Being a review of Native Universe.
I bought this lovely book on a trip to the National Museum of the American Indian, which is part of the Smithsonian. I could write a lengthy post just about the museum, but since this is a writing blog I will try to restrain myself.
I have rather a large collection of books from museums. Unfortunately most museum books have rotten prose—in fact I often get the impression that it’s only there because the book looks “better” with prose than it would look if it were nothing but pictures.
Native Universe outshines every other museum book I’ve ever bought. There are huge, glossy photographs of artifacts that are in the museum, and many others that are not. But the biggest achievements in this book are in the prose. The book is split into three major parts: Our Universes, Our Peoples, Our Lives. Each part has about six pieces written by an individual tribal leader, scholar, or artist. There is a variety of subject matter, from history to ceremony to the evolution of ancient art forms in modern times. In fact, the healthy balance of traditional and modern material was what impressed me most.
Recommended! And available here.