THE PEOPLES OF THE ARCTIC

The first title in the ""Peoples of North America"" series to deal with Native Americans discusses the Inuit and Aleuts. Getting off to a choppy start by naming many tribes from Siberia to Greenland and giving four different groups of ancestral origin for the Inuit, Osborn also confuses with his statistics and his comments on linguistics. He does provide good descriptions of the former life-styles of these Eskimo groups--their subsistence-living in harsh surroundings; how self-reliance and community cooperation have shaped their culture--though more detail on home life would have been welcome. He highlights the present: the difficulties resulting from assimilation; trade-offs with the government over land and mineral rights; the efforts of these people to retain elements of their culture despite TV, commercialism, and public education. Overall, a useful reference source, well illustrated with b&w photos and drawings plus a color signature. No glossary (and terms like ""Paleo-Indian,"" ""baidarka,"" and ""permafrost"" are ill-defined in context). Brief bibliography; sketchy index.