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Using government documents, archives, and local histories, Simmons has painstakingly separated the often repeated and often incorrect hearsay from more accurate accounts of the Ute Indians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The mighty giants of Utah and Colorado
This book is an account of the Ute Indians who were native to what is now the southwestern United States along the border who immigrated to the area around Utah and Colorado a millenia ago.The Utes are not a unified body but rather bands of different indians who spoke a similar language based on the Uto-Aztecan dialect.The story of this book touches on various events in history such as the Dominguez-Escalante expedition which was the first Spanish expedition into Colorado and Utah, the alliance of Utes with the Pueblo Indians during the revolt of 1680, the tribal conflicts between the Utes and the Comanches, Kiowa, Pawnee and Navajoes and the eventual decline with the arrival of the American anglos shortly after the events of the Mexican War of 1846-48.

The second part of the book goes into depth on the trials and tribulations as the white man approached.Once streching from from the Wasatch Range to the Front Range around present-day Denver, Ute territory was reduced over the years via treaties and depredations from white squatters to a small area of Utah and a strip along the Colorado-New Mexico state line.The book discusses various famous Utes such as Ouray and Chepeta who were instrumental in bringing their people into modern times.

The narrative is very typical of once proud indians in America who were reduced to receiving rations and dependent on other government handouts.Such treatment of people should serve as a lesson for those who think one's salvation comes from government.It is my hope that Native Americans can break free from the overbearing hand of government.Some people on the reservations think that the BIA stands for "bossing indians around."

Tended to be too boring
This is the 2nd book about Native American lives - the other being the Navajo - and this one is like the other one. BORING. I found that this was just a listing of all these obscure facts and minor happenings. I guess what I expect to read when I pick up a book on the Utes is what was their life like? What did they eat? How did they hunt? What was their life really like? This book just dragged on and on about so many little details that I wound up just skimming through half of it looking for something different and interesting. Can't someone write a good book about one of the tribes? I've heard of 1 or 2 others I am going to check out. Hopefully, they will be more exciting and educational.

Historical Account of Ute Culture
A well researched history of the Ute Indians and the areas they lived in. Virginia Simmons discusses various stereotypes made by those who first encountered the Utes and sets the record straight. The Utes were an important element in the regional history of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. I found her descriptions of the adjustments the Utes had to make in various environments most interesting. If you wish to learn about nomadic Indian ways and culture this is an excellent book to read. Well written tribute to a tribe that struggled to survive the onslaught of the whiteman's culture. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on May 28, 1998. The length of the article is 448 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ley para el pueblo Maya. (notas sobre el Congreso Indígena Maya en Quintana Roo, México)(TT: Law for the Mayan people) (TA: news about the Mayan Indigenous Congress in Quintana Roo, Mexico)
Publication: Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: May 28, 1998
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: v44Issue: n2345Page: p94(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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When author Phyllis La Farge and photographer Magdalena Caris recently took a journey from the city of Xalapa in the state of Veracruz to the town of Coatepec, they noted that on the facades of countless public and private buildings, improvised murals had been painted. The wit and exuberance of these wall paintings, whether commercial or simply decorative, suggested an urban visual lingo that could be traced to the ancestral murals of pre-Columbian Mexico, and La Farge and Caris decided that they deserved closer study. Somewhere between a scholarly investigation and a travel book, Painted Walls of Mexico documents these often anonymous interventions. As Homero Aridjis writes in the preface, "Painted Walls is not only an invaluable testimony to this undervalued art which is disappearing from our streets, but honors the unknown artists who, with humor and imagination but without the slightest recognition, convert the streets of their town into an open gallery." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Painted Walls of Mexico is a treasure
This is a beautiful book - beautiful visually and beautifully written.The gorgeous colors in the paintings are vividly captured in the photographs, and the accompanying text is filled with interesting insight into the history and the contemporary culture of Mexico.We delight in the joyous colors the book brings into our home and the insight we have gained about our neighboring country. ... Read more

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In his latest book, John Annerino—famed photographer and writer of America's desert southwest and old Mexico—went in search of clues that would unlock the mysteries of places sacred to the native peoples of the Colorado Plateau, Great Plains, sierra Madre, and Sonoran Desert. In the land inhabited for millennia by the Hopi, Navajo, Pápago, and Apache—and with the help of native leaders, who guided him to hallowed, secret places—Annerino scaled 13,000-foot mountain summits and descended into shadowy caves; he traced the footsteps of legendary warriors to granite strongholds and traced the handprints of ancient ancestral shamans on cliff walls. Along the way he chronicled his astonishing pilgrimage, capturing in remarkable photographs and evocative words a world that few of us have been privileged to glimpse, let alone partake in.

