American Indian Experience Fills Huge Gap

In Texas, it starts in the 7th grade; in Oklahoma, it starts in the 4th grade. It’s the study of the state’s history. And if you live in these states (or any of the other 48), you know that includes Native American history and culture. But resources about Native American lifestyles, languages, foods, local tribes, or even biographical information about famous Native Americans are often extremely limited in many school libraries. Isn’t it time to fill those gaps and provide your students with quality resources that accurately and effectively provide them with information about these resilient and enduring cultures?

Grades 7–12+
Cost Subscription costs for the American Indian Experience are based upon enrollment. For school libraries with populations between 1–500, the price is $459; for populations between 500–1000, the price is $675; and for populations between 1,001–2000, it is $675. Prices are for single sites and include multiple simultaneous user access and remote access. For larger enrollment pricing, please contact your Greenwood sales representative or send an email to gemsales@greenwood.com. (Note: This database can be purchased as a stand-alone product or in combination with other American Mosaic databases. For additional information, visit www.greenwood.com/mosaic/aie/ordering_info.aspx.)

The Big Picture Greenwood’s American Mosaic Online Resource series of multicultural databases continues to expand with its latest addition, the American Indian Experience, which is a full-text digital resource that explores the histories and contemporary cultures of the indigenous peoples of the United States.
     This distinctive database was designed, developed, and indexed under the guidance of Loriene Roy, the first Native American to serve as president of the American Library Association, along with a team of American Indian librarians and scholars. Providing users with a listing of over 150 volumes of reference materials, as well as hundreds of primary documents, and thousands of images, this full-text database contains resources that present the American Indian Experience from prehistory to the present day.
     The American Indian Experience easily provides users with the ability to explore content such as art, music, education, family, migration, spirituality, warfare, government, and more.

Look & Feel American Indian Experience showcases a rustic and worn leather-like front page that prominently displays the various topics and search options available. Colorful images and artwork across the top banner of the page hint at the content, while bold blue bordered sections are filled with search topics for users to immediately begin browsing.
     The leather-like centerpiece of the front page contains the database blog content, along with Topic Guide summaries with direct links to additional information within the database. A This Day in American Indian History section at the bottom of the page completes the overall look.
     A Quick Search box in the upper left-hand side of the page allows users to enter keywords or subjects to begin their research, while an Advanced Search link directly below the Quick Search box takes users to another page where they can perform advanced strategies using Boolean terms and limiters.
     The Subject column on the left-hand side includes topics such as Arts & Media, Business & Labor, Children & Families, Culture, Education, History, Icons, Indian Nations & Tribes, Literature, Migration & Relocation, Spirituality, Warfare & Resistance, and Women. Within each main topic are subtopics that further expand and enhance research potential. For example, within the subject area of Education, thought-provoking subtopics include: Access to Education, Boarding Schools, Detribalization, Discrimination in Education, Educators, Language Recovery, Linguistic Genocide, and Tribal Schools. Information within these subtopic areas is then grouped into visual search columns that list additional resources. By selecting a topic within the visual search, users are then taken directly to the results, which are (in essence) the complete text of a digital book broken into bite-size sections that can be read separately (by selecting a specific chapter within the Table of Contents), printed, or emailed.
     Search Icons on the right-hand side of the page distinguish the more unique content including the Title List, Tribal Resources, Timeline, Image Index, Primary Sources, and Landmark Documents.
     The Topic Guide provides a pathfinder-like link to subjects of interest: Popular Culture, Gaming and Casinos, Boarding Schools, Clothing and Adornment, American Indian Food, or Tecumseh’s Resistance. Students can select an icon that leads to more in-depth content that includes photos, specific details, and links to additional resources. Within the Topic Guide section, Lesson Plans are available for that particular subject.
     The Skills Center provides students and teachers with the tools to begin utilizing the database, including Student Resources, Teacher’s Corner, Reading Room, and Lesson Plans.
     Finally, the Top Searches and Most Viewed Articles provide users with a glimpse into some of the more popular content. Additional information, including titles within the database, can be found at www.greenwood.com/mosaic/aie/media/pdf/AIE-fact-sheet-2008.pdf.

How It Works This database provides a wide range of search and browse options while providing a visual display of results. Users can quickly locate specific information by entering keywords in the search box or browse the subject areas listed to locate materials.
     By selecting Education from the Subject column, I then selected a subtopic from several listed. When I chose Language Recovery, my search page changed to display a Browse page with three columns. The first column contained the initial search Categories, including Education. Below the topic of Education, my subtopic of Language Recovery was highlighted.
     Within the second column, the Sub-Categories listed even more specific topics for selection. By choosing Native Language from the Sub-Categories column, a wide range of possible results is then listed in the third column.
     By picking the topic Language from the Midwest, my final results page displays an overview of the various American Indian tribes and the languages from within the Midwest. I also discover that my search results are taken from the Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures by Joseph W. Slade and Judith Yaross Lee (2004)—an eight-volume print encyclopedia valued at $700. By clicking the Citation link in the Tools box at the top of the article, the MLA or Chicago Manual of Style format is available to simply copy and paste into a bibliography page. Additional Links are within the Tools box, while Related Topics are listed on the left-hand side of the page. The Quick Search box and the Skills Center box are consistently found on the Results page while a top banner provides additional navigation.
     Users can find additional content information within the Resources link in the top banner, including a list of the more than 150 titles available within the database (many with copyright dates within the last 10 years, as well as a list of forthcoming titles that will be added to the database); a portal of more than 530 contemporary tribal communities within the Tribal Communities Resource link; a Timeline that features more than 180 pages all navigable by keyword, decade, and century; an Image Index; a Primary Source Index; and Landmark Documents.
     With twice annual updates, this fully searchable, full-text database is a digital library that brings together reference and scholarly works from Greenwood, Praeger, Libraries Unlimited, as well as other publishers.

For Students and Teachers Teachers and librarians who are searching for resources to supplement and enhance the social studies or history curriculum will discover that the American Indian Experience provides hundreds of outstanding research documents, photos, primary sources, outside resources, and full-text articles that directly relate to the instructional curriculum, while providing students with the unique opportunity to explore additional topics that they might not have considered. With hundreds of lesson plans, full-text documents, primary sources, and selected Internet links, educators will discover the ease of incorporating database content into their lesson plan.
     Students with an interest in pop culture, music, art, literature, or history can explore the significant contributions of American Indians (both in the past and present), while learning more about America’s diverse, native population. American Indian Experience will be included as a resource in the information packet that PBS will send to schools and libraries to promote April’s series on Native American History, We Shall Remain (www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain).

Report Card It’s hard to imagine school or public libraries that serve American Indians within their communities lacking Greenwood’s American Indian Experience database. As a native Oklahoman, I have long recognized the need for these unique resources for classroom research and instruction, and yet the opportunity to build such a collection of outstanding resources is often limited. However, Greenwood’s American Indian Experience provides not only a depth that might not otherwise be possible in the school library, it also captures the importance of exploring issues and ideas that might not be addressed within the regular history classroom.
     Once again, Greenwood’s American Mosaic Online Resource database series has expanded to include an excellent online resource that simply must be added to those library collections that seek to provide outstanding resources for instruction and understanding of Native Americans. Without a doubt, Greenwood’s American Indian Experience deserves an A+.