Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America, 3rd edition. Michael Johnson. Illustrations by Richard Hook. 320p. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2007. 978-1-55407-307-8. $49.95.

Previous editions of this work have appeared under a variety of titles and imprints: The Native Tribes of North America: a Concise Encyclopedia (Macmillan, 1993); Macmillan Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Macmillan, 1999); Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America (Compendium, 1999 & 2001; Random House, 2001; Chartwell Books, 2004). All editions consist of a regional survey of tribes from the Rio Grande to the Arctic. The survey is combined with an excellent selection of images, including historic photographs, reproductions of paintings and artifacts, and numerous full-color illustrations by artist Richard Hook based on a variety of contemporary evidence. Individual entries describe the history of specific tribes, first contact with European settlers, relationships to other native groups, and current status. The images and their captions emphasize traditional dress, domestic architecture, and ceremonial customs. Maps display the historic distribution of native language groups, prehistoric cultural sites, and the locations of modern reservations, reserves and enclaves of native peoples. For the second edition, the composite plates that previously featured multiple images of individuals representing a variety of cultures were broken up and the separate images placed with the tribes they represent, an arrangement that reinforces the strengths of the text and better orients the reader to distinct cultural groups. For this edition, numerous contemporary and historic photographs have been added, and the maps are greatly improved. Other features include a well-illustrated glossary of terms, a brief discussion of museum collections and detailed tables of current native population data. Each tribe enumerated in the tables is also linked to the maps of modern reservations and enclaves. The result is a well-illustrated, up-to-date guide to both the historic and modern tribes of North America. This volume is recommended for school, public and academic libraries.
—John R.M. Lawrence