The Sioux: The Dakota and Lakota Nations (Peoples of America) [Hardcover]

Guy Gibbon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1557865663 | ISBN-13: 978-1557865663 | Publication Date: December 23, 2002 | Edition: 1

This book covers the entire historical range of the Sioux, from their emergence as an identifiable group in late prehistory to the year 2000. The author has studied the material remains of the Sioux for many years. His expertise combined with his informative and engaging writing style and numerous photographs create a compelling and indispensable book.

• 
  A leading expert discusses and analyzes the Sioux people with rigorous scholarship and remarkably clear writing.
  
• Raises questions about Sioux history while synthesizing the historical and anthropological research over a wide scope of issues and periods.
  
• Provides historical sketches, topical debates, and imaginary reconstructions to engage the reader in a deeper thinking about the Sioux.
  
• Includes dozens of photographs, comprehensive endnotes and further reading lists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘This book is ideal fare for the reader who has always wanted a source that illuminates the rich history and diversity of Sioux culture – one that includes insightful lessons in cross-cultural understanding.’ W. Raymond Wood, University of Missouri

‘Guy Gibbon’s The Sioux: The Dakota and Lakota Nations is the first attempt to write about the Sioux from prehistory to the present in a single volume. This book is a valuable starting point for readers interested in Sioux history and culture.’ Raymond J. DeMallie, Indiana University

"Readable and sophisticated, this book covers both the famous western Sioux of the plains (Lakota) and the less well known forest dwelling eastern Dakota, from the earliest humans in their Minnesota homeland (9500 BCE) to 2000 CE. Suitable as a text, the book engages general readers too." Choice

From the Back Cover

Perhaps no Indian people are better known than the Sioux. With rigorous scholarship and remarkably clear writing, a leading expert on the Sioux raises questions about their history while synthesizing the historical and anthropological research over a wide scope of issues and periods. This stimulating text includes historical sketches, topical debates, and imaginary reconstructions to engage readers in a deeper thinking of this fascinating people.

The Sioux covers the entire historical range of the Sioux, from their emergence as an identifiable group in late prehistory to the year 2000. As an archaeologist, author Guy Gibbon has studied the material remains of the Sioux for many years. His expertise, his informative and engaging writing style, dozens of photographs, and the comprehensive endnotes and further reading lists make this a compelling and indispensable text for students, scholars, and readers of Sioux history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (December 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557865663
• ISBN-13: 978-1557865663
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Indigenous pop!, May 13, 2010

By 

Ramsey Tupper - Raven's Foot "Ram-sey Tup-per" (R(3,3,3) = 17, of course...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sioux: The Dakota and Lakota Nations (Peoples of America) (Hardcover)

The histories of the Sioux nation and other Native American tribes were recorded by a series of woodcut and ink methods, the limitations of which formed the unique art style of the North American tribal nations. These thin strips of wood were easily stored and protected and the respective legends and stories could easily be copied and transferred on these wooden veneers.

Only a few of these veneers survive in museums today, as they are prone to the usual long term storage problems associated with wood. However, the practice is a well known technique used in most Amerindian and Navajo tribes and can still be found in practice for the tourism trade around the American states that still retain a native heritage.

The histories that the Sioux nation pass on with heroics and stories from the past are stored on these veneers, and most of the material in this book has been decrypted and presented for the readers delectation. In fact, the Sioux wood cuts are probably the most sought after due to their deeper and more refined symbolism used in the veneers.

The true collector knows the value of these Sioux veneers and in some cases they become as vicious and tenacious in their Sioux veneer hunting as the very people they are describing in the stories.

A very good book, made of paper and using words you already know, and some unfamiliar ones, just arranged a little bit differently. Recommended.

A review by Gerry Mandarin - Expert, on behalf of Ramsey Tupper