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Review
| The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Great Plains, by Loretta Fowler. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. 283 pages. $45.00, cloth.
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| Third in a six part reference series on Native Americans, Loretta Fowler's The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Great Plains is an invaluable resource for scholars and serious students. Fowler provides a useful historical survey and a valuable collection of information that delves into the diversity of cultures in this complex region. |
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Like the previous two works in the series, Kathleen J. Bragdon's The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Northeast and Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green's The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast, this book is divided into four parts. The first and most extensive part is a five-chapter general survey of the cultures and tribes of this region focusing largely on how contact with the Europeans and Anglo-Americans affected the cultures in the new colonial context. The first three chapters provide an examination of these tribes prior to contact and how the relationships amongst each other were forever altered post-contact. Fowler describes how the Native Americans first tried to use the newly forged ties with the European nations in their struggle with tribal rivals. Eventually the dynamic changed, particularly after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Fowler carefully discusses the impact of the newly formed United States on the people of the Great Plains without lengthy discourse on the so called "Indian Wars." Her main focus is on the struggle of the people to maintain control of their own cultural identity in a rapidly changing world. The final two chapters deal with the same struggle, but now in a reservation context and the renegotiating of power to gain self-determination. While little is strikingly new in these chapters, they provide a valuable and readable survey of the historical, archaeological, and anthropological work done on the subjects. |
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The second, third, and fourth parts of the book are an encyclopedic collection of information that provides a valuable reference, particularly useful to teachers. The second part is an alphabetical list of "People, Places, and Events" of the region. In reality, there is much more here and perhaps "Concepts" should be added to the list since it includes entries such as those regarding "age-graded societies" and "bilateral decent." It is helpful to note that in the first part of the book, certain items are written with bold type that indicate a presence in this section of the book. This part is an especially useful tool for educators whose primary focus is not in this region but who deal with it in the context of their classes. The third part is a detailed timeline of events from 16,000–12,000 BP to 1990. The fourth part is an annotated list of resources and references. Again, it is particularly helpful in that the references include not only secondary historical literature on the tribes and events of this region, but also archaeological works, published primary sources, and summaries of appropriate movies that might be suitable for class. Many of these works are usefully listed on a tribe-by-tribe basis. Also included are a list of websites appropriate to the tribes in the region, but since even "stable" websites have a tendency to disappear (even before the books are off the presses), these are significantly less helpful. |
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Overall, this a fine reference book for teachers and students of the Great Plains and the tribes that lived there. It is compact and well written enough to be readable, yet contains a significant amount of information. Its greatest use in teaching will be as a reference for the teacher who needs to bone up on the topic or who needs a framework covering the history of the Native Americans in this complex region. Students in survey classes might find it too complicated and its price may be prohibitive for such uses. However, it clearly would have a place in a Native American Studies course on the topic or classes in the American West. |
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| Montana State University |
Thomas C. Rust |
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