[Deloria fills a gap with Indians of the Pacific Northwest] by describing the impact of rapid white settlement on the Puget Sound and Washington Coast tribes, which are often neglected in history books in favor of the potlatch and totem pole tribes farther north. The chapters which relate—in exhaustive detail—the long uphill battle waged to retain treaty-guaranteed fishing rights and maintain tribal identity may cause reader interest to lag. However, Deloria has a keen understanding of Indian rights and often enlivens his narrative with fascinating information such as the account of how the Lummis built an ultramodern aquaculture project capable of producing 100 million oysters a year in the traditional style of the cedar long-house.

Marily Richards, "'Indians of the Pacific Northwest'," in School Library Journal (reprinted from the April, 1977 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./ A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1977), Vol. 23, No...