Maud Oakes was an artist, ethnologist and writer who spent her life studying and recording the indigenous cultures of Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 tribes, including the Navajo

Navajo people

The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...

 of the American Southwest and the Mam

Mam people

The Mam are a Native American people in the western highlands of Guatemala and in south-western Mexico.Most Mam live in Guatemala, in the departments of Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Quetzaltenango...

 of Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

.

She is best known for her books recording these tribes' ceremonies, art and stories. These include Where the Two Came to Their Father: A Navaho War Ceremony (given by Jeff King

Jeff King (Navajo)

Jeff King was a US Army scout from 1891 to 1911, and went on to become a highly respected ....

, with commentary by Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell

Joseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...

), The Two Crosses of Todos Santos: Survivals of Mayan Religious Ritual and Beyond the Windy Place.