Atlas of the North American Indian | 
 enlarge | Author: Carl Waldman
Creator: Molly Braun
Publisher: Checkmark Books
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 43460
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 385
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0816039755
Dewey Decimal Number: 970.00497
EAN: 9780816039753
ASIN: 0816039755
Publication Date: March 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Book Description
This unique resource covers the entire history, culture, tribal locations, languages, and lifeways of Native American groups across the United States, Canada, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Thoroughly updated throughout, Atlas of the North American Indian combines clear and informative text with newly drawn maps to provide the most up-to-date political and cultural developments in Indian affairs, as well as the latest archaeological research findings on prehistoric peoples. The new edition features several revised and updated sections, such as "Self-Determination," "The Federal and Indian Trust Relationship and the Reservation System," "Urban Indians," "Indian Social Conditions,"and "Indian Cultural Renewal." Other updated information includes: a revised section on Canada, including Nunavut, the first new Canadian territory created since 1949, with a population that is 85% Inuit; the latest statistics and new federal laws on tribal enterprises, including a new section on "Indian Gaming"; and current information on preferred names now in use by certain tribes and groups, such as the use of "Inuit" rather than "Eskimo."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
Thoroughly written January 21, 2008
Very well researched and written book! If you are interested in Native American past and cultures, this is a great resource.
North American Indian Research January 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am using this as part of my research to aid me with the series of paintings I am doing of North American Indians from the period 1850 through 1910. I found it interesting that of the paintings I have completed thus far, I often get asked by Native Americans if I have yet done any paintings of members of their tribes. This book helps with the geographical aspects of where my subjects may have been located at the time they lived.
A complete and useful guide April 9, 2006
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
A good resource for any student entering the field of North American Indian studies, this book is carefully organised and rendered. Waldman traces the many facets that have been used to explain who the North American Indians were, how they lived and where. The text is clear and direct, well-suited to the novice in this area of study. The wealth of maps and other illustrative material well supports the narrative, although space restrictions force a certain level of clutter at times.
Waldman opens the book with a description of how humans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. The "Ancient Civilizations" of Mesoamerica, such as the Olmec and Maya are well summarised, before the author turns to the Southwest peoples - the Anasazi, Hohokan and Salado communities. He explains the often overlooked or poorly considered Moundbuilders of the Lower Midwest. The section on "Indian Lifeways" turns to areas like California, the Pacific Coast, and Subarcic regions. While these peoples didn't achieve the strongly hierarchical civilisations of Mesoamerica, their various social structures were complex and dynamic. Their economic systems allowed them to endure and they adapted well to change, something too often lacking in Mesoamerica. To a limited extent, the geography and environment hosting these people granted them the flexibility to maintain a dynamic society, even in precarious conditions.
One aspect of life they were poorly prepared for was the European intrusion. Waldman sets aside a section to introduce the problems introduced by European colonisation. The litany of wars and rebellions take up a hundred pages of the text. The accompanying maps showing battle sites sparkle with stars indicating clash sites. Some of these wars have almost disappeared from historical accounts of North American settlement. It's a good reminder of how the whites took over the hemisphere and what cost that hegemony extracted from the native population.
In time, war was replaced by "Land Cessions" and resettlement. The reservation system, never a fixed idea, is carefully explained by Waldman. The modern result of reservation communities and the ambivalent policies surrounding both the settlements and their populations gave rise to a new awareness among Indian people. The poor acknowledgement of Indian contributions in two world wars was but one of many irritants leading to "uprisings" at Wounded Knee and elsewhere. The author goes on to list major Indian government agencies and Indian organisations and facilities. Indian place names, often overlooked, are listed, with the modern "nation" structures for the US and Canada provided. In all, this book will be a firm base from which to expand a study of Indian circumstances for the future. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
 Good info, well organized September 3, 2005
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
While I enjoy this book and its wealth of info and maps, it is a shame that the only map in color is on the cover. 4.5 stars.
Second great book by this author that I've rated 5 stars April 20, 2004
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
Great maps explained by easy to understand text passages are the hallmarks of this user friendly and highly informative, not to mention interesting, book. I'm very impressed by Carl Waldman's work, which is characterised not by fawning apologias but by respectful insightful investigatory analysis.
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