Star Mounds: Legacy of a Native American Mystery

Star Mounds: Legacy of a Native American Mystery, by Ross Hamilton. Star Mounds is a full-color illustrated study of the precolonial monuments of the greater Ohio Valley, woven together with over fifty "medicine stories" inspired by Native American mythology that demonstrate the depth of the knowledge held by indigenous peoples about the universe they lived in. The earthworks of the region have long mystified and intrigued scholars, archeologists, and anthropologists with their impressive size and design. The landscape practices of pioneer families destroyed much of them in the 1700s, but, during the first half of the 1800s, some serious mapmaking expeditions were able to record their locations. Utilizing many nineteenth-century maps as a base—including those of the gentlemen explorers Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis—author Ross Hamilton reveals the meaning and purpose of these antique monuments.

Together with these maps, Hamilton applies new theories and geometrical formulas to the earthworks to demonstrate that the Ohio Valley was the setting of a manitou system, an interactive organization of specially shaped villages that was home to a sophisticated society of architects and astronomers. The author retells over fifty ancient stories based on Native American myth such as "The One-Eyed Man" and "The Story of How Mischief Became Hare" that clearly indicate how knowledgeable the valley's inhabitants were about the constellations and the movement of the stars. Finally, Hamilton relates the spiritual culture of the valley's early inhabitants to a kind of golden age of humanity when people lived in harmony with the Earth and Sky, and looks forward to a time when our own culture can foster a similar "spiritual technology" and life-giving relationship with nature.

Born in 1948 on Long Island, New York, Ross Hamilton has lived in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area since the age of seven. Fascinated by American Indian history from childhood, Hamilton has devoted his life to bringing to light the lost history of the North American continent. He has worked with activist Vine Deloria Jr., the former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians; Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman; and Iroquois chief Jake Swamp. He frequently gives interviews on the subject of the star mounds, most recently on the History Channel show Ancient Aliens......Learn more.

White Feather's Saving the Planet

Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places

Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places, by Peter Nabokov. For thousands of years , Native Americans have told stories about the powers of revered landscapes and sought spiritual direction at mysterious places in their homelands. In this important book, respected scholar and anthropologist Peter Nabokov writes of a wide range of sacred places in Native America. From the “high country” of California to Tennessee’s Tellico Valley, from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Rainbow Canyon in Arizona, each chapter delves into the relationship between Indian cultures and their environments and describes the myths and legends, practices, and rituals that sustained them. Peter Nabokov is a professor of American Indian studies and world arts and cultures at UCLA. His previous books include Native American Testimony.

Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way

Native Spirit: The Sun Dance Way, by Thomas Yellowtail (Author), Joe Medicine Crow (Foreword), and Michael Oren Fitzgerald (Editor). The words of Thomas Yellowtail, a revered Sun Dance chief of the Crow Indian tribe, are brought to life by the internationally known American Indian actor, Gordon Tootoosis. The book is illustrated with over 100 previously unpublished color and sepia photographs from as early as 1903 and traditional American Indian motifs. Also included are interviews with prominent Indian leaders, advice to American Indian youth, and special features on traditional Indian spirituality. Native Spirit is a stunning feast of rare visual images from Crow and Shoshone religious life. Medicine Man and Sun Dance Chief, Thomas Yellowtail, was a pivotal figure in Crow tribal life and one of the most admired American Indian spiritual leaders of the last century. He died in 1993.

House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest

House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest, by Craig Childs. The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest relates to the Anasazi, the native peoples who by the 11th century converged on Chaco Canyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments--in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture and engineering--were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished. What was it--drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder or suicide? Craig Childs draws on scholarly research and a lifetime of adventure and exploration in the American Southwest to pursue the mystery of their disappearance. Considering many possibilities, he points the way to a new understanding of how a vibrant civilization collapsed.

Grandmothers Counsel the World

Grandmothers Counsel the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet, by Carol Schaefer. What would the world be like if our grandmothers were in charge? In some Native American societies, tribal leaders consulted a council of grandmothers before making any major decisions. What if we consulted our wise women elders about the problems facing our global community today? Grandmothers Counsel the World offers the insights and guidance of thirteen indigenous grandmothers from five continents, many of whom are living legends among their own peoples. The thirteen grandmothers represent tribes from the Arctic Circle; North, South, and Central America; Africa; Asia; Tibet; and Australia. In 2004 they gathered together for an unprecedented meeting in the United States where they discussed the major challenges facing the world and shared their tribes’ timeless wisdom on how best to move forward. Grandmothers Counsel the World, inspired by this watershed meeting, offers the grandmothers’ rich and varied sources of wisdom, new visions and prophecies for humanity, and time-honored teachings on cultivating well-being and living in harmony with each other and the natural world. The grandmothers also share their thoughts and advice on such timely issues as nurturing our families; cultivating physical and mental health; and confronting violence, war, and poverty. Also in attendance at this historic meeting were notable Western women elders including Alice Walker, Gloria Steinem, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and Theresa Hale—all of whom are also profiled and quoted at length in the book.

