Deals with uncovering and publicizing the vibrancy of the Woodland People, of the distinctive, related, cohesive, Native American culture with an ancient and important heritage and an equally significant tenacity to endure. To tribes who face the threat of loss of culture and language, this volume serves as a roadmap to survival.

The eleven nations represented in this volume are: Miami, Potawatomi, Delaware, Shawnee, Peoria, Oneida, Ottawa, Winnebago, Sac and Fox, Chippewa, and Kickapoo. While all of the tribes have their own particular history, there are shared patterns of experience. The interviewees have a very deep and abiding commitment to their families and speak of great-great grandparents as intimately as they do of their parents. All see themselves as people who do not fit the sterotypes often associated with Native Americans. They speak of the urgency for making room for multiple voices drawn from many traditions.