Author/editor Hirschfelder, Chippewa tribe member/author Molin, and Yvonne Wakim Dennis (who contributed a chapter) describe this work as the first book of lists to focus on the histories and cultures of Native American peoples. This volume's many eclectic lists appear in 24 chapters with titles including "History," "State-Tribal Relations," "Visual Arts," "Native Lands and Environmental Issues," and "Native Hawaiians." In ... Read moreaddition to lists, each chapter includes a chronology and numerous sidebars with interesting snippets of information....Despite its limitations, it does conveniently collect numerous pieces of information that would be impossible to locate in most other reference works on Native Americans. Summing Up: Recommended.
CHOICE
Hirschfelder (Rising Voices) and Chippewa Tribe member Molin (American Indian Themes in YA Literature) compiled this book of data and recommended resources to dispel lingering misconceptions about Native peoples. Divided into 24 chapters and seven thematic segments, the book explores Native cultures via discussions of history, tribal issues, creative expression, and sports. Chapters are made up of time lines, statistical information, and recommended book and film titles, ostensibly ranked by significance. Sidebars highlight important concepts, defining quotations and providing other notable data. VERDICT For curious lay readers and seasoned researchers, this book offers a valuable springboard to additional reliable research leads.
Library Journal
In 1977 the Book of Lists was published, spent more than half a year on the best-seller lists, and spawned countless spin-offs of the title. As a group, these are quirky and interesting compendiums of sometimes wildly disparate information. The content and the format just beg to be dipped into as well as to be used for substantive research. The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists is the first to be devoted solely to Native American information and endeavors to give this style of coverage to its wide range of topics. The authors are well credentialed in this subject area and are appropriate for such a task. There are seven parts, somewhat divided by theme, that cover history, government, environment, military service, education, arts, and sports, each divided into several sections. The sections begin with a time line of the topic covered; lists of books, awards, and films appear in most of the sections; and each ends with a bibliography. The varied lists cover such topics as sacred sites, code talkers, films with Native American languages, foods, and Native traditional technologies. Scattered throughout are information boxes that further define specific items of interest, such as oral tradition, the Quileute Nation and the Twilight saga, and Sitting Bull in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. There is a general index at the end of the book. . . .This is an essential purchase for libraries with a major interest in the subject area.
Booklist
The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists is “extraordinary,” if only because no one has ever dedicated an entire volume of lists to Native Americans. But beyond that, it is an interesting collection of information that would be impossible to find elsewhere. As noted earlier, the authors’ intention is for the book to be a starting point. After spending time satisfying an initial query, the user will perhaps be inspired to explore the primary resources. The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists is perfect for public or academic libraries that serve students of the Native American history and culture in the United States.
American Reference Books Annual
Building on the tradition launched in 1977 by The Book of Lists Hirschfelder and Molin provide information on tribal nations, histories, and cultures in the US. The lists are gathered in 24 chapters on such themes as stereotypes and myths, Native American religions, native languages, film, and urban life. A small sampling of the lists themselves turns up the chronology of the Washington Redskins 1992-2010, selected federal legislation affecting native lands 1887-2004, and organizations dealing with Native American foods.
Book News, Inc.
The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists. . . . is rich with the names, dates, and tribes of American Indian accomplishments.
Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education
This outstanding resource provides a powerful contradiction to the preponderance of published non-Native cultural voices that have reinforced stereotypes and eclipsed the truths about Native American peoples. The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists demonstrates the tremendous scope of available resources for all educators and schools—and students—fully supporting Montana's constitutional mandate that our young people will learn historically accurate and culturally authentic information about Native Americans.
Dorothea M. Susag, author of Roots and Branches: A Resource of Native American Themes, Lessons, and Bibliographies; Curriculum Specialist for Montana's Office of Public Instruction Indian Education Department Show Less