Book Description

Flags of the Native peoples of the United States proudly display symbols of tribal traditions, art, and culture. In Native American Flags, Donald T. Healy and Peter J. Orenski present an encyclopedic look at the flags and histories of 183 Native American tribes throughout the United States. Listing Indian nations alphabetically, this fully indexed reference includes both federally recognized tribes and other groups, and offers an image of each tribe’s flag and a map of their location within the United States. Each entry includes a brief summary of the tribe’s history, presents information on contemporary Indian peoples, and describes and illustrates in detail the symbolism and imagery of each Native American flag. A gallery of color plates includes full-color representations of 192 historic and contemporary Native flags. The authors visited more than two dozen reservations and surveyed more than 250 tribal governments, working closely with them to produce this authoritative volume. A portion of their original research on Native American flags was published in Raven, the journal of the North American Vexillological Association, an organization devoted to the scientific study of flags. This thoroughly revised and updated edition includes more than fifty new flags and accompanying tribal listings and full-color representations of each flag. Carl Waldman’s foreword places the flags within the context of Indian history, mythology, and art, and shows how Native American flags have become powerful symbols of Native unity and tribal sovereignty.