School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-Finally, a series on indigenous North American cultures that effectively depicts its subjects as living and breathing contemporary people instead of just historical artifacts. In spite of this vitally important element, however, the attempt to cover these cultures in the 48 pages of each regionally focused volume results in serious problems. Although each entry is intended to be a broad overview of its respective region, all four volumes grossly oversimplify complex beliefs, practices, and historical events, such as the dismissive description of tribes who did not adopt the use of the horse in Great Basin. Likewise, the author often homogenizes the attitudes and lifestyles of both neighboring and disparate tribes, which are sometimes directly contradictory. One example is a passage about medicine pouches that is virtually identical in both Northeast and Southeast Woodlands despite the fact that, even within those two broad cultural regions, the ideology surrounding these artifacts varied greatly. The placement of an identifying phrase such as "the Cherokee believed" or "the Oneida practiced" at the beginning of every descriptive passage, as was done for some, would have greatly mitigated the damage. While the language and scope are well suited to the intended audience, the brevity and lack of tribe-specific detail greatly limits the books' usefulness. Additionally, there are occasional outright errors, such as the statement that the Chickasaws outnumbered the Choctaws in Southeast. Large, clear photos or illustrations, in color or black and white, appear on almost every page.-Sean George, Memphis-Shelby County Public Library & Information Center, Memphis, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.