Table of Contents
Preface 6
Introduction 8
The First Americans 10
Dispossession 16
Great Figures of the Indian Past 22
Rebuilding Native Pride 28
Tribes & Territories 32
The Northeastern Woodlands & Great Lakes 34
The Southeastern Woodlands 38
The Great Plains 44
The Southwest 48
California 52
The Great Basin 54
Plateau 56
The Northwest Coast 60
The Subarctic 64
The Arctic 66
Regional Artistry 70
The Life of the Spirit 74
Foundations of the Sacred 76
Respecting Nature 82
The Power of Kinship 90
Sacred Societies 96
Wisdom Places 102
Mother Earth 104
Mounds & Effigies 110
The Dome of the Sky 112
Space, Time & the Divine 120
Transformations 126
The Powwow 128
Holy People 132
As Swift as "Sky Dogs" 138
Dream Voyages 142
Symbol, Myth & Cosmos 144
World makers & Earthdivers 146
Peopling the Earth 150
Spider Woman's Blessing 156
Elemental Power 162
Hunters & Prey 166
Gathering the Earth's Abundance 172
World Transformers 180
Culture Heroes 182
Trickster Figures 186
A Paradoxical Bird 190
The Sly "Prairie Wolf" 192
Giants & Grotesques 196
The Past is Present 202
Ritual & Sacrament 208
Accessing the Sacred Powers 210
Savers of Souls 216
Navajo Healing Ways 218
Rites of Passage 222
Seeking a Vision 228
In Praise of Nature's Changes 230
The Sacred Pipe 236
Status of the Warriors 238
Journey to the Afterlife 246
Then & Now 250
The Survival of the Sacred 252
Nothing Ever Ends 254
Nativistic Movements 256
The Dance of Despair 260
The Storytellers 262
The Drum is a Heartbeat 268
Redaiming the Past 270
Native Scholars 276
Contemporary Curing 278
The Native Economy 280
Tourism & Crafts 286
The "Red Road" 292
Native Media 294
For Reference 296
Population 296
Map of Native North America 298
Peoples & Regions 300
Languages 302
Current Land Issues 304
Social Organization 308
Glossary 310
Further Reading 312
Index 314
Picture Credits 319
