The Native American Experience

By Jay Wertz. Lyons. 64 pp. $45

Though "fun and excitement" -- as Blue Clark, a Muscogee/Creek puts it in his foreword to The Native American Experience -- isn't what came to mind as I leafed through this catalogue of woe, nonetheless it's fascinating to examine the book's 30 replicas of historic documents. Among them are the 1684 deed making what is now Queens City, N.Y., a "free gift" from chief Munagoab to Thomas Townsend of Oyster Bay; the "peace letter" written in 1864 by Chief Black Kettle (Cheyenne), which was delivered to Colorado Territorial Gov. Joseph Brown, whose stupefying response was the Sand Creek Massacre; a note written by Abraham Lincoln in 1864, listing the names of 25 Dakota prisoners held after the Sioux uprising of 1862 and to whom he granted presidential pardon; and a 1980 newspaper expressing outrage at federal and state attempts to renege on the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.

David C. King's First People, on the other hand, is an overview of Indian history that challenges readers to consider how the first Thanksgiving relates to the violent battles on the Plains, how a descendant of European colonists should feel about ancestors who may have contributed to the destruction of native cultures, how Indian sports team mascots can be justified, and how casinos and ownership of the Hard Rock Café chain have changed the image of Indian tribes in America. Though written for children, and with vivid illustrations popping off its pages, it's a riveting primer for all ages.

-- Mary Ishimoto Morris

Also: "First People: An Illustrated History

of American Indians" by David C. King

(DK Publishing. 192 pp. $19.99)