Description: Archaeologists have long studied the American Southwest, but as historian Robert McPherson shows in Viewing the Ancestors, their findings may not tell the whole story. McPherson maintains that combining archaeology with knowledge derived from the oral traditions of the Navajo, Ute, Paiute, and Hopi peoples yields a more complete history.
Brief description: Robert S. McPherson is Professor of History Emeritus at Utah State University-Blanding Campus. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books on Navajo history and the history of the Southwest, including Under the Eagle: Samuel Holiday, Navajo Code Talker (with Samuel Holiday) and Viewing the Ancestors: Perceptions of the Anaasází, Mokwic, and Hisatsinom.
Review Quotes: "In Viewing the Ancestors, Robert McPherson takes on a formidable assignment: 'To give the Navajo and other Native American tribes' oral traditions a new look, ' as he phrases it. McPherson travels to Anaasází country and re-examines Navajo and Hopi teachings concerning this locale. He gives his subject the kind of attention and respect it deserves, ultimately revealing the power of place and the significance of stories."--Peter Iverson, author of Diné A History of the Navajos