|
Showing 1 - 2 of
2 matches in All Departments
Placing American Indians in the center of the story, Restoring a
Presence relates an entirely new history of Yellowstone National
Park. Although new laws have been enacted giving American Indians
access to resources on public lands, Yellowstone historically has
excluded Indians and their needs from its mission. Each of the
other flagship national parks - Glacier, Yosemite, Mesa Verde, and
Grand Canyon - has had successful long-term relationships with
American Indian groups even as it has sought to emulate Yellowstone
in other dimensions of national park administration. In the first
comprehensive account of Indians in and around Yellowstone, Peter
Nabokov and Lawrence Loendorf seek to correct this administrative
disparity. Drawing from archaeological records, Indian testimony,
tribal archives, and collections of early artifacts from the Park,
the authors trace the interactions of nearly a dozen Indian groups
with each of Yellowstone's four geographic regions. Restoring a
Presence is illustrated with historical and contemporary
photographs and maps and features narratives on subjects ranging
from traditional Indian uses of plant, mineral, and animal
resources to conflicts involving the Nez Perce, Bannock, and Sheep
Eater peoples. By considering the many roles Indians have played in
the complex history of the Yellowstone region, authors Nabokov and
Loendorf provide a basis on which the National Park Service and
other federal agencies can develop more effective relationships
with Indian groups in the Yellowstone region.
There is still a pervasive notion that Indians did not inhabit the
Yellowstone area. Drawing on the results of ongoing archaeological
excavations and extensive ethnographic work among descendant native
peoples, Mountain Spirit discusses the many groups that have in
fact visited or lived in the area in prehistoric and historic
times. In particular, the Shoshone group known as Tukudika, or
Sheep Eaters, maintained a rich and abundant way of life closely
related to their primary source of protein, the mountain sheep of
the high-altitude Yellowstone area.
These robust people were talented artisans, making
well-constructed shelters, powerful horn bows, and expertly
tailored clothing that was highly sought by their trading partners.
They moved in small, kin-based bands, accompanied by large dogs
that were indispensable hunting and trekking companions. Moving
seasonally through portions of the Beartooth, Absaroka, and Wind
River ranges, the Sheep Eaters made skillful use of their
environment.
Written for general readers, Mountain Spirit includes photographs,
lithographs, and a number of color drawings and sketches of Sheep
Eater life ways by Davíd Joaquin. It presents a vivid picture of
the vanished way of life of a people whose accomplishments have
been largely ignored in histories of Native peoples.
|
|