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The Indian How Book
How did the Indians do things? How did they make their canoes, tipis, traps, bark lodges, and war bonnets? How did they treat women, marry, talk, and dress? How did they hunt, use the peace pipe, perform the sun dance, make magic, gather medicine, and send signals? All these Hows and many more are described in this book by Arthur C. Parker (Gawaso Wanneh) from his personal experience and knowledge of Indian life. Each of the 74 sections on how the Indians did something is a fascinating and revealing exposition of Indian lore including many little-known facts.
Before the advent of the iron ax, for example, Indians used to cut down trees with a combination of fire and stone hatchets and before iron wire came into being, they made fishhooks from the leg or wine bone of a large bird. The author explains these and many other processes in detail. If you wish, you can make your own canoe, tan buckskin, or Indian design. You will also learn the true behavior of Indians, such how they were not taciturn (as pictured in numerous erroneous movies) but laughed and joked much of the time; how many Indians were not nomadic hunters but settlers who got most of their food from farming; and how, in general, Indians were not savages but native Americans who had a culture of their own with an educational system and the land, a religious belief in the spirits of the other world, and a veneration of the values of courage, integrity, honor, and generosity.
For anyone with little or no knowledge of the American Indian, this book will be a revelation and a challenge to our modern way of life. For readers who have some acquaintance with Indian history or anthropology, this book offers a practical guide to over 70 of the crafts, methods, and activities of these first and best American naturalists. When it comes to getting closer to the land in body or in spirit, there is no better teacher than the American Indian.
Before the advent of the iron ax, for example, Indians used to cut down trees with a combination of fire and stone hatchets and before iron wire came into being, they made fishhooks from the leg or wine bone of a large bird. The author explains these and many other processes in detail. If you wish, you can make your own canoe, tan buckskin, or Indian design. You will also learn the true behavior of Indians, such how they were not taciturn (as pictured in numerous erroneous movies) but laughed and joked much of the time; how many Indians were not nomadic hunters but settlers who got most of their food from farming; and how, in general, Indians were not savages but native Americans who had a culture of their own with an educational system and the land, a religious belief in the spirits of the other world, and a veneration of the values of courage, integrity, honor, and generosity.
For anyone with little or no knowledge of the American Indian, this book will be a revelation and a challenge to our modern way of life. For readers who have some acquaintance with Indian history or anthropology, this book offers a practical guide to over 70 of the crafts, methods, and activities of these first and best American naturalists. When it comes to getting closer to the land in body or in spirit, there is no better teacher than the American Indian.
352 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 14, 2016
Authentic Information on American Indian crafts,customs,food,clothing,religion and recreations.
July 25, 2013
Like most young boys, I used to be very fascinated with 'Indians' and their way of life. This was a nice introduction to North American Indian tribes; their customs, rituals, celebrations, methods of hunting and other such things are nicely outlined here.
Being an eleven year old boy at the time of reading this, I of course had not developed my critical faculties enough to read this analytically or with much elaboration on its contents. However, I was deeply obsessed with its subject matter, and devoured it with joy, drawing pictures of tepees and buffalo hunts all the while around that same time. Perhaps I had missed out on a speculative reading of it at the time, but it was very fascinating and I remember much of its little anecdotes and brief descriptions of customs and practices, from religious dances to trapping methods.
If you are interested in a brief over of the North American 'Indians'' way of life, then I do encourage a reading of this.
Being an eleven year old boy at the time of reading this, I of course had not developed my critical faculties enough to read this analytically or with much elaboration on its contents. However, I was deeply obsessed with its subject matter, and devoured it with joy, drawing pictures of tepees and buffalo hunts all the while around that same time. Perhaps I had missed out on a speculative reading of it at the time, but it was very fascinating and I remember much of its little anecdotes and brief descriptions of customs and practices, from religious dances to trapping methods.
If you are interested in a brief over of the North American 'Indians'' way of life, then I do encourage a reading of this.
February 6, 2025
The first half of this book was super interesting and informative, talking about how to make tools, canoes, long houses, animal traps, baskets, clothing, and more. The second half becomes stranger and stranger as they begin to talk about belief system and ritual dances. Still interesting but the author drifts from casual racism via terms and word choice do outright offensive towards the end. If you want to know how to make stuff and live off the land, the first half of this book is a great starting point.
May 16, 2009
This book provides a lot of information on Native American Indians and how they lived. There are many different topics including:what Indians wore, what they ate, what their family life was like, how they made war, what their strange dances and ceremonies were like, etc.
Although very informative and some of it very interesting(I especially enjoyed the section "The Indian Himself"), I don't believe the author is a Christian, so I don't agree with everything. I would also note that a chapter in the "Strange Dances" section was rather disturbing.
Although very informative and some of it very interesting(I especially enjoyed the section "The Indian Himself"), I don't believe the author is a Christian, so I don't agree with everything. I would also note that a chapter in the "Strange Dances" section was rather disturbing.
June 10, 2009
The Indian How Book by Arthur C. Parker (1975)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews