Native American Indians
and The Lewis and Clark Expedition
"Success in a strange country required a curious mixture of
open-mindedness and skepticism, capable of adjusting accepted
ideas and practices to unfamiliar conditions... What is
altogether beyond expectation, and beyond praise too, is the
captains' management of the Indians they met. In personal
dealings with them, they made no mistakes at all. In so much
that at the critical points it is impossible to imagine a more
successful outcome or a better way of achieving it, whereas it
is easy to instance similar occasions when less skillful men
failed badly. With the Sioux they were always firm, always
clearly incapable of being scared or bluffed, amiable or
threatening or defiant precisely to the right degree at
precisely the right monents. As a result they won a considerable
victory for international relations of the United States...
They were obviously unawed and unafraid, but they were also
obviously friendly and fair, scrupulously honest, interested,
understanding, courteous and respectful. That last quality must
be insisted on, for as rare as honesty and fairness were in the
white American's dealings with the Indians, they were commoner
than respect. Lewis and Clark respected the Indians' personal
dignity, their rituals, their taboos, their religious thinking,
indeed the full content of their thought. They understood that
thought so well that they must be ranked among the masters of
primitive psychology. Finally there was the simple fact that
they, and Clark especially, liked Indians."
--- Bernard DeVoto, The Journals of Lewis and Clark,
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1953, pp xlvi-xlvii.
The Expedition lived with or near native peoples more than 10 months during their journey,
and at other times encountered Indians daily. Relations between the natives and the
explorers are a key part of the story
There are many fine books about the native American Indians.
The problem is that they are hard to find.
Very few libraries or book stores have an adequate selection; some have almost nothing.
Here are some good books describing the tribes the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered.
Natives and the Expedition
Lewis and Clark Among the Indians.
James P. Ronda. Univ of Nebraska Press, 1988, 2002, 328 pages.
"...the definitive book for understanding the interactions between The Corps of Discovery
and the various Indian nations they encountered." - David J. Peck. And one of the top books about the expedition, on any topic. Rewarding for any Lewis and Clark student.
Arts of Diplomacy, Lewis & Clark's Indian Collection. Castle McLaughlin.
Univ. of Washington Press, 2003, 359 pages. illustrated with over 343 colored & B&W photographs,
line drawings, maps.
"This book shows the extraordinary collection of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century
Native American objects from the Prairie, Plains, and Pacific Northwest that is housed a
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and ethnology at Harvard University. Long thought to
represent the only remaining ethnographic items acquired by Lewis and Clark, some of the
pieces are shown to belong to a newly identified collection of early Native American
materials that was assembled in the 1820's by Lt. George C. Hutter, Clark's nephew by marriage.
Some of the stronger pieces are the blue & white pony beaded clothing, the early pipes and the
superb feathered calumet & quilled pipe stems. .This publication is a valuable tool for scholars,
collectors and laymen alike. "
Lewis and Clark Across the Divide by Carolyn Gilman. Smithsonian Books, 2003.
(400 illustrations) The National Bicentennial Exhibition catalog, and also a detailed
history of the expedition. Shows the surviving artifacts from the expediton,
and many related objects of the time: maps, portraits, tools, clothes, Indian artifacts, etc.,
with exhaustive documentation. This work has excellent
insights into the world of the explorers and the American Indians who encountered them.
Jefferson and the Indians. Anthony F. Wallace. Harvard Univ. Press. 1999.
One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West Before Lewis and Clark.
Colin G. Calloway. University of Nebraska Press, 2003. 640 pp.
"Traces the histories of the Native American peoples of the west from their arrival
thousands of years ago to the early years of the 19th century. The focus on evolving Native politics and interactions with various cultures and the new look blending ethnohistory and frontier history makes One Vast Winter Count a unique and strongly recommended presentation."
In short, a very strong book. May be too long for some!
Lewis and Clark through Indian Eyes. Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. ed.
Alfred A. Knopf, 2006,. Anthology of "recent native voices." Ten Indian authors, writers, historians and tribal executives
address "how the expedition impacted Indian peoples, for good and bad, in the short and long term."
Little about the expedition itself, and some of the assertions are contradicted by other
writers in the same volume.
Native American Indians Along the Lewis and Clark Trail
Indians of the Plains.
Lowie, Robert H. .
Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1982. This is a fine choice to begin reading about the
Plains Indians tribes, many of which the explorers met.
The Plains Indians.
Paul H. Carlson. Texas A&M University Press, 1998. Plains Indian history from 1750 to 1890.
Indian Life on the Upper Missouri
and Plains Indian History and Culture: Essays on Continuity and Change.
Ewers, John C.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press.
The Plains Indians A Cultural and Historical View of the North American Plains Tribes of the pre-reservation Era
. [1780-1880] Colin Taylor. hundreds of photographs.
Mystic Warriors of the Plains. Thomas E. Mails. Plains indian culture, with more than one thousand illustrations.
Five Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri.
Denig, Edwin Thompson; John C. Ewers ed.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press.
Denig lived 20 years on the Missouri in the early period.
The Buffalo Hunters. Time Life. 1993. Introduction to the life of Indians of the Great Plains.
Grade 7 and up.
Indians of the Western Range. Time Life. 1995. Introduction to the life
of tribes between the Continental Divide and the Cascades,
including Shoshones, Nez Perce, and Flatheads. Grade 7 and up.
Letters & Notes on the North American Indians.
Catlin, George. 1975.
New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
Illustrated abridged version of Catlin's 1841 "Letters and notes on the manners, customs, and condition of the North American Indians." Catlin studied and painted
the tribes from Saint Louis up to the Mandan / Hidatsa villages.
Letters and Notes on the Manners Customs and Conditions of the North American Indians (2 vols, 1844; reprint Dover Publications 1973); and North American Indians.
Catlin, George.
Penguin.
One-volume edition of the journals written by this famous painter from his 1832 trip up the Missouri.
An excellent account of the Plains cultures before disintegration by while intrusion. Catlin is at least as good
a writer and observer as he is a painter.
The Native Americans An Illustrated History
. David Hurst Thomas et al. 479 pages. 450 illustrations, most in color.
The Native Americans The Indigenous People of North America
. 256 pages. 250 archival photographs, maps, 32 color spreads. 1000 artifacts described.
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara
The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: The Mandans, Hidasas, and Arikaras.
Meyer, Roy W. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977.
An Interpretation of Mandan Culture History. Wood, Raymond W. Smithsonian Institution, 1977.
"Mandan and Hidatsa Villages in the Eightteenth and Nineteenth Centuries".
Stewart, Frank H. Plains Anthropologist
19 (1974): 287-302.
The Origins of the Hidatsa Indians: A Review. Wood, Raymond W. and
Jeffery R. Hanson. Lincoln: National Park Service, 1980.
Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden.
Gilbert L. Wilson. 1987.
Minnesota Historical Society Press.
"The classic account of Hidatsa gardening techniques."
The result of many years of inteviews with a Hidatsa woman who was born in Sacagawea's village. Details of Hidatsa agriculture and food ways. Illustrated with drawings.
Waheenee A Indian Girl's Story Told by Herself.
Gilbert L. Wilson, editor. 1987.
Bison Books, Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
A "juvenile" book that is a full and detailed account of Hidatsa life as told by Buffalo Bird Woman. Excellent for ages 10 through adult.Very well illustrated - if you want to know how to rig a dog travois, it's here.
The Way to Independence Memories of a Hidatsa Family 1820-1840.
Gilman, Carolyn.
Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Catalog of exhibit of Gilbert Wilson's work, with book length explanatory material.
Women of the Earth Lodges: Tribal Life on the Plains.
Virginia Bergman Peters. University of Oklahoma Press,
2000, 240 pages. Mandan tribal life. High school to college level.
Hidatsa Social and Ceremonial Organization and Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization
Bowers, Alfred P.
Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
Dakota (Sioux)
The Sioux.
Hassrick, Royal B. 1964.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press.
Teton Sioux esp 1830 - 1860.
The Winning of the West: The Expansion of the Western Sioux in the Eightteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
White, Richard.
Journal of American History 65, no 2, (1978): 319-343.
Metal Weapons, Tools and Ornaments of the Teton Dakota Indians.
Hansen, James A.
Lincoln: Univ Nebraska Press, 1975.
The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux.
Black Elk, Joseph Epes Brown ed.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press.
Black Elk Speaks is a notable book as well, although converning the a period well after the expedition.
Animals of the Soul: Sacred Animals of the Ogalala Sioux. Brown, J. E. Rockport: Element Press, 1992.
Assiniboine
The Assinibone.
Edwin Thompson Denig. U. Oklahoma.
Land of Nakoda The Story of the Assiniboine Indians.
Long, James C. 2004.
Helena: Montana Historical Society.
ok for older juvenile to adult
Blackfeet
Lakota Belief and Ritual.
Walker, James R.
Lincoln: Univ. ebraska Press, 1980.
The Blackfeet Raiders of the Northwestern Plains.
Ewers, John C. 1958.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press.
The Blackfeet. Frank B. Lindermann. 65 pages. 50 painted portraits
The Horse In Blackfoot Indian Culture.
Ewers, John C.
Washington : Smithsonian, 1955. "... the best study of the effects and use of the horse in the plains area."
Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Crow (these tribes did not encounter the explorers)
The Arapahoe, Our People. Trenholm. Virginian Cole. Norman: Univ. Oklahoma Press.
