From Abenaki to Zuni: A Dictionary of Native American Tribes

For research or pleasure, an informative reference provides in-depth surveys of more than sixty Native American tribes, including the houses they built, foods they ate, clothing, modes of travel, and other information, complemented by more than 250 detailed drawings. Reprint.

Grade 5-9 The author and the illustrator of Growing Up Indian (Walker, 1986) have collaborated on this alphabetically arranged capsule treatment of 68 North American Indian tribes. (There is no explanation as to why these particular tribes were chosen for inclusion.) Listed for each entry is the meaning of the tribe name, culture area, location, dwelling style, clothing, transportation, food, and a page or two of history of tribal religious beliefs, contact with Europeans, and present status of tribal members and their lands. Small drawings illustrate each tribe. An appendix lists the major tribes according to the section of the country. There is no alphabetically arranged cross-indexing of tribes not covered; instead, the index provides references to a similar tribe for those tribes not covered. Wolfson provides a concise and well-outlined description of the tribes, while Barbara Leitch's A Concise Dictionary of Indian Tribes of North America (Reference Publications, 1979) is a more complete reference tool but on a higher reading level. While this volume partially fills the need for a dictionary of Indian tribes for this age level, it is limited because of the number of tribes represented. It is also unfortunate that Wolfson's editorial passion is so obvious: ``Spanish missionaries. . .came to save the souls of the people Zuni tribe and profit by the sweat of their bodies.'' Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Pub . Lib . , Ill.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.