This invaluable resource provides a comprehensive historical and demographic overview of American Indians along with more than 100 cross-referenced entries on American Indian culture, exploring everything from arts, literature, music, and dance to food, family, housing, and spirituality.

American Indian Culture: From Counting Coup to Wampum is organized by cultural form (Arts; Family, Education, and Community; Food; Language and Literature; Media and Popular Culture; Music and Dance; Spirituality; and Transportation and Housing). Examples of topics covered include icons of Native culture, such as pow wows, Indian dancing, and tipi dwellings; Native art forms such as pottery, rock art, sandpainting, silverwork, tattooing, and totem poles; foods such as corn, frybread, and wild rice; and Native Americans in popular culture. The extensive introductory section, breadth of topics, accessibly written text, and range of perspectives from the many contributors make this work a must-have resource for high school and undergraduate audiences.









Serves to document how many attributes of Native cultures derive from a rich tapestry of American Indian cultural forms, such as very well-known foods like corn, potatoes, turkey, peanuts, and chocolate



Includes numerous spotlights that highlight interesting topics such as the Indigenous Language Institute, the kiva, counting coup, buffalo hunt customs and protocols, and Dakota language in rap music



Offers further readings and additional sources with the entries to guide students or interested readers in their research