In 1906 when the Creek Indian Chitto Harjo was protesting the United States government's liquidation of his tribe's lands, he began his argument with an account of Indian history from the time of Columbus, "for, of course, a thing has to have a root before it can grow." Yet even today most intelligent non-Indian Americans have little knowledge of Indian history and affairs those lessons have not taken root. This book is an in-depth historical survey of the Indians of the United States, including the Eskimos and Aleuts of Alaska, which isolates and analyzes the problems which have beset these people since their first contacts with Europeans. Only in the light of this knowledge, the author points out, can an intelligent Indian policy be formulated. In the book are described the first meetings of Indians with explorers, the dispossession of the Indians by colonial expansion, their involvement in imperial rivalries, their beginning relations with the new American republic, and the ensuing century of war and encroachment. The most recent aspects of government Indian policy are also detailed the good and bad administrative practices and measures to which the Indians have been subjected and their present situation. Miss Debo's style is objective, and throughout the book the distinct social environment of the Indians is emphasized—an environment that is foreign to the experience of most white men. Through ignorance of that culture and life style the results of non-Indian policy toward Indians have been centuries of blundering and tragedy. In response to Indian history, an enlightened policy must be formulated: protection of Indian land, vocational and educational training, voluntary relocation, encouragement of tribal organization, recognition of Indians' social groupings, and reliance on Indians' abilities to direct their own lives. The result of this new policy would be a chance for Indians to live now, whether on their own land or as adjusted members of white society. Indian history is usually highly specialized and is never recorded in books of general history. This book unifies the many specialized volumes which have been written about their history and culture. It has been written not only for persons who work with Indians or for students of Indian culture, but for all Americans of good will.

In the past two decades, new research and thinking have dramatically reshaped our understanding of Choctaw history before removal. Greg O’Brien brings together in a single volume ten groundbreaking essays that reveal where Choctaw history has been and where it is going. Distinguished scholars James Taylor Carson, Patricia Galloway, and Clara Sue Kidwell join editor Greg O’Brien to present today’s most important research, while Choctaw writer and filmmaker LeAnne Howe offers a vital counterpoint to conventional scholarly views. In a chronological survey of topics spanning the precontact era to the 1830s, essayists take stock of the great achievements in recent Choctaw ethnohistory. Galloway explains the Choctaw civil war as an interethnic conflict. Carson reassesses the role of Chief Greenwood LeFlore. Kidwell explores the interaction of Choctaws and Christian missionaries. A new essay by O’Brien explores the role of Choctaws during the American Revolution as they decided whom to support and why. The previously unpublished proceedings of the 1786 Hopewell treaty reveal what that agreement meant to the Choctaws. Taken together, these and other essays show how ethnohistorical approaches and the “new Indian history” have influenced modern Choctaw scholarship. No other recent collection focuses exclusively on the Choctaws, making Pre-removal Choctaw History an indispensable resource for scholars and students of American Indian history, ethnohistory, and anthropology.

No one knows for certain just when the bow and arrow came into use in America, but they were in use from the far North to the tip of South America when Europeans first arrived. Over the hemisphere the equipment ranged from very poor to excellent, with the finest bows of all being made in the Northwest of North America. Some of these bows rivaled the ancient classic bow in beauty of design and workmanship. The attitudes of whites toward Indian archers and their equipment have ranged from the highest of praise with mythical feats rivaling those of William Tell and Robin Hood-–o mockery and derision for the Indians' short, "deformed" bows and small arrows. The Laubins have found most of the popular conceptions of Indian archery to be erroneous-as are most of the preconceived notions about Indians—and in this book they attempt to correct some of these false impressions and to give a true picture of this ancient art as practiced by the original Americans. Following an introduction and history of Indian archery are chapters on comparison of bows, bow making and sinewed bows, horn bows, strings, arrows, quivers, shooting, medicine bows, Indian crossbows, and blowguns. Those wishing to learn something about the use of archery tackle by American Indians, something of the ingenuity associated with its manufacture and maintenance, and something about the importance of archery in everyday Indian life will find in this book a wealth of new, valuable, and important information.

Review of recent South American archaeological discoveries and recent genetic studies with comparison to the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce.arch