Best of
Native-Americans

2014

Up Ghost River: A Chief's Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History


Edmund Metatawabin - 2014
    St. Anne’s, in north­ern Ontario, is an institution now notorious for the range of punishments that staff and teachers inflicted on students. Even as Metatawabin built the trappings of a successful life—wife, kids, career—he was tormented by horrific memories. Fuelled by alcohol, the trauma from his past caught up with him, and his family and work lives imploded. In seeking healing, Metatawabin travelled to southern Alberta. There he learned from elders, par­ticipated in native cultural training workshops that emphasize the holistic approach to personhood at the heart of Cree culture, and finally faced his alcoholism and PTSD. Metatawabin has since worked tirelessly to expose the wrongdoings of St. Anne’s, culminating in a recent court case demanding that the school records be released to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Now Metatawabin’s mission is to help the next generation of residential school survivors. His story is part of the indigenous resurgence that is happening across Canada and worldwide: after years of oppression, he and others are healing themselves by rediscovering their culture and sharing their knowledge.  Coming full circle, Metatawabin’s haunting and brave narrative offers profound lessons on the impor­tance of bearing witness, and the ability to become whole once again.

The Poacher's Daughter


Michael Zimmer - 2014
    Penniless and illiterate, yet fiercely independent, Rose begins a two-year odyssey to revisit the land of her childhood, a land she once traveled with her father, an itinerant robe trader among the Assiniboines and Blackfeet. But the old ways of the hunter and trapper are disappearing. European investors are flooding the bison ranges with vast herds of cattle, raising mansions and polo fields on ground once claimed by teepees and sod-roofed hunters' shacks. With an aging roan gelding named Albert as her closest friend, Rose finds herself a reluctant hero in an ageless battle, the face of an indigenous population, both native and white, as she stubbornly pushes back against the invading aristocracy. And hanging over her every decision is an alcoholic father, who hunts bison inside the newly formed Yellowstone National Park, selling the mounted heads and tanned robes to Eastern tourists even as his daughter makes her stand against the destruction of the land she loves"--

People of the Morning Star


W. Michael Gear - 2014
    Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear begin the stunning saga of the North American equivalent of ancient Rome in People of the Morning Star. The city of Cahokia, at its height, covered more than six square miles around what is now St. Louis and included structures more than ten stories high. Cahokian warriors and traders roamed from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. What force on earth would motivate hundreds of thousands of people to pick up, move hundreds of miles, and once plopped down amidst a polyglot of strangers, build an incredible city?A religious miracle: the Cahokians believed that the divine hero Morning Star had been resurrected in the flesh. But not all is fine and stable in glorious Cahokia. To the astonishment of the ruling clan, an attempt is made on the living god's life. Now it is up to Morning Star's aunt, Matron Blue Heron, to keep it quiet until she can uncover the plot and bring the culprits to justice. If she fails, Cahokia will be torn asunder in warfare, rage, and blood as civil war consumes them all.

Not My Girl


Christy Jordan-Fenton - 2014
    Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by evocative illustrations, Not My Girl makes the original, award-winning memoir, A Stranger at Home, accessible to younger children. It is also a sequel to the picture book When I Was Eight. A poignant story of a determined young girl’s struggle to belong, it will both move and inspire readers everywhere.

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices


Lisa CharleyboySierra Edd - 2014
    Truly universal in its themes, Dreaming In Indian will shatter commonly held stereotypes and challenge readers to rethink their own place in the world. Divided into four sections, ‘Roots,’ ‘Battles,’ ‘Medicines,’ and ‘Dreamcatchers,’ this book offers readers a unique insight into a community often misunderstood and misrepresented by the mainstream media.Additional authors: Julia Shaw, Raquel Simard, Alida Kinnie Starr, Arigon Starr, Kris Statnyk, Patty Stein, Aja Sy, Tanya Tagaq Gillis, Adriane Tailfeathers, Kit Thomas, Michelle Thrush, Faith Turner, Jeffrey Veregge, Tonya-Leah Watts, Shannon Webb-Campbell, Abigail Whiteye, Jade Willoughby and Darrel Yazzie Jr.

Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England


Siobhan Senier - 2014
    This pathbreaking anthology includes both classic and contemporary literary works from ten New England indigenous nations: the Abenaki, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Mohegan, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Schaghticoke, and Wampanoag.  Through literary collaboration and recovery, Siobhan Senier and Native tribal historians and scholars have crafted a unique volume covering a variety of genres and historical periods. From the earliest petroglyphs and petitions to contemporary stories and hip-hop poetry, this volume highlights the diversity and strength of New England Native literary traditions. Dawnland Voices introduces readers to the compelling and unique literary heritage in New England, banishing the misconception that “real” Indians and their traditions vanished from that region centuries ago.

