Native Nations: Cultures and Histories of Native North America

by Nancy Bonvillain

Overview

Combining historical background with discussion of contemporary Native nations and their living cultures, this comprehensive text introduces students to some of the many indigenous peoples in North America. The book is organized into parts corresponding to regional divisions within which similar, though not identical, cultural practices developed. Each part opens with an overview of the topography, climate, and natural resources in the area, and describes the range of cultural practices and beliefs grounded in the area. Subsequent chapters are devoted to specific tribal groups, their history, and the conditions of contemporary Native communities. Nancy Bonvillain provides context for the regional and tribe-specific chapters through a brief overview of Native American history beginning around 1500 and covering the early period of European exploration and colonization. She details both U.S. and Canadian policies affecting the lives, cultures, and survival of more than five hundred Native nations on this continent. Finally, she offers up-to-date demographics and addresses significant social, economic, and political issues concerning Native communities. The second edition featured new material throughout, including a new two-chapter section on the Native nations of the Plateau, expanded introductory material addressing topics such as climate change and recent Supreme Court decisions, up-to-date demographic and economic data, and more. In this updated and revised new edition, Nancy Bonvillain has expanded and improved the existing text, updating the data with the latest research, and adding a new chapter that discusses contemporary issues that effect and crosscut reservation, national and international boundaries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538170410
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/27/2024
Series:	Native Nations
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	8.03(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.06(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nancy Bonvillain received her PhD from Columbia University, Department of Anthropology, with specialties in Linguistics and Native American studies. She is currently a professor of Anthropology and Linguistics at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. She has written four textbooks in cultural anthropology, language and culture, gender studies, and Native American studies. She is also the author of 20 separate ethnographies of some Indigenous societies and has written articles dealing with aspects of Iroquoian and Mohawk languages.

Read an Excerpt

Preface

This book presents an intensive discussion of the cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of members of the First Nations of North America. Following an introduction (Chapter One), is an overview (Chapter Two) of historical processes that have affected indigenous peoples since about 1500. Both Chapters One and Two discuss the complexity of population statistics that in the past and present have seriously undercounted Native communities and individuals. The book is thereafter divided into eight regional parts (Northeast, Southeast, Plains, Great Basin, Southwest, California, Northwest Coast, and Subarctic and Arctic). Each part begins with an overview chapter followed by one (or in some cases two) chapters that deal in detail with a First Nation within the region. The book concludes (Chapter Twenty-three) with a review of contemporary indigenous economic and political issues and also summarizes current economic and social data collected by the governments of Canada and the United States.

I wish to express my thanks to the following Prentice Hall reviewers for their useful comments on the manuscript: Stephen Greymorning, University of Montana; Timothy J. Kloberdanz, North Dakota State University; Sally McBeth, University of Northern Colorado; Martha McCullough, University of Nebraska; and Dean Snow, Pennsylvania State University. I also wish to thank Nancy Roberts, Publisher, and Sharon Chambliss, Managing Editor for anthropology, for their encouragement and advice throughout the process of bringing this book to completion. I appreciate the patience and excellent work of Cathy Dargi, who transcribed and typed the early draft of the book. And I thank Marc Melanson of Statistics Canada, Halifax, for his aid in obtaining linguistic, social, and economic data for First Nations Mi'kmaq, Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), and Innu (Montagnais) bands.

My deep appreciation goes to the people at Akwesasne for the personal and intellectual support that I have always received there. I am especially grateful to Gloria Thompson, Ernest Benedict, Beatrice Francis, and their families, as well as to Hilda Swamp for the many days over many years spent in their company. My admiration goes to them and others at Akwesasne who have led and participated in many struggles for cultural and political sovereignty. It is to them that this book is dedicated.

