From the first people who walked across the frozen land bridge to the Bering Strait, the American Indians who carved a home on the North American continent crafted clothing that harmonized with the land around them. Each group blended its own cultural beliefs with local materials to create extraordinary expressions of beauty found nowhere else.

The Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume, lavishly illustrated, presents the variety of clothing created by the many tribes and looks at its uses, whether functional or ceremonial. The book is divided into ten cultural regions, with each chapter giving an overview of the regional clothing and its cultural context. Tribal information includes men's and women's basic dress, footwear, outerwear, hairstyles, headgear, accessories, jewelry, armor, special costumes, garment decoration, face and body embellishment, and transitional dress after European contact.

In clear language, accompanied by more than 150 photographs and illustrations this encyclopedia details the vast creativity, developed over numerous generations, of the American Indian Cultures who grace this land.

Josephine Paterek is professor emeritus in the speech and theater department at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.