North American Indians: A Comprehensive Account

by Alice Beck Kehoe

Written in an easy-to-read, narrative format, this volume provides the most comprehensive coverage of North American Indians from earliest evidence through 1990. It shows Indians as "a people with history" and not as primitives, covering current ideological issues and political situations including treaty rights, sovereignty, and repatriation. A must-read for anyone interested in North American Indian history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive, for sure, but best to read in bits & pieces. Book is not formatted in a consistent or organized way.

[Greg Collver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Beck Kehoe (1934 in New York City) is an anthropologist. She attended Barnard College and Harvard University, from which she received her PhD in Anthropology. While a student at Barnard, she was influenced by James Ford, Gordon Ekholm, and Junius Bird; she worked summers at the American Museum of Natural History Anthropology Department. While at Harvard, she worked with Gordon Willey and Evon Vogt. Many of her influences have been colleagues such as David H. Kelley, Jane Kelley, Jennifer Brown, Robert L. Hall, George Carter and his students Stephen C. Jett and Carl Johannesen.

So far, I am really enjoying this excellent book!

The only minor criticisms are:
1) Nothing about the author in the book. (See above)
2) The first chapter was fabulous! The rest of the book has what I thought was an odd regional order, 2. Mexican, 3. Southwest, 4. Southeast, 5. Northeast, 6. Prairies, 7. Southwest, 8. Northwest, 9. Artic and Subartic. I thought the reverse order would perhaps be a little more logical.