Product Description

"Atlas of the North American Indian, Third Edition" chronicles the travel and experiences of Native Americans from the first voyage to North America to the present day. This new edition now features a bold full-color format and is bolstered by more than 120 full-color, detailed maps that cover important locations for American Indians, as well as highlighting their interactions with European colonists and other non-Native people. In addition, the updated text details the history, traditions, conflicts, land cessions, and contemporary ways of life for American Indians.This informative book is enhanced by more than 130 full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations of the people, places, and artifacts important in the history of Native America. Invaluable appendixes include a chronology of North American Native prehistory and history, a list of contemporary Indian nations in the United States, a list of contemporary Canadian First Nations, and a list of major Native place-names in the United States and Canada. A glossary, a bibliography, and an index are also included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54545 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 450 pages

From Library Journal
This mistitled volume is in fact a compact yet wide-ranging account of Native American history and life illustrated with 122 maps. Waldman competently summarizes Indian prehistory, cultural patterns, contacts with Europeans, military events, and contemporary life; Braun's two-color maps successfully place all these data in geographical context. Useful appendixes include a historical chronology and lists of Native American place-names and of all tribes on the continent. A bibliography of over 200 recent items helps to overcome the inevitable limitations of a single-volume reference work. Ideal for general collections and public libraries. Michael Edmonds, State Historical Soc. of Wisconsin, Madison
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This revision of a 1985 title provides "a series of overviews for understanding the challenging subject of the American Indian, and a framework or frameworks for pursuing further historical and cultural studies." Text is accompanied by 110 black-and-white maps. According to the preface, maps are a useful way to convey Indian-related information both because of "the great" number of tribes and their movement over the centuries" and because "one's homeland is at the heart of the Native American worldview." Among the changes from the earlier edition are redrawn maps, 16 new maps (for example, "The Territory of Nunavut"), updated language (e.g., Inuit rather than Eskimo ), a new glossary, an expanded bibliography, and revised lists of tribal groups and museums. Content is arranged in seven chapters, including "Ancient Indians," "Indian Lifeways," and "Contemporary Indians." The largest single section, "Indian Wars," covers the early conflicts of the Arawal (1492) through the Canadian Indian Wars in the 1870s. Each chapter is broken down into sections discussing culture, events, tribes, and individuals. Appendixes provide a chronology of prehistory and history; listings of Indian Nations; Indian place-names; and a directory of museums, historical societies, and archaeological sites. A glossary, bibliography, and index complete the volume. Canadian coverage is better than in many similar works. Several chapters have sections specific to Canada, an appendix is devoted to contemporary Canadian First Nations, and other appendixes include Canada in their listings. This book is recommended for collections needing general information, historical coverage, and material on the Canadian region. It is a good companion to Waldman's Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes [RBB Ap 1 00] and well suited for the academic or public library. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"...splendid...a visually appealing, thorough examination of [Native] cultures..." - School Library Journal"

Customer Reviews

Well-Organized, Informative, and Comprehensive
I have always had an interest in the Native American history and tradition. I have bought several books in the past and been upset that they either seem to misrepresent the Indians or were too stereotypical. This book is not like that at all. In fact, this is one of the most informative, accurate and indispensable books that I have read regarding the Native American. The book covers almost every (if not every) Native American tribe known. Moreover, this book not only delineates their culture, locations, skills, history, etc., but it provides a chronology of prehistory and history of the Native American in one of the book's 7 appendices. This text provides the reader with information and facts about the ancient Indians, Geography (great maps), the art and technology, and even their clothing and transportation. This is definitely an invaluable tool for those who simply want to gain a greater understanding of Native Americans, or those who actually want to do some more serious research.

A complete and useful guide
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]

I love this book! More than just an Atlas!
They weren't joking when they said this was an exhaustive book, information wise. It's incredible! Not only do you have maps of everything from migrations of tribes to peyote usage, you also have chapter after chapter of the different cultural groups, full of details about daily life, wars, conflicts with the white settlers, etc.

I use mine for reference--it's an amazing book. Get it!