Customer Reviews

Everyday Life Among the American Indians: 1800 to 1900 (Writer's Guide to Everyday Life Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a fan of the "Everyday Life" series, and this is the most detailed of them that I have seen. I was impressed. It has more information over a wider variety of topics than I expected, especially considering that this is such a broad subject.

This, however, is also the book's weakness. The author was asked to cover such a massive range of information (the 'everyday life' of every American Indian tribe within a hundred-year period) that she would have needed three times the page count to do each tribe justice.

Most chapters (Family Life, Wars, Weapons and Treaties, Clothing and Accessories, etc.) are divided into geographical area, with information about the tribes in that area mixed within the section. For example, under Family Life, Great Basin, we find paragraphs on the birthing traditions of the Shoshane, puberty rituals of the Paiute, marriage among the Ute, and death rituals of the Shoshane. All detailed and engaging, making this an excellent overview, but you may be frustrated if you're hoping to learn in-depth about any specific tribe.

I am in love with this book and plan to look at other volumes.Instead of skimming it, I read it cover to cover. Histrically and culturally accurate!!

This is an interesting reference work on American Indians during the 19th century. It's part of a Writer's Digest series (a reference for fiction writers) and not intended to be an academic resource. Each chapter ends with a list of suggested additional readings.

Chapter three is on "wars, weapons and treaties". The author avoids the politics of blame and simply reports without personal commentary. For example, of the Dakota uprising in Minnesota in 1862, she writes:

"Perhaps the most well-known of all Indian-military battles are those related to the tribes of the Sioux confederation (Lakota, Dakota, Nakota). One early conflict occurred in present-day Minnesota when Santees raided trading posts and settlements on 18 August 1862. About four hundred white settlers died in the initial fighting, and the region became a war zone for several weeks thereafter. In late September, Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley followed the Santees to Wood Lake forcing them to surrender under the barrage of firing by his soldiers using various pieces of artillery. Though some of the Santees fled to Canada, many were arrested. Subsequent trails led to the execution of thirty-eight Santees in Mankato, Minnesota, on 26 December 1962. The remaining Santees were then removed to a reservation in eastern Nebraska." (63-64)

Of Wounded Knee in 1890, she writes:

"Wounded Knee: 29 December 1890 the final Sioux battle - which like Sand Creek and the Battle of the Washita was truly a massacre - occurred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, when federal troops opened fire on Big Foot and his followers, killing more than 150 Indians and wounding another fifty." (66)

= Contents =

Introduction

Part One: Government and War

1. Territories and Leadership
2. Trade
3. Wars, Weapons and Treaties

Part Two: Everyday Life

4. Family Life
5. Food
6. Clothing and Accessories
7. Shelter
8. Transporation, Tools and Equipment
9. Medicine

Part Three: American Indian Society

10. Entertainment
11. Language
12. Customs and Religion

Chronology
Glossary
Bibliograpy

Index