The Cheyenne Indians Their History and Ways of Life.. 2 vols.
George Bird Grinnell. 1923. Univ. Nebraska Press 1973.
The Cheyenne in Plains Indian Trade Relations.
Jablow, Joseph. 1950; 1994.
Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
The Crow Indians.
Lowie, Robert H. .
Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
From the Heart of Crow Country.
Medicine Crow.
Univ. Nebraska Press.
Plenty Coups Chief of the Crow. Lindeman, Frank B. 1930. covers through Custer.
Crow Indian Beadwork.
Wildshut, William and John C Ewers.
New York: Am Musuem Am Indian, vol. 16, 1959.
Shoshone
The Lemhi: Sacajawea's People.
Madsen, B. D.
Caldwell (ID): Caxton Press, 1977.
The Northern Shosoni.
Madsen, Brian D.
Caxton Press.
to recent times
The Shosonis Sentinels of the Rockies.
Trenholm, Virginia Cole, and maurine Carley.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1964.
From the Divide West: Nez Perce, Columbia Plateau, and Northwest Coast Tribes
Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce Indians. Ray, Verne F. Washington: The Westerners, 1972.
Do Them No Harm: An Interpretation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Among the Nez Perce Indians.
Zoa Swayne. 1990. Legacy House; Caxton Press 2003.
"Zoa Swayne spent years writing down the events of 1805 and
1806 as remembered by Nez Perce storytellers, as well as studying the journals kept by the Corps of Discovery members. Do Them No Harm! paints a vivid and memorable portrait of Nez Perce life and culture in the early nineteenth century."
" ... more a glimpse into what the world looked like to the Nez Perce 200 years ago. It's told from the Indians' point of view, based on oral and written history collected after much research by Ms. Swayne."
"The Flathead Indians of Montana."
Turney-High, H. H.
Memoirs of the Am Anthrop. Assoc.
48 (1937): 1-161.
The Nez Perce Tribesmen of the Columbia Plateau.
Haines, Francis.
Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1955.
The Nez Perces Since Lewis and Clark, Kate McBeth. University of Idaho Press, 1993, 287 pages.
Indians of the Western Range. Time Life. 1995. Introduction to the life
of tribes between the Continental Divide and the Cascades,
including Shoshones, Nez Perce, and Flatheads. Grade 7 and up.
Indian Life on the Northwest Coast of North America. Gunther, Erna. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.
The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River and
Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Ruby, Robert H., and John A. Brown. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1976; 1981.
The Fur Trade and the Northwest to 1857. Rich, E. E. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967.
Tillamook Indians of the Oregan Coast. Sauter, John, and Bruce Johnson. Portland: Binsford and Mort: 1974.
Paul Kane's Frontier. Harper, J. Russell. Austin: University of texas Press, 1971. Kane an artist of the Indian life of the area.
Life Ways
The Indian Tipi Its History Construction and Use.
Laubin, Reginald and Gladys Laubin.
Norman: Univ Oklahoma Press, 1957.
The Indian Dances of North America.
Laubin, Reginald and Gladys Laubin.
Norman: Univ Oklahoma Press, 1977.
Dress Clothing of the Plains Indians. Koch, Ronald P. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.
The Modern Life of the American Indians. U.S. News & World Report. October 4, 2004. vol. 137
number 11, pp. 44-53.
Buffalo Nation: History and Legends of the North American Bison.
Geist, V. Stillwater (MN): Voyageur Press, 1996.
Uses of Plants by Indians of the Upper Midwest. Gilmore, Melvin R. Lincoln, Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1917; 1977.
The Art of Indian Cooking. Kimball, Yeffe and Anderson, Jean. Guilford (CT): Lyons Press [PO Box 480].
Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide. Kindscher, K. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas, 1987. Including Indians uses of plants.
Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie. Kindscher, K. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas, 1992.
Including Indians uses of plants.
Games of the Northern Plains Indians.
Culin, Stewart.
Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
Indian Peace Medals in American History.
Prucha, Francis Paul.
Norman: Univ of Oklahoma Press.
Indian Legends of the Northern Rockies. Elka, E.C. 1966. U. Ok. Press.
Encyclopaedia of Native American Religions. Arlene Hirchfelder and Paulette Molin. 367 pages. 1200 entries.
Through Indian Eyes The Untold Story of Native American Peoples. Readers Digest. 400 pages.
The First Americans Spirit of the Land and the People. Josepha Sherman. 126 pages.
Native American Arts and Crafts.
. Colin F. Taylor. . 144 pages. hundreds of items weaving silver carvings quill and beadwork 200 artifacts; 200 historic photographs.
Chronical of the Indian Wars from the Colonail Tines to Wounded Knee.
