This magnificent celebration of Native American cultures and civilizations combines a wide-ranging and engrossing text by many of our foremost Indian scholars, writers, and leaders with a spectacular collection of illustrations showcasing the art and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic to Patagonia, and from ancient times to the twenty-first century. Published in conjunction with the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian's extraordinary new building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and complementing the themes of the museum's inaugural exhibitions, Native Universe offers readers a new, deeper understanding of Native philosophies, histories, and identities. Featuring insightful and evocative essays by such distinguished Native Americans as Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), Victor Montejo (Maya), and many more, Native Universe reveals the rich heritage and true diversity of the Indian Americas. Seneca author John C. Mohawk explores the profound meaning of ceremonial life and its intimate connections with the land, while Luci Tapahonso shows how ancestral traditions still shape modern Navajo life.

Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe) presents a fascinating and poignant chronicle of the impact of Indian boarding schools on Native families and cultures, while Comanche writer Paul Chaat Smith recounts his days as an activist in the turbulent 1970s, when the American Indian Movement's drive for justice and political recognition led to new confrontations at Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, and Washington, D.C. Poems by Louise Erdrich and N. Scott Momaday, and a scene from Sherman Alexie's screenplay, Smoke Signals, are eloquent examples of a literary renaissance in which Native writers have captured the respect and imagination of the world. In stunning visual counterpoint, 300 full-color illustrations depict wondrous examples of indigenous cultures, from dramatic ceremonial masks to intricate baskets and exquisite beadwork, that speak of the historical experience of Native peoples throughout the hemisphere and attest to their vitality today. Here too are compelling photographs that depict the full range of Native life, from vibrant images of powwow dancing to the concentration of an artist at work, as well as contemporary Indian art that melds long-established themes with a thoroughly modern sensibility. Colorful and comprehensive, at once spiritual and spirited, Native Universe is a rich, rewarding tribute to the diverse, often defiant, always dramatic legacy of the first peoples of the Americas-and a long-overdue acknowledgment of their rightful place in the past, present, and future of this hemisphere.