First Houses: Native American Homes and Sacred Structures

Who built the first house? Native American legends reveal fascinating stories of the Beginning Time, when the Old Ones taught people the true ways. In this absorbing book, the authors have gathered legends associated with Native American houses and sacred structures from across the country. There are stories of the Pawnee earth lodge, the tipi of the Great Plains, and the crystal house of the California Chumash. The authors clearly describe how magical First Houses set the pattern for the homes of today. Illustrated.

Though the title gives little hint of the mythological content, the scholarly information here on Native American buildings in North America--Iroquois longhouse, Navajo hogan, Pueblo kiva, and a variety of California and Northwest coast dwellings, tipis, lodges, and sweathouses--is intertwined with myths and legends concerning their creation. The stories, preceded by illuminating background notes, have a sameness making the book more suitable for reports or dipping into than for straight pleasure reading. The b&w drawings are more decorative than informative; the cover resembles a textbook. Similar in approach to the authors' They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths (1987), but of less general appeal. Extensive pronouncing glossary; suggested further reading; impressive bibliography. Index not seen. (Nonfiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 6-9. From the longhouse of the Iroquois to the hogan of the Navajo, First Houses describes the basis in myth and environmental conditions of traditional Native American house design, construction, and use. Discussion of tribal history and lifestyle provides the context for the myths used to explain the significance of house designs of 10 tribes. Although some of the structures considered are no longer used as housing, almost all continue to have ceremonial purpose and hold an important place in the tribes' practices and history. The small black-and-white drawings lack the detail given in the text, but the combination of story with factual information provides a perspective that is usually missing from books about Native American housing written for middle readers. A glossary, reading list, and source notes are appended. Karen Hutt