Synopsis
This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans , Ninth Edition, examines the traditional and contemporary lifeways of twelve North American Indian tribes. Ranging from the Netsilik hunters who straddle the Arctic Circle to the Natchez farmers of the lower Mississippi River area, the tribes represent each culture area and various levels of socioeconomic complexity among Native Americans. After introductory chapters devoted to pan-tribal issues, each chapter focuses on a specific group and culture area, providing students with a detailed portrait of the geographical and cultural adaptations of that region. As he has done for previous editions, author Wendell H. Oswalt has visited virtually all of the extant groups discussed in the text in order to ensure an accurate record of the present-day situation. Features of the Ninth Edition *Each chapter on an extant tribal group now includes a table with a timeline summarizing the group's ethnohistory *Includes an expanded section on the original peopling of the Americas *Emphasizes the major issues band and tribal governments in North America face today *Addresses the increasingly important diamond mining industry in Canada and the Subarctic *Includes more than 150 illustrations and chapter-opening native poems or songs *Offers expanded coverage of the Navajo, the transcontinental railroad's impact on Indian life, and contemporary issues encountered on reservations Provides pedagogical aids including maps of each region discussed, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, and two appendices: a guide to artifacts and a list of additional resources for further study, This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans, Ninth Edition, examines the traditional and contemporary lifeways of twelve North American Indian tribes. Ranging from the Netsilik hunters who straddle the Arctic Circle to the Natchez farmers of the lower Mississippi River area, the tribes represent each culture area and various levels of socioeconomic complexity among Native Americans. After introductory chapters devoted to pan-tribal issues, each chapter focuses on a specific group and culture area, providing students with a detailed portrait of the geographical and cultural adaptations of that region., This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans, Ninth Edition, examines the traditional and contemporary lifeways of twelve North American Indian tribes. Ranging from the Netsilik hunters who straddle the Arctic Circle to the Natchez farmers of the lower Mississippi River area, the tribes represent each culture area and various levels of socioeconomic complexity among Native Americans. After introductory chapters devoted to pan-tribal issues, each chapter focuses on a specific group and culture area, providing students with a detailed portrait of the geographical and cultural adaptations of that region. As he has done for previous editions, author Wendell H. Oswalt has visited virtually all of the extant groups discussed in the text in order to ensure an accurate record of the present-day situation. Features of the Ninth Edition *Each chapter on an extant tribal group now includes a table with a timeline summarizing the group's ethnohistory *Includes an expanded section on the original peopling of the Americas *Emphasizes the major issues band and tribal governments in North America face today *Addresses the increasingly important diamond mining industry in Canada and the Subarctic *Includes more than 150 illustrations and chapter-opening native poems or songs *Offers expanded coverage of the Navajo, the transcontinental railroad's impact on Indian life, and contemporary issues encountered on reservations Provides pedagogical aids including maps of each region discussed, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, and two appendices: a guide to artifacts and a list of additional resources for further study, Since its original publication in 1966, This Land Was Theirs has continued to offer a different approach to the study of Native Americans living north of Mexico. Designed for undergraduate courses in Native North Americans, the emphasis was, and continues to be, on both traditional and contemporary Indian lifeways. Oswalt looks at 12 North American Indian tribes, ranging from the Netsilik hunters of the Arctic Circle to the Natchez farmers of the Mississippi; the groups represent the major culture areas and levels of socioeconomic complexity among North American Indians. The author traces each tribe's story, from aboriginal life through historical changes to its current place among the native nations, and he makes visible the connections between each group along the way. In its ninth edition, the author devotes more attention to the Navajo, the most populous tradition-oriented tribe. He has tightened the ethnohistorical text and presented it in easy-to-read tables; increased discussion of methadone use, domestic violence, and crime on reservations; and added detail on the first transcontinental railroad's impact on Western Indian life.
