Book Review: The World of Native Americans

 The World of Native Americans by Marion Wood, consultant Colin Taylor, Peter Bedrick Books, New York, 1997.

This b ook starts with talking about the history of the Native Americans in preColumbian times.  This includes talking of the mound builders.  

It then divides the Native American world into eight geographical regions:

Southeastern Woodlands. The Natchez is one group that was completed wiped out, to war and disease when the white man came.  Other groups adjusted to white ways.  This included the Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw.  The Seminole resisted White encroachment be moving further south into the swamps.  Many were removed to Oklahoma.

Northeastern Woodlands were generally farmers.  The Iroquois were great farmers.  They relied mostly on the "three sisters" corn, squash and beans.  The league of Iroquois was made up of five tribes, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca and Onandaga.  The Tuscarora later joined.  This region also included Great Lakes tribes.  The Iroquois lived in great lodges.  Several lodges were included in a walled in community.

The Northern Forests region includes most of canada and into Alaska.  People in this area had to adjust to dolc temperatures and snow.  They used snow shoes and toboggans.  

The Plateau and Basin. This area includes the Columbia River Basin and the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah where the water drains inward into salt lakes.  The Basin Indians faced much hardship.  The hunted smaller game and dug for roots.

California The area of California has many different native American groups.  

Northwest Coast. Native American in this area were dependent on what the could produce from the ocean.  Their were whaling groups in specially constructed kayaks.  They would make totems as special spiritual symbols.  

The Great Plains. The area between the Mississippi and the great basin saw many native American groups whose primary resource was the buffalo.  This would require a nomadic lifestyle.  Some groups followed the buffalo, while others would have permanent homes, but temporary homes when the went on the annual buffalo hunt.  The Sun dance would also sometimes be part of the buffalo hunt.  The Sioux, Blackfoot and Pawnee are examples of Great Plains tribes.

Southwest. This is again a desert area.  Very fine pottery comes out of this area.  The Hopi had many special spiritual customs incluing the Kachina doll.  The Navajo became very adept at weaving blankets.

Very good book for general information.   

Book Review: These Were the Sioux

 These Were the Sioux by Mari Sandoz, Illustrations from Amos Bad Heart Bull and Kills Two, University Of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1961.

Mari Sandoz was a neighbor to the Sioux and she writes from her experience as a friend to the Sioux.  This is a very good book about Sioux culture.

Some examples of Sioux culture that I found interesting:  The often had second parents assigned and would keep the birth parents from having to provide harsh discipline.

The book provides insight into Sioux custom with regards to gender roles.  There is a large party after a young woman has her first period.  The children play together until about ten when boys and girls have separate activities.  There are specific guidelines for courtship, which is mostly done by the watering hole when the young women get water.  There are also rules around marriage.  Th more formal is done via gifts, while there are those who just go off together.  

This book describes the Sun Dance which was performed in conjunction with the buffalo hunt.  Part of the ritual was to bring on dreams.  Sitting Bull had such a dream where he saw many whites coming into camp.  This was shortly Before Cusger and his men attacked the camp and were destroyed.  

Makah Culture as presented at the Makah Cultural and Research Center Museum of the Makah Indian Nation

The Makah museum houses 300-500 year old artifacts recovered from the Ozette Archeological Site which had ben covered by a mud slide some 500 years ago.  This was a village on the coast.  The museum presents much of this culture which included whaling, fishing with nets for salmon, seal hunting. The seal clubs, made for hitting the seal in the head take the shape of seals.  The whale boats were very interesting with eight people in each whale boat.  Only a member of the chief's family would man the harpoon.  When the speared the whale a bladder attached to the rope would slow the whale down.  When the whale was killed one member of the crew had to quickly jump into the water and sew the mouth of the whale shut so it would stay afloat and would be easier to bring to shore.

The museum did not allow pictures but these are from the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles

This shows the rope and bladder that would tire the whale

While whale hunting presented it problems, the seal hunting also had special tools.  There was a long two-pronged spear with which to attack the seal at enough distance it couldn't get to you.  The seal clubs were also very interesting and very artistic.  They would often be carved to look like a seal.

picture borrowed from internet

One of the most fascinating things were the boxes used for storage.  These would be on fishing boats, or in the home.  Rather than use separate pieces, one board would be used, and carved thin in the corners, and then folded to make a box after a bottom was added.  It was amazing the craftsmanship  put into the boxes.

The Makah people used cedar bark for making many things, including matts, hats and clothes.  The bark would be peeled, and then pounded to make it softer, and then woven into many different materials.  This is the only material that survived from 500 years ago but it is believed there must have been other materials used that decayed over time.  

The long houses built by the Makah people were very large.  More than one family would live in a house and each family would have their own section.  The ability of the Makah people as demonstrated by the long houses and the boxes was superb.

There was netting discovered amongst the artifact at the Ozette site thus proving that using nets to catch salmon was a cultural activity of the Makah.  

Artifacts for game playing were also found at the site.  Art was put into many of the artifacts.

Book Review: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2019

This is a picture book, but the theme seems more geared towards adults rather than children.  It presents the cultural significance of fry bread; as food, as shape, as sound, as color, as flavor, as time, as art, as history, as place, as nation, as everything, as us and as you.

After telling the stories in a storybook fashion, the author goes back and explains in a more adult fashion his reasons for the story.  He includes all Native American Nations in the inside cover of the book.  

His recipe for fry bread is different than mine or any I am familiar with.  My wife makes scones on which he construct Navajo tacos.  They are delicious.  However I am familiar with the very large and thing fry bread.  His fry bread is closer to scones that that.  I guess recipes come in all different types, just like people.

Native American Art: End of the Trail

 

The"End of the Trail" sculpture is one of the most recognizable in American art.  It was originally done by James Earl Fraser.  It represents the Native American arriving at the Pacific ocean after being squeezed out by American expansion.   The original was created in 1894, but Fraser made several revisions.  A version was displayed at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.  That exposition statue is now displayed at the National Cowboy and Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

This representation is a paper cast used for a mold in Springfield Missouri. It was created by Allen and Patty Eckman who are a husband-wife team using paper molds for their sculptures.  The sculpture is now in the public domain.  This is the mold used for a brass cast and is on display at Bass Pro Shop.

Book Review: American Indian: Celebrating the Voices, Traditions and Wisdom of Native Americans

American Indian: Celebrating the Voices, Traditions and Wisdom of Native Americans, edited by Ashley Kircher, Weldonowen, San Francisco, 2012.

This is a fascinating book.  It is large size with many pictures and artwork.  But it is also organized well.  Each chapter has a different author.  From this book I learn that the three sisters are squash, beans and corn.  The book enlightens the viewer, reader to many customs of Native Americans.  The art is portrayed throughout the book, from things made to be used like basketry and pottery and musical instruments.  Dance and son are portrayed beautifully.  This is a book to own.