Synopsis of The Winnebago Tribe

This classic work on the Winnebago Indian tribe remains the single best authority on the subject. Based on Paul Radin's field work in 1908-13, The Winnebago Tribe was originally published as an annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1923. It is distinguished by a number of first-person accounts by Winnebago informants and by the thoroughness with which Radin discusses Winnebago history, archaeology, material culture, social customs, education, funeral and burial rites, warfare, and shamanistic and medical practices. Included are Winnebago tales and legends and the first complete account of the peyote religion, now known as the Native American Church. Paul Radin (1883-1959), who studied under Franz Boas at Columbia University, was one of the most famous and influential anthropologists of his day.