They came here first: The epic of the American Indian

by D'Arcy McNickle

"Illuminating chapters on Indian art, dances, religion, law...the minds of the whites in their encounters with the Redmen" ( from the DJ) Chapters include -Ice tells the time --Flint and fire --Flesh and bone --And strange tongues --A cast of characters --The noble grass --Of law systems --The tool that shapes itself --The inner world --The curtain rises --The golden myth --The world in flux --Systematizating the conquest --The politics of trade --The royal will and pleasure --Colonialism ends --Nationalism begins --Basic tenets --The law giver --Frontier swallows the law --Beyond the great river --Westward the course --Solution by law --Growth from the severed stump.

Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1975

About the author

1904-1977

Reviews

[Mike Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent summary of Native American history in North America (mostly US centric) beginning with life pre-contact, through colonialism and finally civil rights era political movements to establish tribal autonomy and decision-making -as a call to action for readers. Although this book was last updated in the 1970s, it’s an excellent preface to the continued native rights movements that exist today.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know of anyone who knows enough about native Americans that they wouldn't learn a lot from this book!