This volume focuses on the Native American cultures that have existed across the Dakotas in relative isolation from external influences. A chapter entitled "Prehistory" contains citations for items comprising information about Sioux and other Indian communities derived from archaeological and anthropological analysis. Another, entitled "Profile of Traditional Cultures in the Sioux Federation," includes sighting reports and other narratives regarding the habits and beliefs of Sioux people that have been little affected by outsiders. A third chapter directs users to sources about Sioux spirituality. The following chapter contains a report on sources of information about Sioux people published outside the United States. The final chapter includes materials on Sioux language and winter counts. This volume will be especially valuable to teachers and researchers with specific interests in tribal cultures. The indexes are cross-referenced to their companion volume South Dakota History, which provides an indepth bibliographical review of the literature on the state and white-Indian relations.

In this remarkable collection of 52 oral histories, first published in 1971, members of Dakota, Lakota, Winnebago, Crow, and other communities tell of their personal experiences: reservation life, the Great Depression of the 1930s, self-government, traditions, and life in the 1960s. Together these voices present a rich and complicated view of what it is to be an American Indian. """" ""To Be an Indian"'s""power flows from the actual recorded voices. The book is an outstanding adjunct to classes taught about oral history." -- Leonard Bruguier, director, Institute of American Indian Studies, University of South Dakota "What is striking about the interviews is the clear and crisp point of view that each presents, underscoring the obvious fact that to be an Indian is to be an individual. . . . Highly recommended." -- "South Dakota History" "The reader will discover a wealth of information that will show the diversity of thought, the values and many of the problems and changes present in the Indian communities." -- "Nebraska History" "An interesting and very readable historical document of Native American cultural pluralism." -- "European Review of Native American Studies " "A fine contribution to any collection of oral narratives of the Native peoples of North America." -- "Journal of the West"