AMERICAN INDIAN GAMES AND CRAFTS

Blood begins with the announcement that ""Before Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, the people he called 'Indians' called themselves The People."" And though he mentions once that ""the People"" lived in many kinds of homes, and ends by listing the ""many places"" they lived (forest, mountain, seaside, desert), he doesn't otherwise note that these People were divided into different groups--much less that those who called themselves ""the People"" referred only to their own groups. Likewise the simple games and crafts included here are not attributed to any particular group or region. Blood gives directions for making a ""sand painting"" with sandpaper, spray varnish, and salt, pepper, and paprika, without giving any background on sand painting--and for making a ""wall hanging,"" a geometric design from construction paper pasted on cardboard or cloth, without mentioning the woven rug this project presumably derives from. (Nor are beads mentioned in connection with the necklace made by stringing macaroni.) Directions are similarly casual and non-specific (""Cut the patches into strips to make the design"" is typical), and the directions for ""making a thunderbird"" (for what purpose? who knows?) don't bear much evident connection to the accompanying illustration. With only five simple games and eight ""craft projects,"" that leaves little of value to be salvaged.