American Indian Culture

In other entries, students will find everything from brief discussions of the importance of acorns or wild rice to a survey of agriculture; from a history of the atlatl to an essay on weapons in general; from entries on major dance forms (such as the Ghost Dance, the Sun Dance, or the Buffalo Dance) to overviews of religions. Although the emphasis is on the traditional cultural heritage of North American indigenous peoples, modern social trends are surveyed and analyzed as well: such essays cover alcoholism, the impact of disease (both pre-contact and post-contact), education, family life, current demography, gaming, tourism, and urban Indians.