200s Book Report Analysis

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200s Book Report Analysis
Encyclopedia of Native American Religions

• Holly Steckman
• LIBR 150
• Winter 2005
• Week 3

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Encyclopedia of Native American Religions

• Call Number Y299.703 HIR 2000
• Bibliographic citation
• Encyclopedia of Native American
• Religions an Introduction /
• Arlene Hirschfelder, Paulette Molin
• Forward by Walter R. Echo-Hawk.
• Updated ed. New York Facts on File,
• 1999, c. 2000.
• x, 390 p. ill. 29 cm

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Arrangement and Indexing

• Arrangement The Body is organized in
  alphabetical order by subject.
• Indexing A Subject Index is included which
  provides a list of subjects and the topics
  related to these subjects. This cross-referenced
  guide contains more than 1,200 entries. The
  General Index does the job of helping one find
  where a subject can be located in the body of the
  book.

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Scope and Currency

• Scope It includes introductory overviews of
  many traditional Native American religious
  beliefs, people, practices, and histories.
• Currency Any new information on the topic of
  Native American religions found after the year
  2000 will likely not be covered in this book, yet
  the information from past years and historical
  events are certainly current. This is an updated
  version of the original titled The Encyclopedia
  of Native American Religions A Comprehensive
  Guide to the Spiritual Traditions and Practices
  of North American Indians, published in 1992.

5
Purposes Served

• Intended Purpose The quick reference format
  could be useful to students, scholars, teachers,
  as well as anyone interested in learning more
  about Native American Religions.
• Additional Purposes Served This updated version
  also provides documentation of court cases
  related to Native American Religious rights.
  Policy makers, people interested in the history
  of law, or anyone needing information about
  religious practices in relation to the federal or
  state law might find this book useful.

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Format and Special Features

• Physical Formats Available in hardback or
  paperback form. (Each has a different cover.)
• Special features The Further Reading section
  in this book is filled with suggested resources
  to use if one is looking for a more extensive
  report on any of the topics mentioned in the
  Encyclopedia.

Paperback edition
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Credentials of Author

•     Ever since she penned her Master's
  thesis (about the treatment of Native Americans
  in high school history texts) at the University
  of Chicago, Arlene Hirschfelder has authored
  over 20 nonfiction books and numerous curricula
  dealing with American history and contemporary
  social issues.     She likes visiting upper
  elementary, middle, and high schools in the
  Northeast. In addition, she visits colleges, and
  also gives conference presentations, workshops
  for teachers and librarians, and consults with
  publishers, film makers, museums, and parent
  groups.
• -http//www.author-illustr-source.com/arleneh
  irschfelder.htm

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Review opinions

• Although a number of books have been
  published in the last few years pertaining to
  various aspects of Native American religious
  traditions, including Encyclopedia of Native
  American Shamanism RBB Mr 15 99 and Native
  American Religious Identity (Orbis, 1998), none
  has this volume's broad usefulness. The revised
  version is similar to the 1992 edition in many
  respects however, it gains in the coverage of
  the various court cases aimed at saving or
  reclaiming Native tribal lands and protection of
  Native sacred sites. In addition, the extensive
  bibliography has been updated. - Booklist

"This encyclopedia is the first in-depth
reference work that explores Native Americans in
North America before the arrival of Europeans,
the effects of the contact on their sacred
traditions, biographies of Native American
religious practitioners, biographies of
missionaries who influenced religious traditions,
and present-day religious forms. Information
concerning court cases, sacred sites,
legislation, and celebrations is included. The
authors have avoided specific descriptions of the
practice in an attempt to respect the wishes of
Native American practitioners who do not want the
public to know the specifics of their spiritual
traditions. Highly Recommended. -Book
Report
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Personal Impression

• This encyclopedia seems to be one of the
  greatest resources of Native American religious
  culture, while serving as a voice for the Native
  American people. It delves into the subject of
  religious freedom and reminds us that our Native
  American neighbors receive very little legal
  protection. I like the way it is organized, and
  its addition of the extensive Further Reading
  is a definite plus for anyone seeking more
  information.

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Text vs. the World Wide Web

• Examples typifying reference uses for this text
  What are the Federal and State laws pertaining to
  Native American burial ground protection? What
  types of ceremonies are performed by the Hopi
  Tribe?
• I performed a search on Google with the words
  native american burial ground laws and came up
  with one site in particular that was extremely
  informative and helpful. It had a list of all
  court cases related to burial ground laws and
  which state they were occurring in a list of all
  the unique laws on the topic for each state of
  the U.S. and a link to a site pertaining to
  repatriation of human remains. http//www.ibsgwatc
  h.imagedjinn.com/
• I also found a site with an interesting essay
  called Grave Injustice Federal Laws about
  Burial Remains put Politics before Science
• http//www.ancientburyingground.org/burial-remain
  s.htm

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Summary of merit and value

• The information I found on the internet
  was more specific and specialized than in the
  Encyclopedia of Native American Religions, yet if
  you are looking for more than one answer to any
  question relating to the Native American
  religious practices, it would prove to be much
  easier to use this book then search for each
  question on the internet separately. The
  Further Reading index and alphabetized body
  will add simplicity to your search for
  information.
• Arlene Hirschfelder is a very reputable
  person who has performed multiple speeches and
  workshops for students of all ages, librarians
  and teachers, and consults with publishers, film
  makers and museums as mentioned earlier. One
  looking for reliable information would be wise to
  turn to Arlenes works.