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Anthropomorphic canoe prow figureheads, alternatively called Toto isu at Roviana Lagoon, New Georgia Island, and NguzuNguzu at Marovo Lagoon, New Georgia, have played a conspicuous and changing public role in the Solomon Islands. Initially they were created on islands in the Western District of the Solomon group such as New Georgia and on Choiseul, Santa Isabel, and Nggela. During the last several decades, and particularly since 1978, when the Solomon Islands nation became independent, these forms have become a regional emblem of the Solomons. Their presence, whether on or separate from the prows of canoes, has had powerful impacts on different audiences: on Solomon islanders whose heritage they represent and on the many outsiders who have observed and acquired these remarkable artifacts.

June 26, 1998, was a special day in the 250-year history of the British Museum. After
many years in storage, the Museum's Maori collections were at last on view-not as mere
ethnographic specimens or curiosities but as Maori taonga (treasures) and works of art.
Titled simply Maori, this significant event took place not at the Museum of Mankind,
which closed at the end of 1997, but in the British Museum itself. Maori performers in
traditional costume and with moko tattoo designs painted on their faces danced and sang
in the very shadow of the Elgin Marbles. This day in which the art of the Maori was
presented was a significant advance in the Museum's integration of tribal art into its
galleries.

THE ABSTRACT ART of Plains Indian women shows tremendous depth and energy, as well as exceptional skill. To insist that it is merely decorative, as has sometimes been asserted, is both factually and ethically wrong. It is religious art that springs directly from the shamanic roots of indigenous Plains philosophy, which accounts for its unwavering conviction, its conservatism, and the remarkable vitality apparent in the variations wrought within its self-restricted and self-regulating vocabulary of form. Native American rawhide painting in general, and Cheyenne women's painting in particular, is not widely understood, but it deserves a place among the world's great artistic traditions based on both its depth in time and its depth in expressive power.

Eight hours north of Manila, in the mountains of the Cordillera Central, the Ifugao people have lived, breathed, and carved art since time immemorial. A proud, hardy, and resilient people, the Ifugao remained unconquered for 400 years while Spanish soldiers and missionaries governed the lowlands. They were the last of the head-hunting tribes of the Philippines to be pacified by foreign colonizers. The Ifugao are heirs to a unique culture that is at least 3,000 years old, one that has been both bloody and marked by extraordinary expressive creativity, often executed with virtuoso skill.

by Chris Boylan and Greta North	Stan Moriarty, an Australian amateur ethnographer, photographer, and seasoned art collector, first visited Papua New Guinea in 1961, and during the next twelve years he focused his attention on the Highlands region. The finest pieces of his Highlands collection are now housed in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney and form one of the world's best collections of New Guinea Highlands art. Highlands cultures are distinguished by grand public ceremonies that feature displays of rich body adornment, and the majority of Highland spiritual and artistic expression is focused on the human body, its decoration, and its performance in dance and ritual. Although most of the creative efforts of these peoples are composed of fragile or short-lived components, a core of more permanent artistic material exists that, when seen together, presents a strong sense of their artworks.
by Jennifer Williams	South America's western coast is marked by extremes of dramatic and inhospitable landscape: the world's driest coastal desert rises to the longest mountain chain and finally becomes the densest of tropical jungles. Within 200 kilometers in some places as many as thirty-four ecological zones can be experienced, none, however, offering the balance of water and land necessary for agriculture. Despite the challenging environment, or perhaps because of it, ancient Peruvian civilization survived and prospered for nearly three millennia. The determined spirit of the people enabled them not only to conquer their rugged terrain but also to produce art and architecture of spectacular originality, beauty, and technical expertise. Their legacy is one of strong social organization and great artistic creativity and virtuosity, incorporating diverse images, ideas, and materials.
by Janet Catherine Berlo	A profound sense of history has long compelled the Indian peoples of the Great Plains of North America to chronicle their lives pictorially. Their paintings on rock walls, buffalo hide robes and tipis provided records of history, experiences and visions. A man’s exploits in war or success in the hunt would be painted on his garments and on his shelter to validate and memorialize his heroic deeds.
by Ann Fienup-Riordan	The name Yup’ik is the self designation of the Eskimos of Western Alaska and is derived from their word for "person" (yuk) plus the postbase -pik meaning "real" or "genuine."A first encounter with Yup’ik masks may leave the viewer overwhelmed by their varied abundance and imaginative force.
by Bengt Fosshag	The tribal art of India is widely neglected in Europe and America. Its meaning is largely unknown and it is generally overshadowed by Classical Indian art. European artists at the beginning of the century made us aware of the arts of Africa and Oceania, and perhaps now we should learn to appreciate the formal language of Indian tribal art as well.
by Joshua Baer	One Art Dealer's Story about the Navajo Double Saddle Blanket
by Gillett G. Griffin	Olmec culture is the foundation of all subsequent civilizations of Mesoamerica. Within its iconographic vocabulary are themes that re-emerge in later civilizations, such as Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and the Maya.

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