Table of Contents

Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: A Short History Part I: The Northeast Chapter 3: Native Nations of the Northeast Chapter 4: The Mohawks Chapter 5: The Mi’kmaq Part II: The Southeast Chapter 6: Native Nations of the Southeast Chapter 7: The Choctaws Part III: The Plains Chapter 8: Native Nations of The Plains Chapter 9: The Teton Lakotas Chapter 10: The Hidatsas Part IV: The Great Basin Chapter 11: Native Nations of the Great Basin Chapter 12: The Shoshones Part V: The Southwest Chapter 12: Native Nations of the Southwest Chapter 14: The Zunis Chapter 15: Navajos Part VI: California Chapter 16: Native Nations of California Chapter 17: The Pomos Part VII: The Plateau Chapter 18: Native Nations of the Plateau Chapter 19: The Nez Perce Part VIII: The Northwest Coast Chapter 20: Native Nations of the Northwest Coast Chapter 21: The Kwakwaka’wakw (or Kwakiutls) Part IX: The Subarctic and Arctic Chapter 22: Native Nations of the Subarctic and Arctic Chapter 23: The Innu (or Montagnais) Chapter 24: The Inuit 2 Chapter 25: Native Communities Today Chapter 26: Contemporary Challenges Chapter 27: The Arts, Pop Culture, and Representation Index About the Author

Preface

Preface

This book presents an intensive discussion of the cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of members of the First Nations of North America. Following an introduction (Chapter One), is an overview (Chapter Two) of historical processes that have affected indigenous peoples since about 1500. Both Chapters One and Two discuss the complexity of population statistics that in the past and present have seriously undercounted Native communities and individuals. The book is thereafter divided into eight regional parts (Northeast, Southeast, Plains, Great Basin, Southwest, California, Northwest Coast, and Subarctic and Arctic). Each part begins with an overview chapter followed by one (or in some cases two) chapters that deal in detail with a First Nation within the region. The book concludes (Chapter Twenty-three) with a review of contemporary indigenous economic and political issues and also summarizes current economic and social data collected by the governments of Canada and the United States.

I wish to express my thanks to the following Prentice Hall reviewers for their useful comments on the manuscript: Stephen Greymorning, University of Montana; Timothy J. Kloberdanz, North Dakota State University; Sally McBeth, University of Northern Colorado; Martha McCullough, University of Nebraska; and Dean Snow, Pennsylvania State University. I also wish to thank Nancy Roberts, Publisher, and Sharon Chambliss, Managing Editor for anthropology, for their encouragement and advice throughout the process of bringing this book to completion. I appreciate the patience and excellent work of Cathy Dargi, who transcribed and typed the early draft of the book.And I thank Marc Melanson of Statistics Canada, Halifax, for his aid in obtaining linguistic, social, and economic data for First Nations Mi'kmaq, Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), and Innu (Montagnais) bands.

My deep appreciation goes to the people at Akwesasne for the personal and intellectual support that I have always received there. I am especially grateful to Gloria Thompson, Ernest Benedict, Beatrice Francis, and their families, as well as to Hilda Swamp for the many days over many years spent in their company. My admiration goes to them and others at Akwesasne who have led and participated in many struggles for cultural and political sovereignty. It is to them that this book is dedicated.

Editorial Reviews

Native Nations combines prehistory, anthropologically based ethnographic sketches, and consideration of modern Native America in a text that is accessible and engaging.

Adam King

Native Nations gives a broad overview of the whole of Native North America, bringing together the historical, sociological, and cultural aspects that shape Native lives. However, it also gives the specific local contexts of Native communities that shape their reactions to contemporary issues and conditions. It is detailed, expansive, comprehensive, and well researched.

Steven Williams

Bonvillain captures the vitality of Native peoples today as well as the current issues they face. She places Native people and their continued struggles squarely in a contemporary framework, covering a variety of crucial topics from climate change to taxation. Emphasizing the concept of nations and sovereignty, she describes reservations, reserves, and treaties in a way that is frank and refreshing.

Erica Cusi Wortham

Impressive for its breadth and the diversity of tribes covered, this is a text my students enjoy.

Katharine Kirakosian

I am very pleased by the substantive contemporary content in this text. Students need to hear about challenges Native peoples face today, and Native Nations does a great job with that.

Chris Hurst-Loeffler

Bonvillain’s Native Nations offers a comprehensive view of indigenous history, technology, and modern life in each region of North America. By providing both regional and tribe-specific chapters, Bonvillian engages the reader with her exploration into the diverse cultural practices and political issues surrounding native communities.

Cameron Lacquement

I am very pleased by the substantive contemporary content in this text. Students need to hear about challenges Native peoples face today, and Native Nations does a great job with that.

Christina Hurst-Loeffler