Have You Read?

Judy Pasternak, Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed. New York: Free Press, 2010. Native American history requires a strong stomach, one wise professor told me years ago. Indeed, the vast beauty of the Navajo Reservation contains some ugly physical wounds. If you read Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed, you will soon feel great discomfort. The discovery of uranium in a mountainous area of the northern reservation led to the establishment of large mine that was worked from the 1940s on. Thousands of local Natives were employed there and inadequately protected from the bad effects of the mine’s contents. I’ve always considered radioactivity as a two-headed beast: healer and killer. While my life was saved by radiation therapy treatment, many hapless men — individuals who only wanted a good job — ultimately perished from bad exposure to radioactivity. Yellow Dirt, like The Case of the Indian Trader, shows you the dark side of what has gone down in Indian Country.
Purchase from Amazon

Paul Berkowitz, The Case of the Indian Trader: Billy Malone and the National Park Service Investigation at Hubbell Trading Post. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2011. The book, written by a self-acknowledged “whistle blower,” reveals how ignorance and sloppy practices threatened the good name and livelihood of one of the most respected Indian traders in the Southwest.
Purchase from Amazon

Tom  Miller, Revenge of the Saguaro: Offbeat Travels through America’s Southwest. El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press, 2010.  Discover a unique voice in this collection of essays that tell amusing and diverse stories about the regio. Everything from eco-raiding. chimchangas, and the song “La Bamba,” to Hollywood, union busting, and cactus shooting are profiled.
Purchase from Amazon

Knifewing and Rainbow Man in Zuni Jewelry by Toshio Sei, a dedicated collector and Japanese scholar. This new release is a thoughtful tribute to the historical development of Zuni Indian inlay jewelry featuring two of its most popular design motifs, spiritual beings with relevance to Zuni cultural belief. ISBN 978-0-7643-3548-8
Purchase from Schiffer Books
Purchase from Amazon

Also available: Paula A. Baxter: Southwest Silver Jewelry
“This book is a visual feast and factual whopper!” — Amazon review
“If you buy only one book about Southwest Indian jewelry, make it this one!” — Amazon review