Americas

Materials from the Americas

George Johnson’s War

Young George Johnson lives in extraordinary times. His father is Sir William Johnson, one of the richest and most powerful men in colonial New York. His mother is Molly Brant, step-daughter of a Mohawk chief and sister of Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. George spends his early years in a grand mansion. Johnson Hall is a place where Native American culture comfortably mingles with European customs. But George’s life changes as the War for American Independence looms. Peter goes off to fight for the king against the rebel Americans, and the allegiance of the families of the Mohawk Valley are torn. After William Johnson’s death in 1774, Molly and Joseph urge the Iroquois nations to support the Loyalists. As rebel forces take over the valley, George and his family are forced to flee. Molly sends George to boarding school in Montreal, where he spends three miserable years. Finally, he persuades his mother to allow him to join in a last raid on Mohawk Valley. In a riveting climax, he experiences first-hand the inglorious brutality and futility of war, and struggles with what it means to be half Mohawk. And at last he learns the truth about his brother’s fate.

The Red Sash

This story centers on a young Metis (mixed blood) boy growing up outside Fort Williams, a major Canadian fur trading post linking northern and central Canada to the North West Trading Company in Montreal. The boy longs to become one of the voyagers, or fur traders, who wear red sashes as they travel the rivers of northern and central Canada. The Red Sash provides readers an authentic picture of life at a fur trading post in the early 1800s.

The Precious Gift: A Navaho Creation Myth

A drop of fresh water must be retrieved in order for First Man to create a stream or lake in his parched homeland, and the members of his village are unable to do so, but, through an unexpected twist of fate, their doomed destiny may be saved.

Tecumseh

Two hundred years after his death, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh is still considered one of the greatest leaders of North America’s First Peoples. This pictorial biography tells the story of his remarkable life, culminating in the events of the War of 1812.

Indian Signals and Sign Language

Photographs and text describe non-verbal signals used by the Indians of the Great Plains, including more than 800 signs, smoke signals, picture writing and the language of feathers and body paint.

Last Leaf First Snowflake To Fall

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall takes us on a dreamlike voyage into nature at that secret moment when fall turns into winter. We find ourselves in a kind of paradise, which humans may be part of but which they have not despoiled. A Native father and son lead us through forests, down rivers, over lakes and ponds. Along the way we experience the primordial beauty of the physical world. This is nature as we all feel in our hearts it must once have been.

Lessons From Mother Earth

Tess has visited her grandmother many times without really being aware of the garden. But today they step outside the door and Tess learns that all of nature can be a garden. And if you take care of the plants that are growing, if you learn about them — understanding when they flower, when they give fruit, and when to leave them alone — you will always find something to nourish you. At the end of their day Tess is thankful to Mother Earth for having such a lovely garden, and she is thankful to have such a wise grandma.

In Mad Love and War

This collection includes poems that explore human relationships, music, death … universal concerns written about in a way that recognizes and uses the universality while selecting the images from her Cree background. We are privileged to glimpse another way of relating to the world while being presented with the difficulties of growing up in a minority culture.