Encyclopedia Of American Indian History and Culture

Encyclopedia Of American Indian History and Culture — page 5
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The The Encyclopedia of American Indian History and Culture takes a tour of the United States and Canada with a chapter for each of eight major regions of the area the Arctic and subarctic the Northeast the Southeast the Plains the Southwest the Great Basin and Plateau the Northwest Coast and California You can read the book from cover to cover or choose a region or tribe that interests you Each chapter begins with an introduction and a map of ancestral lands You’ll discover how people came to inhabit the region in the first place and how they developed ways of life that depended on the natural resources available to them You’ll also learn about the impact that white settlers had on tribal life during the decades following first contact These were turbulent times during which many Native people suffered from disease brutality and relocation The introduction concludes with a short account of tribal life today and the ways in which indigenous indigenous peoples have managed in recent years to right some of the past wrongs inflicted on them The tribes included in each chapter are based on where those tribes live today For this reason not every tribe in each section appears on the map at the start of the chapter The maps show ancestral lands to give readers a sense of how much area each tribe once occupied Following each chapter introduction is a time line with 15 to 20 key dates in the region’s tribal histories You can turn to this when reading about the tribes to see how the major events unfolded in a particular region Significant conflicts acts of legislation and cultural or political milestones are all listed here Next from that region the chapter tells the stories of tribes from their origins thousands of years ago to the lifeways and achievements of their people in the present day There is an emphasis on the traditions that have shaped the indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada traditions that remain at the heart of their culture You’ll find the tribes organized organized alphabetically within each chapter according to the names by which they are best known While a given tribe might have lived in more than one region during the course of its his tory each is featured in the chapter for the region in which the majority of its people live today Interspersed with the tribal stories you’ll find biographies of leading native figures past and present and special features on many cultural aspects of tribal life including clothing transportation transportation ceremonies and crafts Turn to the end of each chapter for a traditional story from one of the region’s tribes An introduction to each chapter tells the story of its people including how environ mental factors and historic events shaped their lives A map shows the tribes ances tral lands The larger the letters in the labels and the wider the spacing between them the more land the tribe occupied A time line offers an instant history of the region A short introduction summarizes the ways in which tribal life has changed over the centuries A map key shows the labeling used to identify each tribe on the regional map A locator map shows where the region lies within North America Working from the earliest times to the present day the time line highlights the dates and events that had the greatest impact on tribal life 6