Native Science

From a hunting and gathering lifestyle to first contact with Europeans to land dispossession to claims cases, and much more, Wishart takes a wide-angle look at one of the most significant groups of people in the country. Myriad internal and external forces have profoundly shaped Indian lives on the Great Plains.

Call them Native Americans, American Indians, indigenous peoples, or first nations - a vast and diverse array of nations, tribes, and cultures populated every corner of North America long before Columbus arrived. Native American History for Dummies reveals what is known about their pre-Columbian history and shows how their presence, customs, and beliefs influenced everything that was to follow. This straightforward guide breaks down their 10,000-plus year history and explores their influence on European settlement of the continent.

Heliopause is a real place—the very outer edge of our solar system where the sun's solar winds are no longer strong enough to keep debris and intrusions from bombarding our system. It is the farthest edge of our protected boundary (it was recently crossed by Voyager), and the line beyond which space experts look for extraterrestrial presences. This is where Daniel Wilson's fascinating novel begins.

In the 13th century, Moundville was one of the largest Native American settlements north of Mexico. Spread over 325 acres were 29 earthen mounds arranged around a great plaza, a mile-long stockade, and dozens of dwellings for thousands of people. Moundville, in size and complexity second only to the Cahokia site in Illinois, was a heavily populated town as well as a political and religious center. Moundville was sustained by tribute of food and labor provided by the people who lived in the nearby floodplain as well as other smaller mound centers.

Annie conquered one world, but is a stranger in another. A stranger besieged by creatures who plan to wield her like a weapon. Good has triumphed over evil, and the land of Aerisia is finally at rest. Until ancient beings, long imprisoned, begin to stir...Entertainment superstar Annie Richards is enjoying an unparalleled musical career that has lately become endangered by haunting visions that threaten her sanity. A journey home to convalesce is disrupted when creatures straight from her nightmares bring down her plane. Annie awakens in a mysterious, parallel world.

Charles Eastman is unique among Indian writers, whether storytellers or oral historians. He was raised traditionally, as a Woodland Sioux, by his grandmother, from 1858 to 1874, until he was 15. He thus gained a thorough first-hand knowledge of the lifeways, language, culture, and oral history. His father (thought to have been hanged at Mankato, Minnesota) reappeared and insisted he receive the white man's education.

A creature of myth and magic emerging from the mist-shrouded forests of the Northwest, Coyote appears as a creator, messenger, hero, trickster, fool, or shapeshifter. Always on the lookout for fun, mischief, or the opportunity to help humans, Coyote’s encounters with gods, demons and the supernatural bring to life the rich cultural traditions of the Northwest peoples.

Many of us don’t know much about mythological stories from these regions, and it is my pleasure and privilege to educate you on the intricate details that lie within them. That’s why I have also provided some fascinating facts and historical background about each of these peoples. Creation myths, legacies, the sacrificing of children, the empires, and their wars are all mentioned and touched on in this book.

Dive deep into a realm where the wisdom of ancestors shapes the promise of the morrow. Characters navigate the depths of personal connections, tribal bonds, and responsibilities amid age-old traditions and the vast wilderness. Love stories, commitments, and inner conflicts weave seamlessly into the drama, creating a tale filled with unexpected turns and profound moments. The narrative stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, challenging loyalties, and the unending pursuit of purpose.

Once upon a time, there lived a man whose fate would rest with two sisters. One will hold his heart. With her, he will find a love that will last forever, though it will come with a price. From the other sister, he will learn fortitude as he discovers that she holds the power to destroy all he holds dear. For as easily as one sister captures his heart, the other will trap his soul.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOYBEANS ARE THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES. These canines have somehow picked up a human-like intelligence. This short story is a frightful tale in the tradition of Hound of the Baskervilles but incorporating modern concerns that make it all the more terrifying—and believable. THE GREATEST MIND SINCE SHERLOCK HOLMES. Dr. Peyton McKean and his friend Fin Morton investigate a series of murders in the desert canyons of Eastern Washington State. Police suspect a Native American man who haunts the desert canyonlands. But the native man, Charlie Moses, declares his innocence and...

