DK Eyewitness Books: North American Indian: Discover the Rich Cultures of American Indians―from Pueblo Dwellers to Inuit Hun

DK Eyewitness Books

by David Hamilton Murdoch, Lynton Gardiner (Photographer)

Discover the rich cultures of American Indians - from pueblo dwellers to Inuit hunters

Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of expanded text!

Here is an original and exciting new guide to the fascinating civilizations of North American Indians. Superb, full-color photographs offer a unique and revealing "eyewitness" view of this rich culture. See a necklace made of bear claws, a model of a Blackfeet teepee, a false face made from cornhusks, how fish were trapped in a basket, and a Cheyenne feathered war bonnet. Learn about the kachina ceremony, why love dolls were important, how turtle shells made music, what's stored inside a parfleche, and how pemmican was made. Discover the meanings of carvings on a Haida totem pole, what's inside an Iroquois longhouse, what medicine men carried in their medical kits, how a bow drill works, and much, much more.

Genres: History, Native American, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Reference, Native Americans, Childrens

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, especially since I'm a North American Indian, from Canada though. And there's where the problem lies with this book, for me. No real content pertaining to Canadian Indians, it focuses on America. With that said, I still loved the book and valued the content in it!
This would be very useful for study or in a classroom.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this book would be more about the Native American belief system, whereas it's more about history. It does explain some of their ceremonial clothing and instruments. I was hoping it would explain more about totems and animal spirits.

[Michael Cawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and educational picture book introduction to Native American culture

[Hava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out for myself, like normal, but my seven-year-old spotted it and started looking through the pictures. She loved the pictures in it and asked me to read through it with her, so I did. We'd turn the page, and she ask me what the various captions read for the really cool pictures on the page, and then once she found out about those pictures, she was ready to turn to the next page. She didn't want to read every word on the page (or even most of the words on the page).

Therein lies the beauty of the Eyewitness Books though - she was fascinated and learning from a book that also held information advanced enough to hold my attention too. There were some fun pictures in here, and I certainly learned a lot. Although I agree with the other reviewer (the vast majority of the information was focused on just American Indians, not all North American Indians) if you go into the book knowing that ahead of time, you won't be disappointed by the book, I promise.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always this DK Eyewitness book is interesting if sketchy. The focus on photographs of people and objects means that one gets a different view of the subject than from the words-only books. History, different cultures, different beliefs. A good introduction, and, with the illustrations, a good supplement to more detailed histories. Aimed at older children, but good also for adults who are less than knowledgeable of the subject. Recommended.

[Meagan Pack · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool book! There is so much history and cool facts in it. This book could be used for Idaho history or really any north american history. There could be a lot of good and cool lessons from this book and what it has to offer. It is so interesting to see what they really did and how they progressed through time.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK I know these are supposed to be kid books but they are awesome! Great pictures and just enough text to make you want to learn more. Great choices for a beginning history reader or to start an older reader out in a new area. Every time I pick one of these up and read it I learn new things. Highly Recommended

[Jinjie Ruan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the local in the North America. In North America there had 10 different cultures. They made different house to suit different environment. Like Plains they built the house like a tent because they hunt the buffalo, but buffalo would migrate, so the tents would easy to migrate.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book to spark the interest of children or anyone sitting around your coffee table.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

looking at the history of the north american aboriginal population

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this in a history unit and the pictures were excellent and a great way to show your children some photo's of artifacts and history related to the Indians.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my 7 year old sponge. She love love loves this series of books.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great introduction to many Native American stories and cultures for the young reader.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such beautiful artwork. Best stuff was at the back of the book.