In the Hands of the Great Spirit: The 20,000-Year History of American Indians

i am a history teacher. this book taught me things I never knew about the history of the American Indian. Highly informative and easy to read

Outstanding book, done with exhaustive research. Be sure to keep a book of tissues handy. Reading this will help you understand how America was built upon the genocide of 56 million people and the enslavement of another race. The best we can do is make things better and remind ourselves that we all must agree to a set of ground rules that were codified by the Constitution which in itself would not have been written without the direct help of the Iroquois who offered the Iroquois Articles of Confederacy. Yes, they were in the room where it was written.

Although the chapters jump around a little (between west and east coast mainly) it soon becomes easier to read and follow. Details from the arrival of the Spanish and pilgrims forward cover a lot of material already known but do provide a further perspective to the situation. The detail of the late 19, 20th and 21st century situation was an eye opener to me and it became harder and harder to understand that the Federal Government in the USA has learnt little from past events.

Very well written and researched.

Very very informative, things that are not normally spoken about or known, I’m lovin what I have read so far.

After spending time in New Mexico over the summer I realized that I didn't know anything about American Indians. I've seen as many cowboy movies as anyone else born in the 1950s, but I didn't know the difference between a Cherokee and an Apache. I was looking for a book that would give me a good overview and reasonable understanding of that difference. This book did that and more.Jake Page (thankfully) doesn't worry about being politically correct, but offers a readable, seemingly balanced point of view, punctuated by a dry sense of humor. I was disappointed by the illustrations, which are over-pixilated and without relation to the text. One reviewer notes that it plods a little, but look at the subtitle! 20,000 years is a long time to cover without an occasional lull!In the end, it was just what I was looking for, and enjoyable enough for me to want to check out Mr. Page's fiction.

My wife and I read this book before a week-long trip to New Mexico where we visited numerous Native American sites. The author’s extensive research filled our minds with a perspective that helped us understand so much more what we experienced. If you have any interest in Native American history, this book is a must-read.

I was looking for an overview to begin my reading on the North American Native People. This has done a good job in providing that. While not an academic work, it is very good for my purposes. It provides a framework for further reading and it was a pleasure to read since it is written for general public consumption.

Las hojas del libro tienen un feo color gris tipo papel periodico, aunque despues de un rato de leer se olvida. Las fotos son pocas y en blanco y negro, mientras que las ilustraciones a lo largo del libro son bastante toscas y aportan poco a la lectura, pues no se profundiza en los objetos dibujados. Hasta ahí, todo bienSin embargo hubiera preferido que el autor se centrara más en el aspecto arqueológico y antropológico de las tribus nativas, pero solamente un 30% del libro esta centrado en los nativos americanos pre-europeos, mientras el resto es sobre los nativos americanos ya atacados y estropeados por europa y USA. A pesar de ello pone poca atención en matanzas especialmente crueles, como las de Wounded KneeA su favor está el hecho de que el autor menciona muchos otros de los abusos que sufrimos los nativos por parte de los euros, aunque desafortunadamente, el autor tiene cierta predilección por los negros y los franceses y, como es típico en los autores estadounidenses que hablan sobre el tema, parece tener desdén por los mexicanos, ignorando muchos datos historicos y antropologicos que hubieran dibujado mejor el rostro de la familia Uto-AztecaCometiendo así el típico error de white guy escribiendo sobre temas nativos y, discretamente, colocando a los nativos americanos dentro de las filas de USA, quienes en realidad son los victimarios

he lost me when he referred to an early 20th C. native shaman as a transvestite. Sad when history gets distorted by applying catagories that are totally meaningless within the context of the culture and time period they are purporting to write about.

I found this book simultaneously excellent in its balanced factual information and harrowing to read because of the litany of horrors the early people's of America were subject to. I found it tragic that before fully fledged immigration into America began in earnest, the native people's were already decimated in huge numbers by diseases brought by traders. The further destruction of vulnerable cultures and populations as time went on -- due to sheer greed and lack of humanity seemed without reprieve. I found it hard to read how time after time, groups of people were misled, mistreated and actively destroyed. These actions came as often in the guise of western religions as through the hands of the politically powerful, but morally corrupt, or by the hands of ordinary people, out to get and keep what they felt should be theirs. It made me weep and put the book down several times. Curiosity made me finish it. I simply found it difficult to reconcile the America sold to us over the years as 'the land the brave, home of the free', with the knowledge that this freedom was only for a few, and was built on the blood and cruel misuse of its native peoples. Seen in the context of America's current rhetoric, it is shocking and hippocritical that any Americans have the gall to judge people as 'outsiders'. The worst, and most ongoing, atrocities were committed by 'foreigners' from Spain, France, and England (including Scottish, Irish), who then continued even more firmly on their path of cruelty and greed as 'righteous citizens' of a newly established America. I suggest the very reason they feel threatened now, and rule the world by military force, is because deep in their genetic memory they know they tricked, stole, murdered and destroyed whomever was in their path for the land and wealth they have today. They must be bitterly afraid what they have done will be done to them. America, you have a karmic dept to pay that looms over you like a 1000-year shadow. Yet you continue on as you have always done...putting commerce and personal gain before simple decency and love of your fellow man.

A most wonderful book, puts a different perspective on the American Indian,a very good read and a, must have, must read.Forget all the Cowboys and Indians films this is THE STORY, a very colorful book showing the true 20,000 years history, of how a people survive under different unbelievable situations, and shows a better respect for the NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN. MUST, MUST, READ

Got this as a present for someone with Native American roots. Hope she enjoys it - it looks like a well-deserved history.