First published in three parts in 1902, 1904, and 1907, The Arapaho quickly established itself as a model of description of Indian culture. Its discussion of Arapaho dance and design provides one of the most through studies of Indian symbolism ever written. Alfred L. Kroeber was sent in 1899 to study the Southern Arapaho in western Indian Territory (present Oklahoma). In 1900 he lived in the camp of the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming, and in 1901 he visited the Gros Ventre, a related tribe, in Montana. He researched his subject at first hand, speaking with Arapaho men and women of all ages about...

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Indians of California, in their ethnographic present, offered the widest cultural range to be found in any area of the United States. In the north they approximated the cultures of the Northwest Coast; in the center they developed distinctive, elaborate cultures based on local food supplies; and in the south and east they approximated the more primitive desert groups -- all in all showing a host of adaptations within a relatively small geographical area. In addition, despite successive decimations by missionaries, colonial administrations, settlers, and exploiters, enough Indians survived...