Native American Culture PDF Free Download

North American Indian Life: Customs and Traditions of 23 Tribes – Native American Culture PDF Free Download

Parsons, Elsie W.
Dover 1992

Originally published in 1922 as ‘American Indian Life by Several of Its Students’. “For American Indian Life, Parsons brought together practically all of the stars of 1920s American ethnology, including Boas, Alfred Kroeber, Lowie, Radin, and Clark Wissler. The goal was to use the format of a fictional essay to show to the public how natives thought. Liberated from the constraints of a formal academic text, the scholars had a chance to indulge themselves in poetic description of the Indians. To a contemporary reviewer, American Indian Life proved that “the passionate ethnologist is a first-rate novelist.” Centered on native religions, the anthology extensively sampled indigenous spirituality and shamans.” -Znamenski, Andrei A.

Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume

Paterek, Josephine
ABC-CLIO 1994

“A beautifully produced and illustrated (b & w) reference that offers complete descriptions and cultural contexts of the dress and ornamentation of the North American Indian tribes. The volume is divided into ten cultural regions, with each chapter giving an overview of the regional clothing. Individual tribes of the area follow in alphabetical order. Tribal information includes men’s basic dress, women’s basic dress, footwear, outer wear, hair styles, headgear, accessories, jewelry, armor, special costumes, garment decoration, face and body embellishment, transitional dress after European contact, and bibliographic references.” -Publisher.

Indian Peace Medals in American History

Prucha, Francis P.
University of Nebraska 1976

“The history of the nation’s Indian policy is revealed through Indian peace medals, which are equally important to the story of American art….Prucha provides an interesting story of the peace medals and also traces the designing and producing of these historic pieces.” -NY Times.

Growing up Native American: An Anthology

Riley, Patricia
Morrow 1993

Stories of oppression and survival, of heritage denied and reclaimed — twenty-two American writers recall childhood in their native land.

The Indian and the Horse

Roe, Frank Gilbert
University of Oklahoma 1955

“One truly remarkable phenomena of history is the acquisition of the horse by American Indian tribes of North America. With horses stolen from the Spanish frontier settlements (not “strays” found on the prairies), the Indian tribes were transformed and revitalized. Horses made Indians more mobile, enlarged their capacity as hunters, and made them awesome foes in warfare… This carefully documented account brings to life the hardy Indian pony–possessing almost unbelievable speed and endurance that allowed its rider to run down the fastest buffalo or leave his cavalry pursuers far behind… The book contains many superb illustrations from rare photographs and from paintings and drawings by George Catlin, Alfred Jacob Miller, Charles Wimar, Rudolph Friederich Kurz, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and others.” -Publisher.

American Indian Literatures: An Introduction, Bibliographic Review, and Selected Bibliography

Ruoff, A. LaVonne Brown
Modern Language Association 1990

“A thorough guide to the genres and major authors of both oral and written literature and to scholarship in the field.” An introductory section describes types of oral literatures and life histories, provides a history of Native American literature from 1772 to the present, and reprints many excerpts from the texts under discussion. The second section evaluates bibliographies and research guides; etc. The last section is an extensive bibliography.

Literatures of the American Indian

Ruoff, A. LaVonne
Chelsea House 1991

“Examines the history, evolution, and culture of the American Indians, discussing both oral and written literature. Ritual dramas, pictographs, songs, speeches, myths, legends, autobiographies, poems, and stories describe the Native American cultural heritage.” -Publisher.

Smoothing the Ground: Essays on Native American Oral Literature – Native American Culture PDF Free Download

Swann, Brian
University of California 1983

A collection of essays on the new academic discipline of Native American literature, incorporating anthropology, linguistics, folklore, translation, and criticism.

The Elements of Native American Traditions

Versluis, Arthur
Element 1993

An introduction to the traditions of American peoples, ranging from Eskimos of the far North, to the Aztecs and Incas of South American from the tribes of the East coast to those of the Plains and the far West. The main aspects of these cultures are especially noted and the book draws upon the wisdom of well-known visionaries, such as Black Elk. In clear, thematic chapters, the author analyses the different cultures, ceremonies and rituals, and the warrior, Shamanic and religious practices.

