"Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of Native Americans" /// Grades 7 to 10 Non-Fiction

This non-fiction feature, written by Larry J Zimmerman, is an extremely detailed and informative book aimed at middle school aged pre-teens. "Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of Native Americans" is full of beautiful photographs, pulled from a wide variety of sources. The end notes thank numerous artists, museums, and photograhpic libraries for providing the pictures used in the book. The educational content of the book focusses on the history, culture, and spiritual forces guiding the First Nations People throughout North America. It should be noted that the term "Indian" is used to represent these people as it is written from an American perspective, and that word is much more widely accepted and common than it is in Canada.
Evaluating this book, there are some considerations to be made. First of all, while the author is extremely knowledgeable about the subject of Aboriginal peoples (he is a professor of anthropology and museum studies and public scholar of Native American representation at Indiana University) he himself does not come from an Aboriginal background. While the author notes at the back of the book do state that Zimmerman has written or collaborated with Native American communities on more than 20 books, there is the reality that Zimmerman does not necessarily come from a place of authority when discussing sacred stories and legends of some of the tribes within North America.
Additionally, there are no reviews of this book to be found on any "recommended reading lists" by First Nations bloggers or authors.
Lastly, while the information in this book is quite comprehesive in terms of information needed for a school project, etc.,  no specificity is included that places the culture of the Native Americans in the present. For example, one of the captions listed for a full page photograph simply states, "A masked Apache ga'an dancer." This type of represenation can sometimes be sterotypical, even if it conveys an accurate represenation of the physical dress or traditions that are practiced. As this book was published in 2009, I would tend to recommend alternative, newer materials that have equal focus on the present lives and culture of First Nations people. Overall, while I'm sure this book contains a wealth of useful information, I would not give it a highly recommended status.

References:

Zimmerman, L. J. (2010). Exploring  the  life, myth, and art of Native Americans. New York: Rosen Publishers.