"Reprinted from the original 1907 edition published as the Twenty-fourth annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1902-1903, Smithsonian Institution"--T.p. verso.
Games figured prominently in the myths of North American Indian tribes, and also in their ceremonies for bringing rain and fertility and combating misfortune. In his classic study, originally published in 1907 as a report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Stewart Culin divided the games played by Indian men and women into two general types. Volume 1 of this Bison Books edition takes up games of chance, involving guessing and throwing dice. Culin was able to show that the games of North American tribes were remarkably similar in method and purpose. He found that games using dice of various materials—wood, cane, bone, animal teeth, fruit stones—existed among 130 tribes belonging to 30 linguistic groups. The games are described in detail in this volume, and so are the popular guessing games drawing on sticks and wooden disks and involving hidden objects. Volume 2 is just as absorbing in its elaboration of skills like archery and games like snow-snake, in which darts or javelins were hurled over snow or ice. Played throughout the continent north of Mexico were the hoop and pole game and its miniature, solitaire form called ring and pin, here illustrated. With equal authority Culin discusses ball games: racket, shinny, football, and hot ball. He includes accounts of "minor amusements": shuttlecock, tipcat, quoits, popgun, bean shooter, and cat's cradle. Originally published in 1907, Stewart Culin's comprehensive work reveals a side of American Indian culture still only rarely shown. An experienced observer, Culin was curator of ethnology at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and the author of books about games in other cultures.
This comprehensive review of Native American life skills covers collecting and preparing plant foods and medicines; hunting animals; creating and transporting fire; and crafting tools, shelter, clothing, utensils, and other devices. Step-by-step instructions and 145 detailed diagrams enable the reader to duplicate native methods using materials available in local habitats. A new foreword, introduction, and index complement the practical information offered.
Presents a general history of the cultural and social aspects of North American Indian people before the arrival of Europeans, in a book that also provides readers with instructions for creating such related craft projects as a headdress, a dance wand, and a lacrosse stick.
Offers full coverage of Native American athletes and athletics from historical, cultual and indigenous perspectives, from before European intervention to the 21st century. There are entries devoted to broader cultural themes, and how these affect and are affected by the sport.
This book is geared toward all ages and gives step-by-step instructions on scores of crafts and outdoor skills cultivated by various Native American tribes over the centuries. In the spirit of “creativity kits,” this book outlines the history and purpose of the activity and then shows how to replicate the exact process, whether it's tanning leather; making moccasins; creating tools and utensils, musical instruments, and jewelry; or preparing food. Includes more than 200 illustrations by the author.
Crafts and Skills of Native Americans is a fascinating, practical guide to the skills that have made Native American famous worldwide as artisans and craftsmen. Readers can replicate traditional Native American living by trying a hand at brain tanning, identifying animal tracks, or constructing a horse saddle. Readers can even make distinctive Native American beaded jewelry, a variety of moccasins, headdresses, and gourd rattles. Native American style is unique and popular, especially among young people, historians, and those with a special interest in the American West.