Mythology of North America-Quality Guarantee

Description

Title: Mythology of North America

Author: John Bierhorst

ISBN: 9780195146233

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2002

Binding: Paperback

Language: English

Number of Pages: 280

Condition Note: Excellent, unmarked copy with little wear and tight binding. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.

Publisher : The growing economic and political influence of Native American tribes has brought religious issues, once little noted, increasingly to the fore. Timeless in their basic structures, the continent’s principal myths are now emerging as sacred histories that have contemporary significance.
In this wide-ranging volume, John Bierhorst carefully delineates eleven mythological regions–from the Arctic to the Southwest and from California to the East Coast–presenting the gods, heroes, and primary myths of each area. First published in 1985, this indispensable guide has been updated to reflect the latest scholarship in Native studies. In a new Afterword, Bierhorst describes the recent impact of ancient myths in the arena of American Indian affairs and shows how Native Americans have successfully used mythology as oral evidence to reclaim land rights and to repatriate grave goods. Citing specific cases, he shows how new legislation and changing attitudes “have provided a basis for bringing myth to the negotiating table and into the courtroom.”
Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world’s purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible–and more meaningful–than ever before.