By Peterson Zah and Peter Iverson University of Arizona Press (2012) 196 pages Review by Bradley Shreve In this captivating book, Navajo leader Peterson Zah reflects on his life’s work and offers his vision for the future of the Diné. Zah collaborates with historian Peter Iverson who offers historical context at the beginning of each (more)

By Drew Hayden Taylor Vintage (2010) 348 pages Review by Ryan Winn What if the great Ojibway trickster Nanabush returned to a First Nations reserve to say goodbye to a lost love who chose Jesus over him? What if that lover asked a favor of him on her deathbed? What if he agreed to grant (more)

Directed by Tom Weidliinger Moira Productions (2009) 86 minutes Review by Michael W. Simpson My recent review of a U.S. high school textbook currently used in our schools included Jim Thorpe, but it never mentioned that he was Sac and Fox from Oklahoma. Nor did the textbook ever mention the name of his school, which (more)

Directed by Sande Zeig VisionMaker (2011) 57 minutes Review by Ryan Winn This documentary illuminates the inspiring story of the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s all-woman firefighter crew that overcame gender barriers to achieve national attention for their tenacity, fortitude, and dedication to their work and their people. More than three decades of the Apache 8 (more)

Edited by Kenneth Lincoln UCLA American Indian Studies Center (2009) 630 pages Review by Thomas Disselhorst This volume covers a broad spectrum of issues and authors that have been highlighted in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal over the past forty years. Published by the American Indian Studies Center at the University of California (more)

By Susan Suntree University of Nebraska Press (2010) 291 pages Review by Jurgita Antoine In her book Sacred Sites, writer and performer Susan Suntree masterfully weaves science and Native American oral tradition into an epic poem. Suntree presents the history of California from the beginnings of time to modern day. With a foreword by Beat (more)

By Anton Treuer Borealis Books (2012) Review by Mary Annette Pember In this refreshing book, Anton Treuer addresses the limited and often misguided notions that Americans have about Native peoples. Rightly so, he describes Indians (his chosen term to describe Native Americans) as “so often imagined but so infrequently well understood.” In this straightforward, 120-question (more)

By Albert White Hat, Sr. The University of Utah Press (2012) Review by Dr. Jurgita Antoine This ethnographic autobiography focuses on Lakota culture as lived and experienced by the author. Albert White Hat tells about his childhood and family, his education, and Lakota language and music. He also explains the divisions of Lakota tribes, as (more)

By Mark Anthony Rolo Borealis Books (2012) Review by Mary Annette Pember In this poignant memoir, Mark Anthony Rolo tells the story of his mother—a woman who died young and desperately poor while caring for her huge brood of children and trying to live with an alcoholic husband. Brutal yet innocent, My Mother is Now (more)

By Frank Morgan The Navajo Nation (2011) Review by Michael W. Simpson Food sovereignty has become vital as processed mainstream foods give many Americans—Native and non-Native—diabetes and other health problems that sap our strength and even kill us. In his book, Frank Morgan brilliantly reveals the relationship between strong Indigenous languages and strong health through (more)