Word Dance: The Language of Native American Culture

Waldman, Carl
Facts On File 1994

“A cross between a glossary, a dictionary, and an encyclopedia, this reference covers every aspect of Native American culture, providing brief definitions, information about language usage, events in Native American history, alternate spellings and numerous cross-references to related subjects. Terms range from such common words as moccasin, papoose and totem pole to the more obscure manitou (the force of nature and life in Algonquian tradition).” -Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Dictionary of Native American Literature

Wiget, Andrew
Garland 1994

Covers Native American literature in both oral and written forms with numerous articles on topics, regions and individuals.

Native North American Literature

Witalec, Janet, ed.
Gale Research 1994

A comprehensive source of bibliographical and critical information covering native American authors and other originators of literatures in the Native North American tradition. The book describes oral traditions as well as written literature.

From the Earth to Beyond the Sky: Native American Medicine

Wolfson, Evelyn
Houghton Mifflin 1993

“A fascinating glimpse into the mysterious and still powerful world of traditional Native American medicine and folklore. The author describes the wisdom and lore of the Native American Medicine Men. From earliest times the Native Americans have lived close to nature and learned many of its secrets. This book brings those secrets in a unique and wonderful way to the reader.” -Publisher.

Vintage Books on American Indian Culture

VINTAGE BOOKS – Native American Culture

Handbook of American Indian Languages, Part 1

Part 2 – Native American Culture PDF Free Download

Part 3

Boas, Franz
GPO 1911

Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 40. The three volumes together exceed 2,500 pages, with chapters written by a number of different linguists. Part One contains an 85-page introduction to Indian languages, and chapters on Athapascan (Hupa), Tlingit, Haida, Tsmshian, Kwakiutl, Chinook, Maidu, Algonquian (Fox), Siouan (Dakota) and Eskimo.
Part Two contains chapters on the Takelma language of southwestern Oregon, Coos, Siuslawan (Lower Umpqua) and Chukchee.
Part Three contains chapters on Tonkawa, Quileute, Yuchi, Zuni, and Coeur d’Alene.


Snow Bird and the Water Tiger and Other America Indian Tales

Compton, Margaret
Dodd, Mead 1895

“Through the courtesy of the librarian of the Smithsonian Institute, the author has had access to government reports of Indian life. Upon these and the folklore contained in the standard works of Schoolcraft, Copway, and Catlin these stories are founded”. -Author’s note.


The Indians’ Book: An Offering by the American Indians of Indian Lore, Musical and Narrative, to Form a Record of the Songs and Legends of their Race

Curtis, Natalie, ed.
Harper 1907

A treasury of Indian lore, with interesting drawings and photographs. “The Indians are the authors of this volume. The songs and stories are theirs; the drawings, cover-design, and title pages were made by them.” -A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


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The Soul of the Indian; An Interpretation – Native American Culture PDF Free Download

Eastman, Charles A.
Houghton Mifflin 1911

“An interesting though somewhat idealized account of Indian religious and ethical life before the advent of the white man, which is of value as an aid to the understanding of Indian nature.” -A.L.A. Catalog 1926.


Wigwam Stories Told by North American Indians

Judd, Mary Catherine, comp.
Ginn 1904

Numerous brief stories, written for children, mostly adapted from the works of the early 19th century Michigan Indian agent and explorer Henry Schoolcraft.


American Indian Fairy Tales

Larned, W.T.
Volland 1921

These were stories collected by Henry R. Schoolcraft, mainly among Indians living near Lake Superior. Schoolcraft published a version of them in 1839.


Indian Nights – Native American Culture PDF Free Download

Mackay, Isabel Ecclestone
McClelland & Stewart 1930

Ten legends from the Indians of the West Coast, preserving, “something of the peculiar “style” of the Indian story-teller as gathered from word-of-mouth translations, preserved in the records of the Smithsonian and other Institutes.” – Author’s note.

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