The American Indians

Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 1.3M words
Chapters: 133

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The American Indians by Henry Rowe SchoolcraftAuthor: Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864,Language: English, Class: E011: History: America: America, Release Date: May 4, 2012

Editor's review

This book is a nineteenth-century work on the American Indians by the American scholar Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, issued by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook. Schoolcraft long studied the languages, myths, and customs of Indian tribes, and his writing carries the concerns and limitations of ethnology in his generation. Readers may treat it as a historical document: it shows how early American scholars recorded and described indigenous societies, and prompts reflection on ethnic writing under a nineteenth-century Eurocentric gaze. Its organization and narrative reflect the intellectual framework of its time rather than contemporary anthropological fieldwork standards. For students of American history, the history of ethnology, or indigenous studies, it offers a primary text to compare and critique; general readers will find it better as supplementary reading on the history of scholarship than as an introduction. Read it with a critical eye toward sources, distinguishing observation, hearsay, and the author's judgments.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of American history or the history of ethnology who need nineteenth-century primary texts
Those with basic knowledge of Native American cultures who wish to trace early modes of record
Readers accustomed to English public-domain works and old scholarly prose
University students seeking leads to primary sources for coursework

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking authoritative conclusions from contemporary indigenous studies
Beginners expecting easy stories or illustrated popular introductions
Readers who struggle with nineteenth-century English prose and scholarly conventions

Reading tips

Read the introduction or table of contents first to grasp the book's scope and framework, then choose chapters for close reading.
Mark the author's value judgments and secondhand sources as you read, for later source criticism.
Read alongside contemporary works on indigenous history, noting differences in the concerns of the two eras.
Read the English original slowly with a dictionary and background materials; do not aim for speed.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as an introduction to indigenous cultures?

Not really. Its value lies mainly in showing how a nineteenth-century scholar recorded and described American Indians, with clear period perspectives and limits; it is not a contemporary anthropological introduction. To learn indigenous cultures systematically, start with contemporary studies and use this book for comparison as a historical source.

What English proficiency does reading this book require?

This is an English public-domain book, requiring some English reading ability and patience with nineteenth-century scholarly prose. If English is difficult, first gain background from Chinese-language studies, then read selected chapters alongside the original.

Can the accounts in this book be cited directly as historical fact?

Direct citation is not advisable. The author wrote in the nineteenth century, and his accounts mix observation, hearsay, and period bias. Before citing, check other sources, distinguish firsthand observation from secondhand report and personal judgment, and state the text's nature and limits as a historical source in your paper.

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About the author

Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864 Author

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864) was an early American ethnologist and writer known for recording the oral traditions and tribal cultures of Native Americans. The library holds 14 of his works, including Algic Researches, The Myth of Hiawatha, and Other Oral Legends, Notes on the Iroquois, and The American Indians. His writing drew on fieldwork and long-term observation, combining legends, myths, and ethnographic material in a style that lies between scholarly record and literary arrangement. The oral tales he collected influenced later American literature on Native American themes. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not expanded here; readers may turn to the works above to understand his subject matter and contribution.