Below the mist-shrouded mountains of the West Coast lie the stories of how we came to be. It is through the myths of the people who have lived with this spirit of place for thousands of years that we uncover the mystery of our homeland. The mythical creatures Raven, Thunderbird, Bear, and the Great Spirit become a path to rediscovering the spiritual landscape of culture. These are the stories of the Pacific Coast that tell of gods and demons, good and evil; things unimaginable brought to life.

During the early twentieth century, the American government’s standing expectation was that Native Americans should be adopting Western customs. In the face of that prospect, anthropologist and musicologist Frances Densmore sought to preserve Native American culture—particularly as it was expressed through music. In her extensive writings on Native American lifestyles, music, and history, Densmore opened a window onto American experiences that had been obscured by stereotypes, and encouraged a better appreciation of the varied traditions of tribes nationwide.

This first comprehensive work on women in pre-Columbian cultures describes gender roles and relationships in the Americas from 12,000 B.C. to the A.D. 1500s. Utilizing many key archaeological works, Karen Olsen Bruhns and Karen E. Stothert redress some of the long-standing male bias in writing about ancient Native American lifeways. The authors pay particular attention to the problems of interpreting archaeological remains and the uses of historic and ethnographic evidence in reconstructing the past.

“It can start with a knock on the door one morning. It is the local Indian agent, or the parish priest, or, perhaps, a Mounted Police officer.” So began the school experience of many Indigenous children in Canada for more than a hundred years, and so begins the history of residential schools prepared by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).

Bold and impassioned, sharp and defiant, Leslie Marmon Silko's essays evoke the spirit and voice of Native Americans. Whether she is exploring the vital importance literature and language play in Native American heritage, illuminating the inseparability of the land and the Native American people, enlivening the ways and wisdom of the old-time people, or exploding in outrage over the government's long-standing, racist treatment of Native Americans, Silko does so with eloquence and power, born from her profound devotion to all that is Native American.

Life Among the Qallunaat is the story of Mini Aodla Freeman’s experiences growing up in the Inuit communities of James Bay and her journey in the 1950s from her home to the strange land and stranger customs of the Qallunaat, those living south of the Arctic. Her extraordinary story, sometimes humourous and sometimes heartbreaking, illustrates an Inuit woman’s movement between worlds and ways of understanding. It also provides a clear-eyed record of the changes that swept through Inuit communities in the 1940s and 1950s.

There once was a man who was considered the wisest and most heroic figure of the people of the valley of Anahuac. He was known as a Tlamatini, one who knows and teaches, as if a flame of light, but without smoke. His story was so important, that his teachings were taught in the schools, both the calmecac and telpochcalli, of the ancient city-states of Mexico. His life was performed as a play for over 300 years before the coming of Cortez. His name in the Nahual language was Ce Acatl Topiltzin, or One Reed—our dear prince.

Australia is home to some of the most unusual animals in the world. Did you know, millions of years ago, all the continents were clumped into one large landmass? When the continents began to break away, South America, Antarctica, and Australia were still stuck together. Later, South America connected to North America, but Australia separated. It kept evolving in isolation, which is why the animals of Australia can look very different from animals anywhere else in the world.

In Makasing, the Adanadi ceremony is a nearly universal rite of passage into adulthood. It binds the recipient to their chosen Path animal and, in some cases, bestows upon them a supernatural gift. For most, it is a ceremony focused on that single individual, surrounded by family and loved ones. But Niya and Tusika are not your average citizens of Cahokia. Best friends with a bond that goes beyond sisterhood, the two young women have chosen to undergo the ceremony together. But each of them brings with them their own secrets and burdens. Niya comes from a modest background and her family ...