It gives a clear account of many aspects of Chickasaw culture.  It is careful to acknowledge the injustices they faced at the hands of the U.S. government.  It is illustrated with color photos of actual artifacts.  It recognizes the tribe as a unique nation.  It’s got a good sturdy binding.  I am delighted to see that the list of significant dates that recaps the history of the people is not mistakenly described as a “timeline” as so many books do.  My one criticism of the book is that it deals almost entirely with the history of the Chickasaw people:  the one page dedicated to “The Chickasaw Today” merely states rather vaguely that many people continue to honor the traditions and stories of the past, without really telling us anything about the people of today, other than to say that there were about 49,000 people in the Chickasaw tribe in 2011.  I would like to know more about what those 49,000 folks are experiencing and contributing today.