Brief sketch of their life and culture.

"The Chumash World at European Contact is a major achievement that will be required reading and a fundamental reference in a variety of disciplines for years to come."—Thomas C. Blackburn, editor of December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives "An extremely valuable synthesis of the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological record of one of the most remarkable populations of Native Californians."—Glenn J. Farris, Senior Archaeologist, California State Parks Department

This history of Native Americans, from the period of first contactto the present day, offers an important variation to existingstudies by placing the lives and experiences of Native Americancommunities at the center of the narrative. Presents an innovative approach to Native American history byplacing individual native communities and their experiences at thecenter of the study Following a first chapter that deals with creation myths, theremainder of the narrative is structured chronologically, coveringover 600 years from the point of first contact to the presentday Illustrates the great diversity in American Indian culture andemphasizes the importance of Native Americans in the history ofNorth America Provides an excellent survey for courses in Native Americanhistory Includes maps, photographs, a timeline, questions fordiscussion, and “A Closer Focus” textboxes that providebiographies of individuals and that elaborate on the text, exposing students to issues of race, class, and gender

DICTIONARY OF INDIAN TRIBES OF THE AMERICAS - Second Edition contains information on over 1,150 tribal nations of the entire western hemisphere, from the Aleuts of the Arctic region to Onas in southern Argentina and Chile. This is a contemporary work and its intention is to bring modern day insights to the consideration of the native peoples who populate the western hemisphere. Every effort has been made to include tribes that have not been extensively covered in other publications. Modern anthropologists and historians tend to agree that there is a basic homogeneity (cultural, social, biological, or other similarities within a group) among the native peoples of the Americas that need to be considered when any of the tribes are studied. The tribal entries were written by noted local, national and international historians and anthropologists.