100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World

by K.B. Schaller

Warriors, educators, an aerospace pioneer, a Catholic saint...100 + Native American Women Who Changed the World is a stellar collection of historical and contemporary women of Indigenous heritage who have contributed to the survival and success of their families, communities--and the United States of America.

"...a well-researched and comprehensive representation of our Indigenous mothers, sisters, daughters and friends." -- LaDonna Harris (Comanche), President and Founder, Americans for Indian Opportunity

Genres: History

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2013

Reviews

[M.J. Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

KB Schaller’s 100+ NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD is a richly textured and appetizingly thought-provoking textbook that will stand as a classic about Native American women for all time. KB Schaller has become a national treasure in compiling a book celebrating the indigenous inhabitants of the United States, whose wild and free spirit is embodied in the biographies of the women Schaller writes about. This is a work of painstaking scholarship beautifully researched with great love for the subject matter. I was thrilled to see that Maria Tallchief, the fabulously gifted ballerina who was married to George Balanchine, Russian choreographer par excellence, is included in this book. I love ballet, and the glorious Tallchief, the stuff legends are made of, is in most ballet history books. I am writing this sitting under an enormous, framed picture of a ballerina from the Dance Theatre of Harlem performing “The Firebird”, for which Tallchief was noted. The picture is in brilliant red and shows a woman leaping through space with great technique and abandon, obviously loving it. It appears Tallchief was not the only Native American who had an affinity for heights as we have Bessie Coleman from Texas shown as the first American to earn an International Aviation license. She is not the only aviating Native American woman in the list. It is time to extend history to color outside the lines and include the contributions of Native American women and their energy and creativity. Curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy these women whose spirits have leaped into eternity in this wonderful book by National Best Books Award Winning Author KB Schaller.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be more a modern anthro or history work. It isn't. It reads (to me) like a middle-school reader. Each biography is about a page, and we need to pull back a bit on the "changed the world" part. Did they do amazing things? Yes, some did. World changing, though? Mandela changed the world. Gandhi changed the world. Curie changed the world. Christ changed the world.
Buffy Saint Marie changed the world? Really? She's an activist, yes. She's a gifted musician, yep. She changed the world?
Huh?
Louise Erdrich changed the world? Really? She wrote some books. Some are interesting, others not so much. She changed the world?
All the women in this book did great things, no question, and let's keep reader expectations in check. This is an excellent book to help middle-graders appreciate diversity (and a wonderful thing doing so is!), it's not an adult educational text except in the broadest terms.

[Seriously · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schaller, K. B. (2014). 100+ Native American women who changed the world. Sarasota, FL: The Peppertree Press.

Citation by: Stephanie Ross

Type of Reference: Biographical Reference

Call Number: Ref 920

Content/Scope: This is a biographical reference resource covering over 100 Native American women. The author provides information on both well-known and lesser-known contemporary and historical Native American women. Women who had occupations such as: warriors, educators, an aerospace pioneer, and a Catholic saint to name a few.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: Peppertree Press is a newer publishing company and is excelling at publishing quality literature of all genres. There is no sexist language used in this resource. The author is considered to be authoritative on the subject and the book has won many awards.

Arrangement/Presentation: Arranged by name and date with a table of contents and an index. Information on women is well-researched and comprehensive with illustrations to enhance the text.

Relation to other works: There are other biographical reference materials on Native American women. This book would be a great reference resource to a library due to its inclusion of lesser-known Native American women and more recent relevant information.

Accessibility/Diversity: The inclusion of a diverse and often overlooked population, Native American women, make this a must have reference resource. This resource would provide teachers and students with reference materials for curriculum projects and research.

Cost: $16.95

Awards: Winner, 2014 International Book Award, Women's Issues Category
Gold Medal Winner, Florida Authors and Publishers Association 2014
President's Best Book Awards, Biography Category

Review: Moore, D. (2014, September 26). 100+ Native American women who changed the world. East County Magazine. Retrieved from http://eastcountymagazine.org/native-....

[Merle Temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is one of those people they rest of us depend on to do the hard work and research necessary to find and preserve history. Schaller signs a light on forgotten contributions to our collective experiment in America, and we are all the richer for it.