Among the Xhosa tribe in South Africa storytelling is a magnificent art. But these stories are more than mere entertainment. Xhosa scholar Harold Scheub says story-telling for the Xhosa people is "not only a primary means of entertainment and artistic expression in the society, it is also the major educational device." Beyond education,…

In collaboration with the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations' U'mista Cultural Centre and the Nez Perce Tribe's Cultural Resources Program, this study addresses aspects of the recent history and contemporary roles of dance in their societies from the dancers' perspectives. The social science literature commonly documents the cultural history of dances…

In 1821, Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian, presented to his tribal council a syllabary of the Cherokee language--an invention that enabled a previously illiterate people to read and write in their own language. This document includes a brief essay describing Sequoyah's life and accomplishment and a bibliography of further resources. Sequoyah was born…

In 1845 a battle between the Crows and the Small Robes (Piegans) severely diminished the population of the latter. (JC)

This large format book with many color illustrations describes native American history on the American continents from the Ice Age to the present, concentrating on Indian history in North Carolina. The book examines living arrangements, objects of daily use, animal husbandry and agriculture, tribal leagues, and architecture. It describes the 28…

No one knows for certain just when the bow and arrow came into use in America, but they were in use from the far north to the tip of South America when Europeans first arrived. Over the hemisphere the equipment ranged from very poor to excellent, with the finest bows of all being made in the northwest of North America. Some of these bows rivaled…

This is a report on the relationship of North American Indian athletic games to ceremonies. Data for this investigation were researched from 48 "Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution" published from 1881 to 1933, and the 84 volumes of the "American Anthropologist" published from 1888 to 1974. Observational…

The document presents an historical review and a description of the 5 tribes--Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Sarcee, Gros Ventre, Kootenay--which inhabited what now comprises the prairie provinces of Canada. The arrival of the Europeans, traders and explorers, missionaries, and other settlers brought about many changes in the Indian culture, and these…

Reviewing Indian land claims and their impact on anti-Indian groups, states, Indian Claims Commission, and the federal government, this article reviews the Maine land claim, Taos Blue Lake, and the Submarginal Lands Act of 1933. (RTS)

The effect of the French and Indian War on the Iroquois was to reduce their powerful political stance in 1757 to deterioration and starvation by 1763. (JC)

Employs a Marxian dialectical methodology regarding the historical role of ethnicity within the context of a capitalist political economy. Provides an example of this perspective by presenting the unity of the subjective and objective elements of what is involved in the decision to be or not to be a Santee. (Author/GC)

The ceremonial rituals American Indians have practiced for centuries are uncontestable testimony to how strongly they respond to theatre. These rituals, a pure and functional form of dramatic art, are practiced today by a Native American theater group. (FF)