two different patterns - The Five Directions and The Medicine Wheel - and accurately interpreting the results. Whether they're looking to gain courage, get answers to their questions, help others, or attain the things they desire, Stone People Medicine gives readers a simple and enjoyable way to bring the vast wisdom of Native American traditions into their daily lives.