Daily Life of Native Americans from Post-Columbian through Nineteenth-Century America (Daily Life Through History Series)

by Alice Nash, Christoph Strobel

Overview

When Columbus discovered America in 1492, there were over five hundred indigenous groups living in what is now the United States. Despite the breathtaking diversity and inventiveness of these peoples, the culture, customs, and history of Native Americans are relatively unknown to many students and general readers today. In ten narrative chapters, organized by geographical region, Nash and Strobel examine the real history of Native Americans. How did Natives interact with European settlers? Did they really have pow-wows? Where did Indian children go to school? Did chiefs really wear feathered headdresses and smoke peace pipes? Dispelling the myths and stereotypes, the day-to-day lives of these tribes and groups during a time of tremendous change is discussed. Chapters include details of daily life such as: clothing; colonization; education; farming & hunting; households & homes; leadership & political power; spirituality, rituals & customs; trade & alliance; warfare; women's & children's roles. Readers will learn the other history of indigenous people; not what is told in many history books, or seen in Hollywood movies and old westerns.

When Columbus discovered America in 1492, there were over five hundred indigenous groups living in what is now the United States. Despite the breathtaking diversity and inventiveness of these peoples, the culture, customs, and history of Native Americans are relatively unknown to many students and general readers today. In ten narrative chapters, organized by geographical region, Nash and Strobel examine the real history of Native Americans. How did Natives interact with European settlers? Did they really have pow-wows? Where did Indian children go to school? Did chiefs really wear feathered headdresses and smoke peace pipes? Dispelling the myths and stereotypes, the day-to-day lives of these tribes during a time of tremendous change is discussed. Chapters include details of daily life such as: clothing; colonization; education; farming & hunting; households & homes; leadership & political power; spirituality, rituals & customs; trade & alliance; warfare; women's & children's roles. Readers will learn the other history of indigenous people; not what is told in many history books, or seen in Hollywood movies and old westerns.

Greenwood's Daily Life through History series looks at the everyday lives of common people. This book will illuminate the lives of this indigenous group and provide a basis for further research. Black and white photographs, maps and charts are interspersed throughout the text to assist readers. Reference features include a timeline of historic events, sources for further reading, glossary of terms, bibliography and index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313335150
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/2006
Series:	Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

ALICE NASH is Associate Professor of Native American and Early American History at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Her research interests center on the impact of colonization on the indigenous peoples of northeastern North America with a particular focus in family and gender relations. She is the author of Spirit, Power and Protocol: Wabanaki Histories to 1800 (forthcoming)

CHRISTOPH STROBEL is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He teaches courses in world, Native American, African, and Middle Eastern history. Much of his research and writing deals with issues of race and colonization.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chronology
THE EASTERN WOODLANDS
1. Daily Life among the Algonkians
2. Daily Life in the Iroquois Confederacy
3. Daily Life in the Colonial Northeast
4. Daily Life in the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes
5. Daily Life in the Southeast
THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI WEST
6. Daily Life in the Southwest
7. Daily Life in California and the Great Basin
8. Daily Life in the Pacific Northwest
9. Daily Life on the Great Plains
10. The Survival of the "Disappearing Indian"
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Arranged geographically, starting with the Eastern Woodlands and working west, this volume tells the story of peoples constantly adjusting to the ever-more-pressing dangers and adversity of encroaching white settlement in their lands. It also examines the strain experienced by Native Americans while trying to maintain a semblance of normal daily life in the face of change. Extensive notes, bibliography, chronology, illustrations, and primary-source documents supplement the fine text.” —Curriculum Connections School Library Jourbanal

“The Native American story is one of constant adjustments to ever-more-pressing dangers and adversity. And in that respect it is similar to the story of Europeans during the era of the Black Death. Both books expertly portray the lives of peoples under enormous strain to maintain a semblance of the normalcy implied by the term daily life. Each volume comes with a full complement of strong scholarship, including extensive notes, bibliographies, chronologies, illustrations, and excerpts from original sources. The prose and general composition suggest a laudable and consistently high level of editing. These volumes are both recommended for teens with strong reading skills and a background in history. (Reviewed with Daily Life during the Black Death)” —School Library Jourbanal

“Aimed at high school students and general readers, this text offers a glimpse of daily life in Native North America from Columbus' first voyage in 1492, to the end of the 19th century. Rather than attempt a comprehensive overview of some 500 nations, the authors focus on just a few groups in each of the main culture areas of the continental U.S. (e.g. the Iroquois Confederacy, the Great Plains). B&W drawings and historical photographs illustrate the volume.” —Reference & Research Book News/Art Book News Annual

From the Publisher

Adult/High School-As with all titles in this series, readers can expect to find far more than what people ate, how they dressed, and what work they undertook. The authors dig deep into the religious, economic, and political structures of the given societies. The arts, crafts, education, and family patterns are all thoroughly represented. Readers who come to Byrne's book with a vague notion of some bad sickness spreading across Europe during the Middle Ages will put it down with a full awareness of the horror of the flesh-destroying pestilence of the Plague, or "King Death." The second title is arranged geographically, starting with the peoples of the eastern woodlands and working westward through the Ohio Valley, the Southwest, and on to California and the Pacific Northwest. The Native American story is one of constant adjustments to ever-more-pressing dangers and adversity. And in that respect it is similar to the story of Europeans during the era of the Black Death. Both books expertly portray the lives of peoples under enormous strain to maintain a semblance of the normalcy implied by the term "daily life." Each volume comes with a full complement of strong scholarship, including extensive notes, bibliographies, chronologies, illustrations, and excerpts from original sources. The prose and general composition suggest a laudable and consistently high level of editing. These volumes are both recommended for teens with strong reading skills and a background in history.-Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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