Native Universe: Voices of Indian America (Hardcover)

by Clifford E. Trafzer (Author), Gerald Mcmaster (Editor), Richard West (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Published for the September 21 opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian on Washington Mall, the three main sections of this majestic book ("Our Universes," "Our Peoples" and "Our Lives") feature more than 300 color illustrations of Native artworks, from Inka to Iroquois, with poems by N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan and others; extensive essays on Native mythology, history and identity; and even an excerpt from the Sherman Alexie script for Smoke Signals. The essays, which range from straightforward histories to deeply felt testimonials, are written by a wide range of Native cultural personages, including Wilma Mankiller (the first woman to be elected by the Cherokee Nation as its principal chief), Gabrielle Tayac (daughter of medicine man Chief Turkey Tayac in the Chesapeake Bay region) and Vine Deloria Jr., author of Custer Died for Your Sins. Despite the very generous and impressive selection of art, which even includes three multipage "Portfolios" of ancient, historical and contemporary Native artwork, the visual aspect of the book inevitably comes in second. This is not entirely the editors' fault: the intricacy and incredible range of Native artwork, which here includes both South and North American art, is simply too enormous to share space equally with the absorbing writing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* This lavishly illustrated and informative volume coincides with the long-anticipated opening of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of the American Indian, and its comprehensive text is matched with a treasury of art and artifacts from the museum's extensive collection. The first section, "Our Universe," describes the diversity of Native American stories and ceremonies while underlining the profound beliefs shared by all tribes. "Our Peoples" covers historical events from the Native American point of view, including the coming of Columbus, the Revolutionary War, the drafting of treaties, and the establishment of the controversial Indian Schools, and shows how events were chronicled in Native American art, such as a Dakota buffalo robe depicting the measles epidemic of 1818-1819. In "Our Lives," various authors discuss how modern communication and transportation systems help to connect Indian peoples as never before. The volume concludes with a lively selection of modern interpretations of traditional art and stories, thus documenting the growing numbers of Native American artists, writers, and filmmakers. Prodigious in scope and intimate in detail, this book, like the museum it celebrates, is a landmark. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792259947
• ISBN-13: 978-0792259947
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #409,629 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the new American Indian reality , October 27, 2004

By	William Kowinski (Arcata, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In 2002, when Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington became the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to orbit the earth, he carried aboard the shuttle a Hopi ceramic pot with a traditional corn motif. It was made by a contemporary Hopi artist and mechanical engineer, Al Qoyawayma, who has also patented internal guidance systems.

This is the new American Indian reality that this book portrays. It's the inaugural volume celebrating the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington this fall, and its themes corresponds to the those of the first exhibition: "Our Universes," "Our Peoples," "Our Lives." Essays and poems by John Mohawk, N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, Wilma Mankiller, Linda Hogan, Victor Montejo, Sherman Alexie and others, plus historical photos and documents, provide context for lavish and evocative photographs of ancient and contemporary art and artifacts.

The presence of the past and the power of the timeless in the world of time that characterize Indian America are illustrated here in many ways. So essays on the political and cultural importance of the Alcatraz occupation coexist with a description of the Navajo First Laugh Ceremony. Yet this volume reminds us that the oldest cultures on the continent are still the least understood. Perhaps the new National Museum, largely designed and administered by American Indians, will play a leading role in changing that. Then perhaps Allan Houser, for example, will finally be considered a great American sculptor, instead of solely a prominent Indian sculptor. And the important American tribal stories, so different in important ways from European myth, may be absorbed into our common cultural cornucopia, equal to the tales of Greece and Iceland. If so, this volume may also contribute, by attracting attention to the Museum, and enlarging upon the experience of travelers when they return home. It is also ably edited to perform that role on its own.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful art book's glossy pages of essential artifacts provides glimpse into another world, April 10, 2009

By	M. Scharffenberg (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book, with its high-quality photographs and descriptions of numerous artifacts of Native American history and culture, provides a succinct and focused glimpse into a world of great human achievement, high civilization, and expressions of appreciation of nature embodied in arts and crafts. The author's world-class understanding and scholarship in Native Americans' history and contemporary experiences embues each page with cultural sensitivity in addition to educating readers on unique and precious, indigenous lifeways.