[.ca] Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas ... (ISBN 0449904962)

Really?:
I am an enrolled Northern Arapaho. The first problem I have is the title. Since when did "Indian Giver" have a positive connotation? Secondly, I find it difficult to validate Mr. Weatherford's "research" since Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, NOT 1983. Finally, to me anyway, the book is complete with "facts", unfounded assumptions, and "back-handed" compliments. If the book was intended to "inform" the dominant society of the contributions of Indian people, both from North and South America, then it succeeds. It tells them exactly what they want to hear. It however only irritates the Native populations by providing even more false information to an already poorly informed general public. Ha hou'(Thank you.)

Indigenous yes, Indian, no.:
I am a Cherokee from The United States of America, where I am called an American. I am not from Peru and called a Peruvian. I do not agree that all peoples from the continents of North and South American should be 'lumped' together to be called 'Americans'. This book was a required read for a college class and served to induce great amusement in our discussions. The disingenuousness of the contents is pitiful; lacking a balanced representation. Errors were discovered which gave cause for concern over what else was incorrectly portrayed. Critical thinking skills are a must in reading this book.

A good book, though the claims are exaggerated:
Jack Weatherford's book "Indian Givers" is a medium-sized (272 pages) book that attempts to share what Native Americans in North and South America have contributed to our modern world. With a combination of stories and historical discussion, Weatherford's prose makes this book easy reading. Among other things, he points out the contributions made in the areas of money capitalism (with so much of the world's silver coming from South America, especially Bolivia), many types of foods (including various species of potato, cassava, chocolate, corn syrup, etc.), medicinal contributions such as quinine treatment for malaria, architectural styles, or urban planning, among other things. Unfortunately, the book suffers from some serious shortcomings. In attempting to make up for the lack of credit historically witheld from Native Americans, Weatherford does more than just correct this deficiency: he goes too far. He makes claims that go well beyond what the historical record can substantiate. In contrast to what history shows, he claims, for example, that the Industrial Revolution started in America(!), and that "without American precious metals and methods of processing, the industrial revolution would never have spread to Europe." (!!!!) He furthermore implies that Indians "gave" democracy to the fledgling U.S. ("Washington, D.C., has never recognized the role of the Indians in the writing of the United States Constitution") and promoted peaceful civil disobedience that inspired the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and even claims that liberation movements in Africa and Asia(!?) owed something to American Indians, since "the repeated failures of the Indian movements during the nineteenth century prepared the way for the successes of other peoples in the twentieth century." It is a shame that Weatherford's book is so dreadfully misleading and unbalanced, for it also legitimately points out many of the things for which American Indians do indeed deserve credit. It points a spotlight on the many interesting contributions that the various peoples in America have made to our societies over the years and, as previously mentioned, it is easy to read. In short, it is worth reading, but needs to be scrutinized with caution as it frequently overstates the case for "how the Indians of the Americas transformed the world." For a far more balanced presentation, I recommend Thomas Sowell's book "Conquests and Cultures".

Unknown Roots Revealed:
Everyone who lives in the alleged "flourishing" modern world should read this book, especially Americans. Did you know that Ben Franklin based much of American democracy on the Iroquois political system? Were you aware that much of modern medicine has been a result of studying indigenous cures of the Americas? Did you know that capitalism was born in the ugly bowels of the slave trade, and fueled by American-ored silver and gold mined by Native American and African slaves? These claims are strongly upheld with facts by Jack Weatherford in "Indian Givers." One thing is for sure, we owe much more to our first Americans than we do to the Ancient Greeks. Read this book if you wish to know our true heritage.

Did you know...?:
Do we have any idea what we owe to the tribal peoples who populated "America" before it was "discovered" and "settled" and "civilized" by "progress"? What I knew before I read this book could fit on the head of a pin, and I already held great respect for the history I was aware of. Did you know that American silver probably did more to undermine Islamic power than did any other single factor? Did you know that the impact of American silver caused worldwide inflation that lasted for approximately a century and caused silver to fall to its lowest value in history? Did you know that the new wealth in the hands of Europeans eroded the wealth of all other countries in the world and allowed Europe to expand into an international market system? Did you know that because America now had all the silver and gold it needed, this destroyed the African gold markets, leaving Africa with only one commodity that the Europeans wanted: slaves? From the book: "From silver and money capitalism to piracy, slavery and the birth of corporations, the food revolution, agricultural technology, the culinary revolution, drugs, architecture and urban planning our debt to the indigenous peoples of America is mind boggling. They mined the gold and silver that made capitalism possible. Working in the mines and mints and in the plantations with the African slaves, they started the industrial revolution that then spread to Europe and on around the world. They supplied the cotton, rubber, dyes, and related chemicals that fed this new system of production. They domesticated and developed the hundreds of varieties of corn, potatoes, cassava, and peanuts that now feed much of the world. They discovered the curative powers of quinine, the anesthetizing ability of coca, and the potency of a thousand other drugs with made possible modern medicine and pharmacology. The drugs together with their improved agriculture made possible the population explosion of the last several centuries. They developed and refined a form of democracy that has been haphazardly and inadequately adopted in many parts of the world. They were the true colonizers of America who cut the trails through the jungles and deserts, made the roads, and built the cities upon which modern America is based." America owes a debt to slavery that can never be repaid. That's not to say it shouldn't be. At the very least, it should be acknowledged, validated, and honored with the respect that it deserves.