Native American Heritage Month - Selected Resources

American Indian tribes have captured the imagination of Europeans, their American descendants, and other immigrant peoples since contact between the Old and New Worlds began in the late fifteenth century.

Readers gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Native American history and culture through learning about popular Native American foods. As they explore the engaging text, colorful images, and primary sources, they find fascinating facts about early Native American life, including what Native Americans ate and how they prepared their food. This essential part of social studies curricula is given a fun twist with the addition of simple recipes. As readers follow each detailed set of instructions, they create their own Native American dishes, making history come alive in a dynamic and delicious way.

The Grass Shall Grow is a succinct introduction to the work and world of Helen M. Post (1907–79), who took thousands of photographs of Native Americans. Although Post has been largely forgotten and even in her heyday never achieved the fame of her sister, Farm Security Administration photographer Marion Post Wolcott, Helen Post was a talented photographer who worked on Indian reservations throughout the West and captured images that are both striking and informative. Post produced the pictures for the novelist Oliver La Farge's nonfiction book As Long As the Grass Shall Grow (1940), among other publications, and her output constitutes a powerful representation of Native American life at that time. Mick Gidley recounts Post's career, from her coming of age in the turbulent 1930s to her training in Vienna and her work for the U.S. Indian Service, tracking the arc of her professional reputation. He treats her interactions with public figures, including La Farge and editor Edwin Rosskam, and describes her relationships with Native Americans, whether noted craftspeople such as the Sioux quilter Nellie Star Boy Menard, tribal leaders such as Crow superintendent Robert Yellowtail, or ordinary individuals like the people she photographed at work in the fields or laboring for federal projects, at school or in the hospital, cooking or dancing. The images reproduced here are analyzed both for their own sake and in order to understand their connection to broader national concerns, including the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The thoroughly researched and accessibly written text represents a serious reappraisal of a neglected artist.

Native American celebrations are packed with symbolic gestures and intriguing details. A kind of party called a potlatch, staged by native peoples of the Pacific Northwest, was marked by guests receiving gifts, not giving them, and were sometimes put on to get back at an enemy. This appealing volume about a high-interest aspect of native cultures highlights several celebrations and ceremonies important to Native Americans across North America. Thought-provoking fact boxes, historical images, and modern-day customs will engage readers of all levels.