A comprehensive guide to the history, culture, and religious beliefs and practices of America’s native people, The Element Encyclopedia of Native Americans tells the varied and colourful stories of the tribes, their greatest leaders, wars, pacts, and the long-lasting impact that their profound wisdom and spirituality has on the West today.Containing a fascinating and comprehensive list of A-Z entries, including a series of essays, this encyclopedia will highlight:• Rituals and Ceremonies• Sacred Sites• The Arrival of the Europeans• Shamanism• Totems• The Warrior• The Afterlife• The First Nation Today• The Reservations• The Visionary World• Ancestors and SpiritsIllustrated throughout, including charts of the totem animals belonging to each clan and maps of tribal areas.