Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Issues: An Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples by Donald A. Grinde $24.95

Changes in the Land, Revised Edition: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon  (21)  $12.60

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From Booklist
Australia, Burma, Peru, Russia (Siberia), Turkey, Tibet, the U.S., and Zambia are among the more than 50 countries discussed in this encyclopedia. Indigenous peoples, in the definition presented here, are "groups of human beings who have occupied an area before other groups intruded." Author Johansen has written widely on environmental issues of Native Americans, and the purpose of this work is to describe foreign intrusions (usually destructive) and their effects on indigenous peoples and their environment. Aimed at a level accessible to high-school students and the general reader, the geographically arranged chapters range in length from 1 to 84 pages.

Country chapters are divided into stand-alone essays that present various facets of environmental issues confronting specific peoples. Examples of essays within country chapters include "The Mapuche: Oil Contamination" (in "Argentina"); "The Inuit: Dioxin and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants" (in "Canada"); "Deaths of Bauxite Mining Protestors" (in "India"); "The Ogoni: Oil, Blood, and the Death of a Homeland" (in "Nigeria"); "The Saramaka Maroons: Gold Mining and Logging" (in "Suriname"); and "The Zuni: Sacred Waters and Coal Strip Mining" (in "United States"). A guide to related topics alerts the user to various environmental issues found within the country chapters. Additional chapters address broader topics, such as "Climate Change and Indigenous Environmentalism," "The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Environmental Worldview," and "Native American Conceptions of Ecology."

A few black-and-white photographs supplement the text. References are included with each essay, and a 31-page bibliography provides information on related books, articles, and Web sites. Since the book deals with issues current at the time of publication, some articles may become outdated rather quickly.

There are no other current reference books specifically devoted to the global environmental issues of indigenous peoples. This volume is particularly recommended for public and academic libraries.

RBB
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Review
“A good starting point for students investigating how cultural differences and perspectives affect the environment. Recommended. All libraries.”–Choice

“While the reference literature of human ecology is well established, this timely work is the first volume in this field to focus specifically on the complex political and social interactions of indigenous populations with outside threats of development, whether corporate or governmental in nature....Given the highly scattered nature of much of the primary documentation on this issue, this moderately-priced resource belongs in the science collections of all large public libraries as well as college and university libraries supporting undergraduate and graduate programs in anthropology, geography, environmental management, political science and history. Law libraries wishing to have a review of the major locations and conflicts to supplement the coverage of specific cases and points of domestic or international law will also find it of value.”–E-Stre