Lewis & Clark and the Indian country The Native American perspective

Continuing the work that produced the Lewis and Clark online bicentennial exhibit (Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, ), this collection of documents, essays, and contemporary commentaries edited by Hoxie and Nelson with the assistance of five American Indian consultants successfully places the famous expedition within the broader context of a continental struggle over sovereignty and cultural power. What emerges is a fascinating narrative of cultural survival in the face of momentous changes unleashed by the expedition. Essays by noted scholars help provide insights into the broader context of the expedition's planning, course, and consequences, and ensure that readers appreciate the many ways that Native Americans were pivotal actors in the Corps of Discovery's story. Later selections highlight how US expansion into the Upper Missouri region undermined Native American traditions and institutions. The book's final section, "The Indian Country Today," includes contemporary American Indian concerns in the region--salmon restoration on the Columbia, language restoration, culturally relevant education, cultural preservation, and environmental protection--and speaks to the enduring strength and commitment of the descendants of those peoples who helped ensure the success of the famed 1804 expedition. A must read for scholars in Native American history, the history of the trans-Mississippi West, and ethnohistory. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. J. L. Brudvig Dickinson State University

The 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 2004 spawned the publication of so many monographs and articles that it would be easy now to overlook a true gem, such as this, that makes a unique contribution to the subject. Edited by Hoxie (history, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) and Nelson (program asst., D'Arcy McNickle Ctr. for American Indian History, Newberry Lib.), this work, based on the Newberry's exhibit of the same name, presents a plethora of views drawn from sources such as personal interviews, travel journals, and diaries over the last two centuries that provide insights into the manner in which the Corps of Discovery impacted the long-term development of the West. This approach results in a nuanced collection of essays that highlights both the positive and the negative impacts of the expedition and how the perception of those very repercussions has evolved. This collection should be read alongside Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes, edited by Alvin M. Josephy Jr. with Marc Jaffe. Both volumes are recommended for public and academic libraries.--John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.