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American Indian Resources: Reference Books--General (Print)
This is an introductory guide to resources for Native American Studies. Some, but not all, of these are available through the Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
Chronologies
NOTE: To understand history, it's important to know the sequence in which events happened, and the context in which those events took place. Timelines and chronologies are valuable for this.
Chronology of American Indian History. Sonneborn, Liz. (2007) (Updated edition.) New York: Facts on File. 973.0497002 S699c 2007 General Reference, First Floor. From before 1492 to the present, chronologically. Glossary, bibliography, index.
Timelines of Native American History. Waldman, Carl. (1994). New York: Prentice Hall. 970.00497 W164t. Not as complete as the above Chronology, but features a fold-out timeline organized by themes of Culture, Warfare & Protest, Politics & Law, and European and Euroamerican Contacts with Native Americans. Brief biographical dictionary.
BASIC Reference Sources
- Handbook of North American Indians byCall Number: FS247 H238 NO75 in Government Documents, 5th floorPublication Date: 1968-2004 (Multiple volumes)The major modern compilation of scholarly ethnography of North American Indians, published by the Smithsonian Institution. Volumes have different topics, from environment to languages. Many of the volumes are devoted to the tribes from a specific geographic area. Essential if you're developing a comprehensive knowledge about the tribes in a given area.
NOTE: These are a very few of the hundreds of reference works on American Indians. Many recent editions are in General Reference on First Floor; older editions are often in the stacks with the same general call numbers.
Encyclopedia of American Indian History (4 volumes). by Call Number: 970.00497003 E56 v. 1-4ISBN: 36135018545790Publication Date: 2008A major print encyclopedia. Volumes divided by theme: Chronological essays, Issues in American Indian history, Events; Culture and American Indian History; Governments and American Indian History; People and Groups; Primary Source Documents; Indian Nation Histories, Bibliography, Index. Articles are signed; most authors are academics.- Native Americans : an encyclopedia of history, culture, and peoples (2 volumes.) byCall Number: 970.00497 P961nPublication Date: 1998Volumes arranged by culture areas: Southwest, Plains, Southeast, etc. Appendices include listing of Canada's reserves and bands, Alaska information, information on article authors.
Gale encyclopedia of Native American tribes (4 volumes). by Call Number: 973.00497 G151 v. 1-4ISBN: 0787610852Arranged by geographical/cultural area with overview essay, then by tribe, with themes ranging from history to current issues. Includes some coverage of Native Hawaiians. General maps in each volume.
Praeger Handbook on Contemporary Issues in Native America. (2 volumes). by Call Number: 973.0497 J65p v. 1-2Publication Date: 2007Dedicated to the late Vine Deloria, Jr. 13 essays on topics from language revitalization, ethnic mascots and economic revival to legal, cultural and environmental issues. Bibliographies, index.- Native North American Almanac byCall Number: 970.00497 N2788ISBN: 1070-8014Publication Date: 1994, 2001
Encyclopedia of American Indian Issues Today by Call Number: 305.897003ISBN: 0313381445Publication Date: 2013-03-01Designed to inform the public about today's American Indians, especially those non-Native Americans who may know very little about their Indian neighbors. This encyclopedia includes a number of controversial issues, such as the dumping of American Indians. In a few instances, the uneasy coexistence of the two cultures has served to create controversy, such as fake Indians fraudulently adopting "Indian" cultural aspects, disposal of dangerous waste on or near tribal lands, and sports clubs basing mascots on cultural stereotypes.
Native America: A State-By-State Historical Encyclopedia by Call Number: 973.03 N278ISBN: 0313381267Publication Date: 2012-01-01These essays provide a fresh perspective on Native American history by focusing on how Indians lived and helped shape each of the United States.
