Native American Almanac

A comprehensive guide to native American life covers such topics as contemporary native American tribes, religious traditions and ceremonies, language and literature, treaties and laws, and other subjects.

Hirschfelder ( The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions , among others) and de Montano, a manager at the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian, have written an excellent overview of past and present Native American life. Their book opens with a well-written historical section that leads into 15 chapters covering demographics, law, treaties, relations with the federal government, tribal government, language, education, religion, games and sports, and media, as well as an extensive bibliography. Also included are lists of tribes, reservations, treaties, and a chronology. While much of the directory information and bibliography duplicates Barry Klein's Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian and the Native American Information Directory (both LJ 1/93), the inclusion of discussion on past and present social and cultural trends creates an unusual, informative reference work. Recommended to all varieties of libraries.
- Stephen L. Hupp, Capital Univ. Lib., Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Most people's view of Native Americans is of a people frozen in time. This book challenges that stereotype. Hirschfelder is the author of several books on this topic; De Monta{¤}no is a Native American and museum curator.

Each chapter is arranged around a theme. The first, "Historical Overview of Relations between Native Americans and Whites in the United States," lays the groundwork. The following chapters cover the Native American of today: population, tribes, lands, laws, Supreme Court decisions, treaties, tribal governments, language, religion, games and sports, artists, communication, economics, and military service. In addition to text, each chapter contains boxed information, for example, "Twenty Supreme Court Cases," "Historical Novels by Native American Authors," "Native American Words Used in English," and lists of actors, filmmakers, and athletes. Within chapters are other resource lists, for example, autobiographies of Native Americans, a chronology of newspapers, Native American artists, and education organizations. Black-and-white illustrations add interest.

This book aims to give the reader "a Native American perception of Indian Country and the people who inhabit it today." The tribal recognition and reservation concept are one example of changing Indian sovereignty. Current population figures for reservations in 1990 are listed as well as their size and date of establishment.

Appendixes of tribes by state, reservations and historic Indian areas, treaties, landmarks, and a lengthy chronology are followed by a bibliography arranged to mirror the organization of the book and an index. Its reasonable price and interesting content make this a valuable resource for all middle and high school and public libraries that wish to provide their patrons with a portrait of the Native American of today rather than the stereotypical Indian of the past.