“Many, many years ago, all things came to be. The stars, rocks, plants, rivers, animals, Mountains, sun, moon, birds, all things. And the People were born.” A 40 ^th -anniversary edition of this essential work offers a history of Native peoples in the Americas from a Native perspective. Written in the cadences of oral tradition, and imbued with the perspective of one descended from the original inhabitants of the land, the story acknowledges and honors the emergence of numerous distinct Indigenous cultures, and the shared, tragic impact of Europeans’ arrival. It speaks of treaties made and treaties broken, of suffering, and above all of endurance and survival, which comes in the sharing of knowledge and experience with the next generation. The need to protect the earth, and to honor the dignity of all people, is a powerful theme that resonates across the narrative. This new edition concludes with an author’s note referencing the original publication, and the continued presence and ongoing struggles of Indigenous people, including the Standing Rock Tribe of Sioux’s protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Age 8 and older)