Many of the lofty spires, towering monuments, and deep canyons that Annerino explored throughout the Great Southwest are familiar sites from Hollywood westerns and are sought out by avid climbers. But these sites are sacred ground to native peoples, and it is that venerated identity that Annerino experienced and conveys in Indian Country. His photographs and essays pull back the curtain on a timeless world and reveal some of the mysteries to be found within. Full-color throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hallowed ground
In his new book,Indian Country, Sacred Ground, Native People, photographer and writer John Annerino has once again captured the spirit, history and beauty of the American West. Traveling through the sacred land ofthe Navajo, Hopis, Apache and Pagago people,Annerino bears witness to the majesty, mystery and the spiritual magnificence of this land. His photographs capture awesome vistas and mountain ranges as well as Native ceremonies. He "sees" the light of this land in a way that conveys the deep emotional and spiritual attachement he has to both it and it's people and his words express and explan the history and beliefs of the areas tribes with respect and reverence. This is trully one of his finest works to date. Indian Country is a testament to the sacred history of the West and a lesson that these lands and traditions must be preserved and honored. ... Read more

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Why did the Zapatista rebellion occur in Chiapas and not in some other state in southern Mexico where impoverished, marginalized indigenous peasants also suffer a legacy of exploitation and repression?

Stephen Lewis believes the answers can be found in the 1920s and 1930s. During those critical years, Mexico’s most important state- and nation-building agent, the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), struggled to introduce the reforms and institutions of the Mexican revolution in Chiapas. In 1934 the administration of president Lázaro Cárdenas endorsed "socialist" education, turning federal teachers into federal labor inspectors and promoters of agrarian reform. Teachers also attempted to "incorporate" indigenous populations and forge a more sober, "defanaticized" nationalist citizenry.

SEP activism won over most mestizo communities after 1935, but enraged local ranchers, planters, and politicians unwilling to abide by the federal blueprint. In the Maya highlands, federal education was a more categorical failure and Cardenista Indian policy had unintended, even sinister consequences. By 1940 Cardenismo and SEP populism were in full retreat, even as mestizo communities came to embrace the culture of schooling and identify with the Mexican nation.

Fifty years later, the delayed, incomplete, and corrupted nature of state- and nation-building in Chiapas prevented resolution of the state’s most pressing problems. As Lewis concludes, the Zapatistas appropriated the federal government’s discarded revolutionary nationalist discourse in 1994 and launched a rebellion that challenged the Mexican state to contemplate a plural, multi-ethnic nation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Book on Chiapas
This book on the Mexican state of Chiapas from 1910 to 1945 is well written and researched thoroughly.It provides fresh research and interpretations on this Mexican state that did not play a very important role in the Mexican Revolution, although the book provides a very good historical background for those interested in modern day Chiapas. Its main weakness is the last chapter, where the author attempts to link the years and events under study (1910-45) to the Zapatista rebellion which broke out in Chiapas in 1994.The author does not convincingly achieve the task.Nonetheless, it is a good read for students of Mexican history or for anyone interested in the state of Chiapas. ... Read more

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Updated with a new chapter by Davíd Carrasco describing how the Aztec world has been re-imagined by modern Mexican American communities and Chicano scholars, Moctezuma’s Mexico is a lavishly illustrated volume that provides an in-depth historical profile of the Aztec empire on the eve of its fateful encounter with the Europeans. Beginning with an exploration of Aztec history and cosmology, the authors and two other prominent scholars--Anthony Aveni and Elizabeth Hill Boone-examine Aztec ceremonies, astronomy, myths, rhetoric, and moral philosophy, as well as controversies in recent Aztec scholarship using poetry, sculpture, painting, and the archaeological record.

