This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans

by Wendell H. Oswalt

This Land Was Theirs examines the traditional and contemporary lifeways of twelve North American Indian tribes. Ranging from the Netsilik hunters who straddle the Arctic Circle to the Natchez farmers of the lower Mississippi River area, the tribes represent each culture area and various levels
of socioeconomic complexity among Native Americans. Each chapter focuses on a specific group and culture area, providing students with a detailed portrait of the geographical and cultural adaptations of that region.

As he has done for previous editions, author Wendell H. Oswalt has visited virtually all of the extant groups discussed in the text to ensure an accurate and complete picture of the contemporary situation.
Updates and major changes featured in this edition

* A new chapter on the Western Shoshone--a Great Basin tribe centered in Nevada--including a discussion of the 2004 partial resolution of their long-standing major land claim against the federal government
* A description of how in recent years some Pentecostal church congregations among the Crow and Tlingit have rejected their Indian backgrounds
* A discussion of how the discovery of vast diamond deposits in northern Canada may dramatically change the lifeway of some Chipewyan and the Netsilik
* Coverage of timely issues for Native Americans, including the management of individual trust accounts by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the disposition of Kennewick Man; and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Lara case in 2004, which centered on an aspect of Indian sovereignty
* A more detailed examination of Indian casinos, including typical non-Indian reactions to them

This Land Was Theirs , Eighth Edition, incorporates more than 150 photographs and illustrations, and each chapter-opening offers pertinent text about the subject matter covered in that chapter. Abundant pedagogical aids include maps of each region discussed, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, and
two a guide to the various artifact types discussed in the text and an extensive list of additional resources for learning about Native Americans.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, American History, School, Native American, Textbooks

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The regional approach this book takes in order to detail (through a selected tribe of each region) how people survived their particular environment, makes a great deal of sense. We learn in detail the subsistence strategy each group employed, their kinship pattern and social organization, about how their shamans practiced, their origins myths and spiritual beliefs, their languages and how they are linguistically linked to other regions and even continents. Oswalt takes us through Arctic, Sub-Arctic, Pacific Northwest, Southern California, the Southwest, and the East Coast, choosing representative groups to discuss culture and survival from as far back as is known to the present. After studying this book, one has a much more comprehensive picture of Native North American life.

[Sarah Huntington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seemed to take me an absolute age to get through. My own fault, there was nothing dull about the book, I just had trouble concentrating. Anyhow, I've been looking for this book for ages, and finally, a cheap copy came up on Ebay, so I pounced. It was great and I learned a whole lot, which is what I wanted. Absolutely fascinating.

[Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a struggle to read at times (what college book isn't?), but it's worth all the attention. This is a must-read if you have only learned about American history in grade school where the First Thanksgiving and the Trail of Tears have the briefest mentions for Native Peoples. I went from total ignorance to beginning to understand the individual history of Native Peoples of North America. This book highlights their struggles in history as well as today.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light study of different Native American cultures around the United States

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my Native American Studies class and although school books usually bore me to death this one was good. I learned alot and didn't get to board.

[Nancy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

As textbook goes this was interesting and easy to read. Anyone wanting to know about this subject I would recommend this book.