Who were the first settlers in North America? Where did they come from?
How did they survive? In this expansive one-volume account of the native
peoples of North America, eminent historian William Brandon-who devoted
much of his life to examining this subject-presents this revelatory
history of the development and culture of the native peoples of North
America, from their incipience through the late nineteenth century. From
the Valley of Mexico to the Bering Straight, a multitude of diverse
cultures settled and created art, healing medicines, and an agriculture
that brought us maize, potatoes, chilies, avocado, and tobacco. Among
those from central America were the art-obsessed Mayans and Olmecs; from
North America came the Ojibwa, Powhatan, Cree, Illinois, Apache,
Cherokee, Natchez, Sioux, and many others. In The Rise and Fall of North
America's Indians, Brandon brings this world to life and chronicles
10,000 years of Indian history.