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Ethnohistory 47.3-4 (2000) 825-827



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Book Review

Plateau, Volume 12 of Handbook of North American Indians


Plateau, Volume 12 of Handbook of North American Indians. Edited by Deward E. Walker Jr. (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. xvi + 791 pp., preface, introduction, sources, maps, contributors, list of illustrations, bibliography, index. $61.00 cloth.)

As do the other volumes in the Smithsonian Institution Press’s Handbook of North American Indians, the Plateau volume provides invaluable information on the geographical area, prehistory, languages, and cultures of peoples indigenous to North America. The significant effort of the forty-three contributors to this indispensable volume is appreciated by those of us laboring in the fields and subfields of anthropology, history, linguistics, and legal studies.

In his introduction Deward E. Walker provides a deceptively simple geographical definition for the culturally and linguistically diverse Plateau region. The area is drained by the Columbia and Fraser Rivers and bordered by the Great Basin to the south, the Subarctic to the north, the Northwest Coast on the west, and the Plains on the east. The Plateau region is home to diverse groups of Interior Salishans, Sahaptans, Athapaskans, as well as Kootenai and Cayuse. The area covers portions of Canada as [End Page 825] well as portions of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and the Modoc of Northern California. Walker provides excellent maps comparing the Handbook’s geographical scope with the culture area as described by Kroeber (1939), Driver and Massey (1957), and Murdock (1941). The book is richly illustrated with photos ranging from the earliest to the most contemporary. The Plateau culture area is distinguished by traits including riverine settlement patterns, a diverse subsistence base of fish and roots, complex fishing technologies, mutual cross-utilization of resources among diverse groups, extensive intermarriage and extension of kinship ties, institutionalized trading partnerships, political integration at band and village levels (until the adoption of the horse), and relatively uniform mythology, art styles, and religious celebrations of resource cycles.

The volume is divided into major categories such as introductory essays on the history of the research undertaken, the environment, and languages; prehistory; history; the peoples; and special topics. The chapters on specific groups (Lillooet; Thompson; Shuswap; Nicola; Kootenai; Northern Okanagan, Lakes, and Colville; Middle Columbia River Salishans; Spokane; Kalispel; Flathead and Pend d’Oreille; Coeur d’Alene; Yakima and neighboring groups; Palouse; Wasco, Wishram, and Cascades; Western Columbia River Sahaptins; Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla; Nez Perce; Molala; Klamath and Modoc) are densely written and contain abundant archaeological, ethnological, historical, demographic, and environmental information on each group. In addition, they point to earlier commentators on the cultural groups as well as background information on contemporary legal issues and leadership.

The chapters covering special topics are particularly useful in envisioning the connections among such diverse groups by providing a regional overview. The demography section provides historical context for the numerous epidemics that swept the Plateau region and traces the population of the groups. The establishment of reserves and reservations gives insight into treaty negotiations and distinguishes between treaty and executive-order reserves and reservations, providing histories of the numerous treaties and acts that affected tribes on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. The Plateau region’s bilateral kinship system that stressed generation is discussed along with gender roles in various spheres of social life in historical context. The book also covers the ethnobotany of the very diverse geographical region and lists species used in particular healing contexts, as well as plants useful in basketry and the native uses of animal products. Musical styles are discussed by region and group, and several songs ranging from sacred to secular from different tribes are included. Also discussed is the Stick Game and its important role in the region. The game was once a [End Page 826] vital marker of ethnicity at intertribal events, but today mixed teams are not uncommon. The chapter on religious movements provides insight into how the Plateau groups dealt with rapid culture change by making new religions relevant to their existing social systems. Fishing and related issues are given special...

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