Indian School Road


Chris Benjamin - 2014
    Vaughan, Broken Pencil "It’s a powerful, hard-hitting book that will bring the whole sordid history of the schools to new audiences. Hailed by Quill & Quire as one of the season’s most-anticipated Canadian non-fiction titles, the book lives up to that advance billing." --Paul Bennett, Chronicle Herald "...a comprehensive, balanced and well-researched book on how a Canada-wide attempt to assimilate first nation children through brute force played out in one residential school. It's also a page turner. Benjamin knows how to make the story come to life." --Robert Devet, Halifax Media Co-op In Indian School Road, journalist Chris Benjamin tackles the controversial and tragic history of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors, and its lasting effects, giving voice to multiple perspectives for the first time. Benjamin integrates research, interviews, and testimonies to guide readers through the varied experiences of students, principals, and teachers over the school’s nearly forty years of operation (1930–1967) and beyond. Exposing the raw wounds of Truth and Reconciliation as well as the struggle for an inclusive Mi’kmaw education system, Indian School Road is a comprehensive and compassionate narrative history of the school that uneducated hundreds of Aboriginal children.

Losing St. Christopher


David-Michael Harding - 2014
    The Nazis’ study of the treatment and eradication of the American Indian was an element in the plan for the “Final Solution” - the eradication of European Jews and others deemed undesirable or a threat to the Aryan order. Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Eichmann, and others who administered the Nazi Holocaust had looked to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the subsequent actions of the United States Government as the blueprint for annihilation of a people, a culture, and a way of life.In Losing St. Christopher, Totsuhwa, the revered shaman of the Cherokee Nation, struggles against the assimilation of his people into the white world of men he sees as invaders. The colonists, along with Cherokee who are trying to bridge both worlds, see him as a barbarous threat. When Totsuhwa’s visions show him the outcome, it is as black as his deep set haunting eyes. Chancellor, his son, takes a white wife following study at a missionary school and the shaman’s fears seem realized. Conflicts between cultures and within the family erupt when Totsuhwa’s only grandchild is forced onto the Trail of Tears. In the chase that follows, an estranged love fights to stem the ugly flow of racism that is moving in two directions.“History is written by the victorious, but when almost forgotten historical characters are brought to life, and their stories told, they are preserved through the ages, and in this preservation David-Michael Harding has succeeded.” - Principal Chief Bill John Baker, Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK

American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890


Jerome A. Greene - 2014
    Fearing that Big Foot’s band was headed instead to join “hostile” Lakotas, U.S. troops surrounded the group on Wounded Knee Creek. Tensions mounted, and on the morning of December 29, as the Lakotas prepared to give up their arms, disaster struck. Accounts vary on what triggered the violence as Indians and soldiers unleashed thunderous gunfire at each other, but the consequences were horrific: some 200 innocent Lakota men, women, and children were slaughtered. American Carnage—the first comprehensive account of Wounded Knee to appear in more than fifty years—explores the complex events preceding the tragedy, the killings, and their troubled legacy.In this gripping tale, Jerome A. Greene—renowned specialist on the Indian wars—explores why the bloody engagement happened and demonstrates how it became a brutal massacre. Drawing on a wealth of sources, including previously unknown testimonies, Greene examines the events from both Native and non-Native perspectives, explaining the significance of treaties, white settlement, political disputes, and the Ghost Dance as influential factors in what eventually took place. He addresses controversial questions: Was the action premeditated? Was the Seventh Cavalry motivated by revenge after its humiliating defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn? Should soldiers have received Medals of Honor? He also recounts the futile efforts of Lakota survivors and their descendants to gain recognition for their terrible losses.Epic in scope and poignant in its recounting of human suffering, American Carnage presents the reality—and denial—of our nation’s last frontier massacre. It will leave an indelible mark on our understanding of American history.

Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indians


Suzan Shown Harjo - 2014
    One side sought to own the riches of North America and the other struggled to hold on to traditional homelands and ways of life. The book reveals how the ideas of honor, fair dealings, good faith, rule of law, and peaceful relations between nations have been tested and challenged in historical and modern times. The book consistently demonstrates how and why centuries-old treaties remain living, relevant documents for both Natives and non-Natives in the 21st century.

Dakota/Lakota Star Map Constellation Guidebook: An Introduction to D(L)akota Star Knowledge


Annette Sharon Lee - 2014
    Greek constellations and astronomical objects of interest are included along with the D(L)akota constellations organized by the four seasons and north circumpolar stars. Written by three native authors: Annette S. Lee, Jim Rock, and Charlene O'Rourke. Accompanies the D(L)akota Star Map created by Annette Lee and Jim Rock.

The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky


Gaylord Torrence - 2014
    The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky celebrates the extraordinary beauty, power, and spiritual resonance of Plains Indian art throughout time. Richly illustrated, this monumental volume includes a wealth of masterworks from European and North American collections, ranging from a 2,000-year-old Human Effigy stone pipe to a 2011 beaded adaptation of designer shoes. Works of art collected centuries ago by French traders and travelers are presented together with those acquired by Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition of 1804–6, along with objects from the early reservation era and contemporary works based in traditional forms and ideas. The distinct Plains aesthetic—intertwined with the natural world, ephemeral, and materially rich—is revealed through an array of forms and mediums: painting and drawing; sculptural works in stone, wood, antler, and shell; porcupine quill and glass bead embroidery; feather work; painted robes depicting figures and geometric shapes; and richly ornamented clothing and ceremonial objects. Many nations are represented—Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Lakota, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Kiowa, Comanche, Mesquakie, Kansa, and others. With newly researched texts by leading scholars, this important book charts the continuum of centuries of artistic tradition and reflects the significant place that Plains Indian culture holds in European history and in the heritage of North America.

Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees (Secret Genealogy #4)


Suellen Ocean - 2014
    In the fourth book of her Secret Genealogy series, Ocean thoughtfully gives the reader the guidance they need to search for their own Native ancestry. After reading this book you'll have both the keys and a better understanding of what's required for the amateur to navigate bureaucracies and websites that hold the answers to their questions. Read "Secret Genealogy IV, Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees," before you begin your search.

Written as I Remember It: Teachings (??ms t???w) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder


Elsie Paul - 2014
    In this remarkable book, Sliammon elder Elsie Paul collaborates with a scholar, Paige Raibmon, and her granddaughter, Harmony Johnson, to tell her life story and the history of her people, in her own words and storytelling style. Raised by her grandparents who took her on their seasonal travels, Paul spent most of her childhood learning Sliammon ways, teachings, and stories and is one of the last surviving mother-tongue speakers of the Sliammon language. She shares this traditional knowledge with future generations in Written as I Remember It.

The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians


Mary Stockwell - 2014
    The most well-known episode in the eviction of American Indians in the East was the notorious “Trail of Tears” along which Southeastern Indians were driven from their homes in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to reservations in present-day Oklahoma. But the struggle in the South was part of a wider story that reaches back in time to the closing months of the War of 1812, back through many states—most notably Ohio—and into the lives of so many tribes, including the Delaware, Seneca, Shawnee, Ottawa, and Wyandot (Huron). They, too, were forced to depart from their homes in the Ohio Country to Kansas and Oklahoma. The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians by award-winning historian Mary Stockwell tells the story of this region’s historic tribes as they struggled following the death of Tecumseh and the unraveling of his tribal confederacy in 1813. At the peace negotiations in Ghent in 1814, Great Britain was unable to secure a permanent homeland for the tribes in Ohio setting the stage for further treaties with the United States and encroachment by settlers. Over the course of three decades the Ohio Indians were forced to move to the West, with the Wyandot people ceding their last remaining lands in Ohio to the U.S. Government in the early 1850s. The book chronicles the history of Ohio’s Indians and their interactions with settlers and U.S. agents in the years leading up to their official removal, and sheds light on the complexities of the process, with both individual tribes and the United States taking advantage of opportunities at different times. It is also the story of how the native tribes tried to come to terms with the fast pace of change on America’s western frontier and the inevitable loss of their traditional homelands. While the tribes often disagreed with one another, they attempted to move toward the best possible future for all their people against the relentless press of settlers and limited time.

The Crying Dance


John R. Spivey - 2014
    The old men shouldn't even be alive any longer, but they were-they'd been together as part of the landscape for over 150 years. Wu was Chinese, a refugee of the Opium wars and the Taiping Rebellion. He'd sailed across the Eastern Ocean to California at the behest of Dizang the bodhisattva. Francisco was a Yokuts Indian captured by the Spanish army and raised by the friars at Mission San Luis Obispo. After his escape he'd become a bear shaman. The two men's fates have intertwined in such a way that their lives have gone on and on as they wandered the Sierra. The old men even danced the Ghost Dance together in an attempt to restore Francisco's people and the life of the landscape. The raven told the old men there was someone coming - JR, a cowboy of the Sierra foothills whose sad ass cowboy economics and PTSD from serving in Iraq have left him ready to fall off the edge of the world. His life is empty, but the mountains and rivers have conspired to bring him together with the old men

Charlie Blackbear


Mark Wildyr - 2014
    The size of his package has been the subject of whispers since he was a lad and his sexual conquests the stuff of legends. When he wakes up drunk in a motel room with a man making moves on him, he shrugs it off and goes back to chasing women. Charlie accepts a job with a logging crew. But when he shares a room at the Boar's Nest with his Daniel Warhorse, he fights an unexpected and unwelcome attraction to his friend. Apparently, Daniel feels the same way...

Strange Visitors: Documents in Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada from 1876


Keith D. Smith - 2014
    Smith draws on a diverse selection of documents including letters, testimonies, speeches, transcripts, newspaper articles, and government records. In his thoughtful introduction, Smith provides guidance on the unique challenges of dealing with Indigenous primary sources by highlighting the critical skill of "reading against the grain."

Cherokee


Sarah Tieck - 2014
    Traditional ways of life, including social structure, homes, food, art, clothing, and more are covered. A map highlights the tribes homeland, while fun facts and a timeline with photos help break up the text. Also discussed is contact with Europeans and American settlers, as well as how the people keep their culture alive today. The book closes with a quote from a tribe leader. Readers are left with a deeper understanding of the Cherokee people. Table of contents, glossary, and index included. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing.