The Complete Idiot's Guide to Native American History (Complete Idiot's Guides (Lifestyle Paperback))

This book is a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of the peoples who are now known as the First Americans. Author Walter C. Fleming covers the many different tribes that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, including compelling biographies of their greatest leaders. He examines the beliefs, customs, legends and the myriad contributions Native Americans have given to modern society, and details the often tragic history of their conquest by European invaders, their treatment—both historical and recent—under the US government, and the harsh reality of life on today's reservations.

Walter C. Fleming is an associate professor and director of Native American Studies at Montana State University, Bozeman. He has taught history and culture courses for 25 years and is a specialist in Northern Plains Indian culture and American Indian literature. Fleming is also associate curator of the Native American collection at the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, and is coauthor of Visions of an Enduring People.