Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures, and Contemporary Issues

Gr 9 Up—This informative encyclopedia surveys the history, language, culture, and current status of 400 native groups. The first two volumes discuss individual groups, profiling not only expected indigenous groups such as Native American and African tribes, but also the native populations of places such as Great Britain, France, and Norway. Articles are arranged alphabetically within sections based on world regions. The final volume's two sections examine the general status of native peoples in 77 countries and the effects of important issues such as climate change, globalization, and women's rights upon each of them. The signed, one- to five-page articles are accurate and reflect the perspective of native rights outlined in the 1992 Declaration of Indigenous Peoples of the World, which emphasizes the importance of sovereignty and self-determination. Numerous sidebars add information about important events such as the Navajo Long Walk and indigenous leaders such as Nelson Mandela. Average-quality, captioned black-and-white photos and illustrations add little, and the set's most significant weakness is its single black-and-white political map, which fails to identify the locations of many of the regions and areas mentioned in entries. An extensive index, cross-references, and further-reading lists that are provided after each article will help users to navigate the work and to find additional sources. This set gives researchers a reliable introduction to native peoples of the world and their historical and current challenges. A useful addition.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO