The two worlds of the Washo : an Indian tribe of California and Nevada / by James F. Downs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Downs, James F., author.

Series:

Case studies in cultural anthropology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Washoe Indians.

Indians of North America.

Physical Description:

viii, 113 pages : illustrations (black and white), map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1966]

Summary:

"This case study of the Washo Indians of western Nevada and the eastern Sierra slopes of California is one of those rare events in the vast professional literature on the American Indian where a picture of a single tribal culture as a whole is presented. Though Washo culture in its traditional form has virtually ceased to exist at all, its disappearance was gradual enough and its relatively full appearance recent enough so that Professor Downs has been able to put the memories of the old Washo together with known history and knowledge of the culture area to form a coherent and dynamic reconstruction of the traditional Washo way of life. But he never forgets history. There is a sense of time in the book, which is so often lacking in attempts to reconstruct traditional cultures. Even as the traditional patterns of subsistence techniques, of rituals and religion, of kinship and social organization are described, the reader anticipates the dramatic changes in the Washo world to be wrought by the coming of the white man."-- Foreword.

Contents:

The two worlds of the Washo

The Washo

The land

Using the land

Society and culture

Spirits, power, and man

California, the Washo, and the Great Basin

The white man and new alternatives

The sad new world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Indian Rights Association Complimentary Collection.

Other Format:

Online version: Downs, James F. Two worlds of the Washo.

ISBN:

003056610X

9780030566103

OCLC:

294090