The first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years.

Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years.