With nearly 150 full-color illustrations, MoctezumaÂ’s Mexico is an important and handsome book that will appeal to scholars and students of MexicoÂ’s indigenous past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Superb Illustrations of Aztec Life
This is a splendid book detailing life in Mexico before the conquest by the Spaniards. Beginning with the inside covers the bookis rich in pictoral description. The endpapers are beautiful color reproductions ofDiego Rivera's "The Great City of Tenochtitlan", a lavish tributemural of Aztec life that adorns the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City. Thecolor is magnificent throughout the book and includes many artifacts leftfrom the ancient Aztecs. The book also includes a great little glossarythat includes a pronunciation guide to Nahuatl terms. The glossary servesas a fine introduction to theNahuatl Language and it's phonetics.Although the authors and contributors are scholars, the book is easy toread for the average person interested in archaeology and Pre-Columbianlife in Mexico. The color plates are some of the finest and include rareglimpses into Codex's that are housed in museums. A magnificent book to useas reference. The book is also a great source of information for furtherresearch as it includes a selected bibliography. An excellent view of Azteclife, it compliments any personal library. If you love the Art ofPre-Columbian Mexico this book is also a source of inspiration.

Well-written but not too dry or scholarly, with great photos
Developed by four distinguished Mesoamerican scholars for an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History (1992 - 1993). Great photographs of artifacts (jade masks, human skulls, sculptures), buildings andmanuscripts. Well-written (not dry or too scholarly). It's been on mycoffee table for years but I never tire of looking at it. ... Read more

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In this expansive volume, John Bierhorst brings to light the gods and heroes of pre-Columbian times--and demonstrates that they are very much alive today. The book provides translations of twenty "basic myths," showing how these have influenced the artistic, literary, and political life of modern Mexico and Central America. Originally published in 1990, the text has been updated to reflect recent advances in Mesoamerican studies.In addition, a new Afterword describes how these native mythologies--since the late 1980s--have begun incorporating issues of international significance, including cultural pluralism, religious freedom, and environmentalism.
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. ... Read more

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As part of the larger, ongoing movement throughout Latin America to reclaim non-Hispanic cultural heritages and identities, indigenous writers in Mexico are reappropriating the written word in their ancestral tongues and in Spanish. As a result, the long-marginalized, innermost feelings, needs, and worldviews of Mexico's ten to twenty million indigenous peoples are now being widely revealed to the Western societies with which these peoples coexist. To contribute to this process and serve as a bridge of intercultural communication and understanding, this groundbreaking anthology--to be published in three volumes over the coming years--gathers works by the leading generation of writers in thirteen Mexican indigenous languages: Nahuatl, Maya, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal, Tabasco Chontal, Purepecha, Sierra Zapoteco, Isthmus Zapoteco, Mazateco, Ñahñu, Totonaco, and Huichol. Volume 1 contains narratives and essays by Mexican indigenous writers. Their texts appear first in their native language, followed by English and Spanish translations. Frischmann and Montemayor have abundantly annotated the English, Spanish, and indigenous-language texts and added glossaries and essays that trace the development of indigenous texts, literacy, and writing. These supporting materials make the anthology especially accessible and interesting for nonspecialist readers seeking a greater understanding of Mexico's indigenous peoples. ... Read more

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Ms.
This book offers a variety of literary works by real Mexicans. Writers that have not been included in the white-western canon dominated by Spaniards! ... Read more

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Schaafsma's classic work on New Mexico rock art is available once again in this extensively revised edition to incorporate the latest theories and publications regarding New Mexico rock art, while still retaining the original format. The revisions include new discussions of Las Imagines (Albuquerque's West Mesa Site), and the significance of the Rio Grande Style for illuminating the history of the kachina cult and other aspects of Pueblo religion. The chapters present the material by geographic region, covering the northeast, the south, the Upper Rio Grande, and the east and southern high plains. Styles discussed include the Chihuahuan Polychrome Abstract, Desert Abstract Petroglyphs, Mogollon Red Paintings, Reserve Style, Jornada Style, Apache, Rio Grande, Navajo, Anasazi, and Later Pueblos. Profusely illustrated with many high quality black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Ambitious book is a big disappointment
First let me say that I am reviewing this as a person who likes to visit rock art sites and thus bought this book to help me in a trip to New Mexico.In that regard it failed miserably.Many archeologists feel the need to protect rock art sites from us "tourists" and probably think we should be confined to the national parks and monuments.While I acknowledge that there are some jerks out there who do not respect these ancient sites, if you are going to take the time (and my money) to write a book on New Mexico rock art, wouldn't it be logical that you would want others to appreciate it as well?Apparently not.To be fair, this book is more like a textbook and may be useful to someone in a graduate class doing a paper on Rock Art.It is a large format book althouth it is not hardcover.It has numerous black and white photographs which will entice the reader to want to learn more but the vaque descriptions and overly technical writing, will ultimately result in disappointment.Perhaps Mrs. Schaafsma should read books by Grant Noble and Dennis Slifer to get a better idea on how to write for the masses.Until then, I would recommend finding a good web-site on New Mexico art versus buying this book. ... Read more

