Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume

By Josephine Paterek

Book Overview

Slipping away from us in these times of the homogenization of culture are the traditions of older societies, some of them dating from 9000 B.C., who understood and were in tune with the changing vistas of the North American continent. Practical, yet with an eye for beauty, these peoples clothed themselves in a vast array of styles that will be forgotten unless preserved. The Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume offers complete descriptions and cultural contexts of the dress and ornamentation of the many nations that have shared this continent. The book is divided into ten cultural regions, with each chapter giving an overview of the regional clothing. Tribal information includes men's and women's basic dress, footwear, outerwear, hair styles, headgear, accessories, jewelry, armor, special costumes, garment decoration, face and body embellishment, and transitional dress after European contact. This beautifully designed book contains more than 150 photographs and illustrations.
Voted an Outstanding Academic Book by Choice

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393313824
• ISBN13: 9780393313826
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 536 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.5" x 9.7"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume

This book is very informative, with detailed text describing Native American costume, but more illustrations would be helpful. The few illustrations that are included are not always reproduced well, possibly an artifact of working with more-than-a-century-old photographs. A few of the descriptions of the photographs are not completely accurate, as in the case of a dentalium shell choker described as a hair pipe choker. Otherwise I believe it will be very useful in my quest to reproduce traditional Native American women's clothing.

This reference book is loaded!

For anyone fascinated by the customs and dress of the American Indians, this book is a rich reference. The adaptation of materials found in nature along with the practicality of clothing in different regions provides interesting reading for hours. Anyone who thinks all Indians dressed alike in drab buckskins or adorned themselves or wore their hair alike needs to read about the skill and beauty involved in making their wonderful clothing and jewelry. It would be nice to see more photos and some color pictures, but it is still a great book! My only disappointment is in the choice of the word "costume" in the title. Go to any Pow Wow and you'll see today's Indians cringe at that term as it implies dressing up as something they are not. "Regalia" is their preferred term for their outfits. I recommend this book.

Excellent general reference on American Indian costume.

This book is the best general guide I've ever seen to the different costume practices of each major North American Indian tribal group. The book has only two significant drawbacks for the general reader: not enough illustrations (though many are rare photographs almost 100 years old) and unclear chronology. All tribes' costume changed after European contact and such contact occurred at different times for different areas; these factors can make it challenging to pick the relevant information from the text. However, I still learned a lot from this book.