The Mythology of North America

By: John Bierhorst

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Hardcover | 1 July 2002

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Hardcover
280 Pages

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23.39 x 15.6 x 1.75

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The growing economic and political influence of Native American tribes has brought religious issues, once little noted, increasingly to the fore. Timeless in their basic structures, the continent's principal myths are now emerging as sacred histories that have contemporary significance.
In this wide-ranging volume, John Bierhorst carefully delineates eleven mythological regions--from the Arctic to the Southwest and from California to the East Coast--presenting the gods, heroes, and primary myths of each area. First published in 1985, this indispensable guide has been updated to reflect the latest scholarship in Native studies. In a new Afterword, Bierhorst describes the recent impact of ancient myths in the arena of American Indian affairs and shows how Native Americans have successfully used mythology as oral evidence to reclaim land rights and to repatriate grave goods. Citing specific cases, he shows how new legislation and changing attitudes "have provided a basis for bringing myth to the negotiating table and into the courtroom."
Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible--and more meaningful--than ever before.

Industry Reviews

"A guidebook to the mythologies of the whole continent."--The New York Times Book Review "Presents a systematic view of the entire corpus of North American mythology. Since no such overarching descriptive work has appeared in nearly seventy years, Bierhorst's book is timely, adding breadth to the knowledge of Native American narrative."--American Anthropologist

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Paperback

Published: 1st July 2002

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A Note on Pronunciation	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Northwest Coast
The Hungry Heroes	p. 25
Clans, Crests, and Ceremonies	p. 38
Family Ties	p. 47
Far North
Storytelling in the Arctic	p. 57
Athapascan Variations	p. 65
Southwest
The Emergence	p. 77
Heroes and Their Grandmothers	p. 93
The Dying God	p. 100
West Central
Creators of California	p. 113
Great Basin Heroes and Heroines	p. 122
Coast-Plateau
Remaking the World	p. 133
Making the World As it is	p. 141
Plains
Father Creators and Boy Heroes	p. 153
Earth and Sky	p. 165
Myths for the Future	p. 172
East
Lost Worlds of the Southeast	p. 185
The Northeast: Turtle Island	p. 194
The Northeast: Gluskap's Country	p. 205
Midwest
The Hare Cycle	p. 213
Lore of the Kin	p. 225
Afterword	p. 234
Notes on Sources	p. 241
Index	p. 263
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

The Mythology of North America

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Industry Reviews

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Other Editions and Formats

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