The Spirit of Native America: Beauty and Mysticism in American Indian Art

by Anna Lee Walters, McQuiston & Partners (Designer), John Oldenkamp (Photographer)

Art and religion are two words that have no equivalents in languages spoken by Native Americans. Yet these intensely spiritual people created objects for everyday use that are unsurpassed for sheer beauty, originality, and craftsmanship. The Spirit of Native America explains this apparent contradiction in language as rich in symbolism as the art itself. Stunning full-color photography augments the text, yielding a new perspective on this often misunderstood facet of Native American culture.

Genres: Art, Native American, Nonfiction, History

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

About the author

Anna Lee Walters (born 1946) is an award-winning Pawnee/Otoe-Missouria author from Oklahoma.

Walters works at the Diné College in Arizona, where she directs the college press. She lives in Tsaile, Arizona with her husband Harry Walters. He is the former Director of the Museum at Diné College.

Her first novel, Ghost Singer (1994) is a two-level mystery: one relates to the suicide of researchers at the Smithsonian Institution, which is attributed to ghosts related to Indian artifact (archeology)s; the other is that of how American Indians understand their position related to their ancestry and culture. Turning the genre on its head, Walters "solves" only the second mystery.

Her short story collection, The Sun Is Not Merciful, won the Before Columbus Foundation 1985 American Book Award.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned about the difficulties of understand a culture identity as an outsider, Native American culture and values. Book is mainly many poetic writings, showing items, and describing the importance of the items to a larger culture.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intensely elegiac pean to the Native American -- her culture, beliefs, manner of living and connection with the land. To read it is to form an indictment of the "white men" who came uninvited, fought, made treaties, broke treaties, and swept the previous Americans away. The language of the book is positive and full of joy and praise, for the most part, but it is powerful for what it doesn't say as well as what it does. The photography, a mix of nature shots, pictures of Native American artifacts in museum collections, and Edward Curtis' famous portraits of Native Americans from the early 20th century, are individually and collectively stunning.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 4 out of 5]

To American Natives there is no separation between art and life or what is beautiful and what is functional, so to hear it as a whole from someone who understands it as such is a treasure.

I loved the images and stories. The only thing I found a nuisance is having the art index at the end - making you flip to the back every time you need to know what artifact you're looking at.

[Elisa Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal, gorgeous book. My heart soared higher with each page read.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Function and beauty are one in the same as presented in outstanding color.
A very spiritual and inspirational book of art.