Meeting Natives with Lewis and Clark
by Barbara Fifer
published by Farcountry Press
Discover the American Indians on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
When Captains Lewis and Clark began their Expedition of Discovery in 1803, they carried instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to learn about the American natives they met along the way. From St. Louis, up the Missouri River, over the Rocky Mountains, all the way to the Pacific Ocean and back again, the Corps of Discovery encountered Indian nations and tribes who were mostly unknown to them.
There were new things to learn every day—both for Jefferson's men of exploration and for the many different Indian peoples who had long ago settled in the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Columbia River Basin.
56 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, 5 b/w photos, 18 color photos, 44 illustrations, 3 map(s), 40 softcovers per case
softcover
ISBN 10: 1560372699
ISBN 13: 9781560372691
$14.95
- Hunting and Fishing
- Trading and Gifts
- Creation Stories and Legends
- Councils and Chiefs
- Tipis and Earthlodges
- Food and Festivities
- Spoken Language and Sign Language
- Methods of Travel
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Meeting Natives with Lewis and Clark |
"The book explores the diets and habitats of the various nation tribes. Some foods are interesting like the breakdown of a Bison, which was used in whole except for the "snort." The Candlefish was also interesting. It was so oily that a dried Candlefish would have a wick inserted and be used as a candle. The oil was used to season less tasty fish.
Customs we would find strange are also documented, such as the "head flattening" of several coastal tribes (but not, I might add, a custom of what we call the Flathead Indians). The start of the book also documents the process that Lewis and Clark would follow when meeting a new nation tribe. There were a series of questions that would be asked to learn what the nation tribe was like. Peace medals would be given out to the leaders (the commemorative nickels used some of the markings from the peace medals). The meetings were also scripted-what the party would wear, the agenda of the meeting, who spoke when, etc. This book is a very informative look at an overlooked aspect of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is ideal for school children but also informative for adults." -John L. Hoh, Jr., bookideas.com |
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Barbara Fifer was a historian, editor, and writer in Helena, Montana. With Farcountry Press, she authored Going Along with Lewis and Clark, Day-by-Day with Lewis and Clark, Lewis and Clark Expedition Illustrated Glossary, Wyoming's Historic Forts, and Montana's Mining Frontier Ghost Towns. She also coauthored Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark, Wanted Posters of the Old West, Deadwood Saints and Sinners, and Deadwood's Al Swearingen. |