Ever since a Native American prepared a paper "charte" of the lower Colorado River for the Spaniard Hernando de Alarcon in 1540, Native Americans have been making maps in the course of encounters with whites. This text charts the history of the cartographic encounters, examining native maps and mapmaking from the pre- and post-contact periods. G. Malcom Lewis here provides a detailed overview of the history of native North American maps, mapmaking, and scholarly interest in these topics. Other contributions include: a study of colonial Aztec cartography that highlights the connections among maps, space, and history; an account of the importance of native maps as archaeological evidence; and an interpretation of an early-contact-period hide painting of an actual encounter involving whites and two groups of warring natives.