Black Elk in Paris

Black Elk in Paris, A Novel by Kate Horsley. Inspired by historical events, an award-winning author spins an imaginative story narrated by Philippe, a physician who has cared for a Parisian family for many years. While attending a Wild West show that is touring Europe, the youngest daughter, Madou, is drawn to Black Elk, a Native American, with whom she gradually falls in love. Black Elk is poised and uncannily intuitive, but desperately homesick. Philippe and Madou try to help him, but it is Black Elk who ends up transforming them.

On The Trail Of Spider Woman

On The Trail Of Spider Woman: Petroglyphs, Pictographs & Myths of the Southwest, by Carol Patterson. To the Keresan Pueblo, Hopi, and Navajo people, tiny, elusive Spider Woman symbolizes creativity, spirit, old age, and wisdom. Each tribe sees this mythic figure differently, yet her trail stretches back before them all, into the canyons of Utah where her story was engraved on the rocks by peoples who have long since migrated elsewhere. Like the later myths and stories, these petroglyphs and pictographs are a portal through which to enter the transcendental world of Spider Woman.

Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored

Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored, by Frank Joseph (Contributor), David Hatcher Childress (Contributor), Zecharia Sitchin (Contributor), Wayne May (Contributor), Andrew Collins (Editor). The nursery rhyme begins, "In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Less well-known is the line that follows: "…to learn if the old maps were true." How can there be "old maps" of a land no one knew existed? Were others here before Columbus? What were their reasons for coming and what unexplained artifacts did they leave behind?

The oceans were highways to America rather than barriers, and when discoverers put ashore, they were greeted by unusual inhabitants. In Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America, the author of The Atlantis Encyclopedia turns his sextant towards this hemisphere. Here is a collection of the most controversial articles selected from seventy issues of the infamous Ancient American magazine. They range from the discovery of Roman relics in Arizona and California's Chinese treasure, to Viking rune-stones in Minnesota and Oklahoma and the mysterious religions of ancient Americans.

Coyote Wisdom: Healing Power In Native American Stories

Coyote Wisdom: Healing Power In Native American Stories, by Lewis Mehl-Madrona. ISBN 1591430291. Stories are powerful sources of meaning that shape and transform our lives. We tell stories to track our process of personal and spiritual growth and to honor and respect the journeys we have made. Through stories we are provided with experiences of spiritual empowerment that can lead to transformation. In Coyote Wisdom, Lewis Mehl-Madrona explores the healing use of stories passed down from generation to generation in Native American culture and describes how we can apply this wisdom to empower and transform our own lives. A storytelling approach to transformation starts with how we were created and how we can re-create ourselves through the stories we tell. As we explore the archetypal characters and situations that populate the inner world of our stories, we can experience breakthroughs of healing and even miracles of transformation.

This approach to healing through stories runs counter to the current model of modern psychology. The stories we tell about ourselves may model our lives, but by introducing new characters and plots, we can come to see ourselves in a new way. The author also draws upon the cultures of other indigenous peoples--the Maori, East Africans, Mongolians, Aborigines, and Laplanders--to illustrate the healing use of stories throughout the world. Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D., is certified in family practice, geriatrics, and psychiatry and worked for years in rural emergency medicine. He works with the Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science at the University of Arizona and is also affiliated with its College of Public Health. He is the author of Coyote Healing and the bestselling Coyote Medicine.

Dreamways Of The Iroquois: Honoring The Secret Wishes Of The Soul

Dreamways Of The Iroquois: Honoring The Secret Wishes Of The Soul, by Robert Moss. ISBN 1594770344. The ancient teaching of the Iroquois people is that dreams are experiences of the soul in which we may travel outside the body, across time and space, and into other dimensions--or receive visitations from ancestors or spiritual guides. Dreams also reveal the wishes of the soul, calling us to move beyond our ego agendas and the web of other people's projections into a deeper, more spirited life. They call us to remember our sacred contracts and reclaim the knowledge that belonged to us, on the levels of soul and spirit, before we entered our present life experience. In dreams we also discover where our vital soul energy may have gone missing--through pain or trauma or heartbreak--and how to get it back. Robert Moss was called to these ways when he started dreaming in a language he did not know, which proved to be an early form of the Mohawk Iroquois language. From his personal experiences, he developed a spirited approach to dreaming and living that he calls Active Dreaming. Dreamways of the Iroquois is at once a spiritual odyssey, a tribute to the deep wisdom of the First Peoples, a guide to healing our lives through dreamwork, and an invitation to soul recovery.

The Writings of White Feather

The Journey Of Crazy Horse

The Journey Of Crazy Horse: A Lakaota History Of His Life, His Times, And His People, by Joseph M. Marshall, from Viking, ISBN 0670033553. Drawing on firsthand research and his culture's rich oral tradition - rarely shared outside the Native American community - Lakota author Joseph Marshall reveals many previously unknown aspects of Crazy Horse's life. Here are details of the powerful vision that convinced him of his duty to help preserve the Lakota homeland, changing the course of his life and spurring him confidently into battle again and again. Here also is a profound celebration of a culture, a community, and an enduring way of life.