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Explores native people's responses to Spanish attempts to challenge and replace traditional spiritual practices in Florida and New Mexico. ... Read more

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This is a reprint of a 1938 WPA project that produced fifty handcolored prints of existing Spanish Colonial pieces. There are prints of santos, altar screens, straw-work, tin-work, colcha, furniture, and decorative motifs. The portfolio has not been seen by many because after the project was completed it was recalled by the Federal Works Project as being too primitive. They just didn’t understand the process or the significance of the pieces. The accompanying booklet authored by E. Boyd has also been reprinted. The reprint is dedicated to Eliseo Rodríguez of Santa Fe, the lone remaining artist of the project. This is a long forgotten, but important, piece of New Mexico’s history.

Boyd is credited with the text and the renderings for this portfolio, which was her first major work in the field of the Spanish Colonial arts. She continued her work for almost forty years, first at the Los Angeles County Museum and eventually at the Museum of New Mexico where she served as curator of the Spanish colonial art department for nearly twenty-five years. ... Read more

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The text provides an ethnographic analysis of the social and cultural aspects of installing and managing a piped drinking water system in La Purificacion Tepetitla, a community located in the densely populated and semiarid region of the Valley of Mexico. The account shows how politics and culture shape community initiatives to develop adequate and equitable drinking water supplies in the Valley of Mexico's changing ecology. The research is based on 22 months of ethnographic fieldwork, carried out from 1993 to 2000. The book applies the culture concept to drinking water issues and furthers students' understanding of human diversity in terms of economics, ecological adaptation, politics, kinship, gender, ethnicity, health beliefs and practices, and religion and ritual. ... Read more

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The cult of the dead, centered on Todos Santos, the All Saints Day-All Souls Day celebration, is one of the most important aspects of Mesoamerican Indian and mestizo religion. Focusing on rural Tlaxcala, in Mexico, Hugo Nutini presents a thorough description and analysis of the cult in its syncretic, structural, and expressive dimensions and describes its development from the original confrontation of pre-Hispanic polytheism and Spanish Catholicism, through colonial times, until the disintegration of the system of folk religions that is even now occurring.

The discussion of the expressive component of the cult of the dead is a crucial contribution of the study. Professor Nutini shows that symbolism can be an adjunct to expressive studies, but not an end in itself. In addition, he postulates a theory that may serve as a model for studies of the combination and reconciliation of religious beliefs in other contexts. Emphasizing folk theology, teleology, and eschatology, rather than the mechanical and administrative components more frequently studied in works on Mesoamerican Indian and mestizo religions, he concludes that the local system is monolatrous, rather than monotheistic. ... Read more

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This book looks at the history, beauty, and various styles of New Mexico colcha embroidery, and tells the uplifting story of how a small group of determined women revived a Hispanic cultural tradition destined for extinction. ... Read more

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Many aspects of life have changed little since colonial times in the cloudy, misted highlands of the southernmost state of Mexico. In Chiapas women still marry at 13, and are often sold for a few bottles of liquor or a cow. On New Year's Day 1994 Chiapas was brought to the attention of the world by a very modern insurrection by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Since the beginning women were integral to the rebellion and later the movement for social justice in Chiapas and Mexico. In this volume the women of Chiapas tell of their hopes and their struggles, and their fight for a more democratic and humane way of life in their state and their country. The account discusses the lives of indigenous women in the state. Personal and testimonial in style, the women interviewed recount their lives as women in their communities and also their part in the struggle to establish and defend the EZLN. ... Read more

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Written in 1595, Fray Mendieta's work presents the history of the advent of Christianity in the Caribbean and Mexican regions as a consequence of the Spanish conquest. He illustrates the triumph and tragedy of the missionary effort and the difficulties in the conversion of the Indians, conflicts between spiritual ends and material interests. This edition of translated sections also presents some translated sections from Mendieta's letters, including a letter addressed to King Philip II of Spain. ... Read more