A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest: Volume 173

By Cary C. Collins, Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown

Book Overview

The Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest inhabit a vast region extending from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from California to British Columbia. For more than two decades, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest has served as a standard reference on these diverse peoples. Now, in the wake of renewed tribal self-determination, this revised edition reflects the many recent political, economic, and cultural developments shaping these Native communities. From such well-known tribes as the Nez Perces and Cayuses to lesser-known bands previously presumed "extinct," this guide offers detailed descriptions, in alphabetical order, of 150 Pacific Northwest tribes. Each entry provides information on the history, location, demographics, and cultural traditions of the particular tribe. Among the new features offered here are an expanded selection of photographs, updated reading lists, and a revised pronunciation guide. While continuing to provide succinct histories of each tribe, the volume now also covers such contemporary--and sometimes controversial--issues as Indian gaming and NAGPRA. With its emphasis on Native voices and tribal revitalization, this new edition of the Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest is certain to be a definitive reference for many years to come.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806140240
• ISBN13: 9780806140247
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Prodigious research

This is not a book that can be read in any linear fashion. For the average lay reader it is primarily useful for the wonderful black-and-white photographs of members of almost every one of the 150 tribes described. And if you want to attend a special event of a particular tribe, the book will have that too. Otherwise, after 10 pages of straight reading, I was just overwhelmed with facts, figures and details, plus locations for which there was no corresponding map in the book, a real detriment, I think. Yes, there is a map showing the areas that the various tribes inhabited, but with no relation to present day locations at all. For the Pacific Northwest Indian student, this should definitely take a place on bookshelves as a reference tool. But for average folk, perhaps one of the many suggested readings would be more appropriate. A great overall encyclopedia of the tribes.

Recommended for anyone interested in Northwest tribes

A fine book with plenty of research to back it up. However, I must point out the book's glaring error - the Cascades Indian tribe is *not* extinct. Many descendants still live on in the Yakama and Warm Springs reservations and in the Columbia River Gorge.

This book should be in every library in the United States

Dr. Robert Ruby has done comprehensive research on our heritage.He and John Brown are the most neglected historians of our time.Do yourself a favor. Get to know this author!