. Alan Axelroad. . 280 pages, with both US histoical documents and Indian oral accounts, maps, drawings, photographs .
From the Heart: Voices of the American Indian
. Lee Miller ed. 405 pages. 250 Indian testimonies.
Atlas of Indians of North America. Gilbert Legay. 95 pages. color illus; for young readers.
Atlas of the North American Indian.
Carl Waldman. Facts on File, Inc. revised edition, 2000, 400 pages.
"The maps are clear, the
illustrations accurate, and the amount of information
presented is surprising. There's a tremendous amount of material
packed between the covers of the Atlas -- and it's
a good deal more than a collection of maps."
Sign Language
Indian Sign Language. W.P. Clark. 1885; reprint University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.
1982.
"The most authoritative, work on Indian Sign Language was by Captain
W.P. Clark, U. S. Second Cavalry. He was with the army in the Indian
country from 1875 to 1880, and made a deep study of Indian signs. In
1880 he was directed by General Sheridan to produce a book on sign
language for use by Army Officers assigned in the West. He worked
steadily on its preparation until 1884, when he died. [...] It is the
most complete book ever done on signs and their origin. Unfortunately
it was not illustrated..."
"...many an entry is a mini-essay on
some aspect of Indian culture...
Under each tribe he discusses the general signs for the tribe and then
follows with an essay on everything he can discover about the tribe or
related groups, often several pages' worth. "
"Especially useful will be the sections on the various
Indian Nations, which launch in each case with the sign and then extend
into origins of the sign and then variations, connections, and finally
quite often details of daily life, beliefs, history, &c. There is a
great deal in a small space on I think all of the tribes along the L&C
Trail, details which bring them to life and which I think will make
that aspect of the l&C story esier to understand and absorb. And
sometimes a little side remark is so telling as to bring the Journals
to life, as in this observation: 'ENEMY: one's enemy or enemies would be expressed by the sign for
PEOPLE or MEN against whom one went to war or people one did not shake
hands with; signs for FRIEND and NO. The Mandans, Gros Ventres, and
Arickarees simply make the sign for Sioux.' "
Universal Indian Sign Langauge. William Tompkins. Dover reprint of 1931 edition.
"Tomkins was a friend of [Ernest Thompson] Seton’s and you will see
many similarities between their two books. Tomkins’ book is the one
book you should own for learning sign language and should be the basis
for all your signing as you branch out and then try using Clark and
Seton... "
Websites
PBS Online- Lewis and Clark- Native Americans
with informative sections on each tribe
Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian attempted to capture
traditional American Indian culture in photographs taken over 30 years, beginning roughly 100
years after Lewis and Clark but while traditional ways were still alive despite dislocations.
That 20 volume work is represented here in a marvelous collection
from the Library of Congress, which includes photographs from many of the nations that played
a role in the Expedition. Choose "gallery view" for each tribe to see thumbnails of
all the relevant pictures, then enlarge the pictures to the largest available image
for best detail and resolution.
Original Paintings
Three artists traveled to the northern Great Plains and foothills of the Rockies in Montana one generation after Lewis and Clark, and made the first accurate
paintings of the tribes and the country: Karl Bodmer, George Catlin,
and Alfred Jacob Miller. These books show their works, a unique record of the tribes and times.
Travels in the Interior of North America 1832-1834.
Maximillian Wied, Karl Bodmer (Illustrator). 2001.
Taschen America.
Karl Bodmer's America Karl Bodmer. 1984.
University of Nebraska Press.
An Indian Winter.
Russell Freedman, with paintings and drawings by Karl Bodmer. 1992. Scholastic, Inc.
Based on the published accounts of Prince Alexander
Philipp Maximilian of Neu-Wied, Germany, and the artwork of Karl
Bodmer. Bodmer and Prince Maximilian journeyed together
up the Missouri in 1833-34.
Their experiences and observations are recounted in vivid detail for
readers ages 8-12, but they can be enjoyed by older readers and
adults as well. The numerous
color and black and white illustrations
by Bodmer show much of what Lewis and Clark must have
seen in their journey 30 years earlier. Includes a bibliography and index.
George Catlin and His Indian Gallery.
George Catlin. 2002. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
W.W. Norton & Company.
Letters & Notes on the North American Indians
.
Catlin, George. 1975.
New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
Lushly illustrated abridged version of Catlin's 1841 "Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians." Catlin visited the tribes from Saint Lousi up to the Mandan/Hidatsa villages.
Braves and Buffalo Plains Indian Life in 1837.
Alfred J. Miller. 1973.
University of Toronto Press. Excellent reproductions of
paintings made by Miller from observations on the spot, with his
own descriptions of the scenes. There may be other
books of A J Miller paintings.
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