Increased interest in complementary healing methods has provoked a flurry of books on Asian traditions, especially those of Cnina and India. America has its own healing traditions, though--the herbal medicines and rituals of the Indian nations. This comprehensive volume includes the traditions of many peoples, such as the spidery dream catcher of the Algonquin and the Cree, the Cheyenne's sacred arrow blessing, and the Iroquois' winter solstice dances. That in itself would make this accessible, engaging book a good choice for libraries where interest in the healing arts is high, and its impressive collection of herbal remedies, all employing American wild plants, only increases its appeal. Reads looking for treatments should heed the authors' cauthions and look for help from health professionals and healers trained in the use of these medicaments; but for a history, an appreciation, and suggestion of possibilities, this guide is a find.

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Introduction Healing the traditional way -- Chapter one: Birth and infancy --"Thank you for coming to our village" -- Chapter two: Childhood -- Consecration of the boy to thunder -- Chapter three: Puberty --Changing woman --Chapter four: Adolescence --The "Little brother of war" -- Chapter five: Adulthood --"Leap over the adversaries of life" -- Chapter six: Fertility, midwifery, and childbearing --"For it is she who gives birth" -- Chapter seven: Middle age --Faces in the landscape -- Chapter eight: Old age --The Old woman who never dies -- Chapter nine: Death, the afterlife, and the spirit world -- Footprints that fade on the path -- Chapter ten: The American Indian medicine chest -- Gifts from Mother Earth --Glossary of tribes -- Appendices --Lexicon of herbs, fungi, and minerals -- A Directory of resources and suppliers.