The Encyclopaedia of the First Peoples of North America

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

This innovative encyclopaedia explores the history of First Peoples from
a Native perspective through alphabetical entries on events, issues,
contemporary and historical art, mythology, ceremonies, citizenship,
gender roles, economics, contact between aboriginals and Europeans,
political sovereignty, self-determination, land and environment, and
writing systems.

Rayna Green, a Cherokee from Oklahoma, is director of the American
Indian Program in the National Museum of American History at the
Smithsonian Institute. Melanie Fernandez is the community arts
development officer and acting First Nations officer at the Ontario Arts
Council.

The attractive book has lively illustrations on every page, maps, and
many color and historical photographs (e.g., a turn-of-the-century bride
and groom confront the camera nervously beside an ornate wicker chair).
The volume includes historical entries along with stories, poems, and
eyewitness accounts by Native people. Major items run to two
double-column pages or more.

The authors call the book an introduction to the field that covers only
the last thousand years. Introduction it may be, but it should encourage
further research and publications. The volume constitutes a solid
contribution to the developing field of Native Studies and is a valuable
resource for Native communities.