Book Description

Born in 1913, Eva Tulene Watt shares the story of her family from the time of the Apache wars to the modern era. Her interpretation of her people's past is a diverse assemblage of recounted events, biographical sketches, and cultural descriptions that bring to life a vanished time and the men and women who lived it to the fullest. Her book affords a view of the past that few have seen before--a wholly Apache view, unsettling yet uplifting, which weighs upon the mind and educates the heart. ... Read more

Book Description

This extraordinary classic has been variously acclaimed as one of the great books of adventure, travel, anthropology, and spiritual awakening. In 1938-39, a French nobleman spent fifteen months living among the Inuit. He is at first appalled by their way of life: eating rotten raw fish, sleeping with each others wives, ignoring schedules, and helping themselves to his possessions. But as de Poncins odyssey continues, he is transformed from Kabloona, The White Man, an uncomprehending outsider, to someone who finds himself living, for a few short months, as Inuk: a man, preeminently. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Magnificent
I recently bought it and read Kabloona in a weekend. The result was an incredibly valuable experience that has increased my awareness not only of Inuit life in the Netsilik area but of human behavior in general.Dde Poncins' prose is magnificent, even poetic. Numerous passages simply sing. Whether he is describing the describing bouts of cabin fever at the post in Gjoa Haven or celebrating the renewed vigor of villiage life that Springtime brings, De Poncins's eye for detail is refreshingly balanced and clear. What's more, Kabloona does not pretend to be an unbiased narrative. Instead, the author leads us through his physical and spiritual journey to show us how living with the Inuit has allowed him to become "a man preeminently." Certain passages seem somewhat romanticized, while others reveal the author's deeply-entrenched provincial values. The latter is evident when he describes an Inuit "pedarast" with a mixed sense of fascination and revulsion. But rather than hindering the narrative, such honesty and straightforwardness only enhances the humanity of this book. Kabloona is a thoroughly engrossing read that feeds into many areas of Inuit life, including myths, legends, and belief systems, as well as daily life and habitat.

Some books stay with you for a lifetime
It's been years since I read "Kabloona" by gontran de poncins. I don't remember the specifics of the book (I'm going to read it again, soon). What I do remember is the lingering humanity of the people. The hard life they lived. The culture shock between my life and theirs. I remember the mirror they held before me, forcing me to question our idea of "progress," "civility," and "modern man". Books such as "Kabloona" and "Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt and "Mutant Message" by Marlo Morgan tells us more about our roots as a species than many of the great thinkers and philosphers who speak in the abstract and grandeur of modern man. You read a book like this and you must pause and reflect, look deeper into yourself and the rushing stream you were born into. Step back and look at life from a different perspective. It can be life-altering or at the very least a stunning revelation.

Left on the ice
I read this book many, many years ago and have forgotten many of the details. I remember one, however. When the old one couldn't travel, they put her out on the ice and drove off. That is so relevant to our contemporary society and the discussions of social security and the elderly, caring for the disabled, etc. We can't leave the disadvantaged on the ice and drive off but must find some way to care for them.

A privileged glimpse of Eskimo life
Gontran de Poncins's "Kabloona" is a classic of Arctic adventure, to be ranked alongside Farley Mowat's "People of the Deer," Harold Horwood's "White Eskimo" and parts of Peter Freuchen's "Vagrant Viking." A French aristocrat with a genuine yearning for adventure, de Poncins made his way to North America just prior to the last war. By stages, he managed to go right up into latter day Nunavut, some of the highest inhabited Arctic territory in Canada's north. Yet he didn't stop there. Putting himself into the hands of an Eskimo hunter who happened to be heading off onto the sea ice, he underwent an extraordinary odyssey lasting the winter through, in which he camped with the Eskimos in their winter igloos.

de Poncins takes us into the very private, very communal world of these northern people. Private because, for Europeans, entering this strangely illuminated landscape was even then almost an impossibility. de Poncins admits that his initial impression was overshadowed by the nausea which sprang immediately into being as he tried to deal with the strange mixture of smells in the igloos. Most Europeans would not pass that first test and many an estimate of Eskimo culture has been biased by just such an affront to a sensitive olfactory centre. Yet once he had passed this initial barrier, a process which he says took some time, he found himself in a world unlike any other he had experienced or imagined. It is into this ageless community that he takes us for a very privileged glimpse of the last of the true ice-dwellers.

Although a French national, de Poncins chose to remain in North America and he wrote his text about the Inuit in English, in collaboration with a friend. Not much is known about the author's life thereafter, as he did not publish much other work, but like G. B. Edwards's solitary yet wonderful book about life on Guernsey, "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page," this one book by de Poncins is a major accomplishment.

One of the best books I've ever read!
I came upon this book PURELY by accident, and I now consider it one of the most fortuitous moments of my life! This is a fascinating and INCREDIBLY well-written account of a Frenchman's experiences living amidst the Inuit at the turn of the century--he is honest, hilarious, philosophical, and makes you feel like you're bumping along behind him on the sled across the tundra. I think it should be required reading of every single high school anthropology and sociology class. It is EXCELLENT! ... Read more

Book Description

Charles Eastman was born on the Santee Reservation in Minnesota in 1858. His grandparents raised him after his mother?s death and his father?s capture during the ?Minnesota Sioux Uprising?. FROM DEEP WOODS TO CIVILIZATION continues Eastman?s captivating autobiographical work after Indian Boyhood, telling the story of his years during school and into his life as a doctor.One of the highest educated Indians of his time, through his social work and his writings he was one of the best-known Indians of the early 20th century. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Autobiography of Ohiyesa
If you have read the writings of Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman); I HIGHLY recommend this book to you.

It helped me understand the forces that shaped this man.

My favorite areas are

The assorted photos of his father "Many Lightnings", his wife, his son Ohiyesa at the age of 5.

Events that occured while he was attending school in the East, and the bigotry he encountered from "SOME" white people.

Events where he served as a medical doctor on the Pine Ridge reservation, and caring for the survivors of the Wounded Knee masacre in 1890.

Events where he traveled among various indian nations to get items used by indians for museums.

Events where he worked with the Boy Scouts and Campfire Girls.

And much more.

If this book is your introduction to the writings of Ohiyesa; I would recommend that your next purchase would be "The Soul Of The Indian".

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

From the deep woods to civilization
There are certainly not enough autobiographies of Native Americans, and few that can compare with Eastman's story and journey to find civilization. As Eastman follows Christianity and the White Man's Civilization, he finds himself realizing the paradox of the two worlds. Upon returning to a more civilized world, he gives a captivating look at how Jesus was an Indian and how different the White world and Native American world was during his life. A perfect self-enlightenment book. ... Read more

Book Description

In his search for the North Pole at the turn of the twentieth century,the renowned Robert E. Peary, long celebrated as an icon of modern exploration, used the Eskimos of northwestern Greenland as the human resources for his expeditions. Sailing aboard a ship called Hope in 1897, Peary entered New York harbor with six Eskimos as his cargo. Depositing them with the American Museum of Natural History as live "specimens" to be poked, measured, and observed by the paying public, Peary abruptly abandoned any responsibility for their care. Four of the Eskimos died within a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a precociously solemn smile, remained, orphaned and adrift in a bewildering metropolis. His name was Minik. Here, a century after the fact, is his story.

A searing true tale of extraordinary darkness told with intensity and vigilance, Give Me My Father's Body is Kenn Harper's absorbing, intricately documented account of ruthless imperialism in the name of science, of cruel deceptions and false burials, and of the short, strange, and tragic life of the boy known as the New York Eskimo. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Minik....could have been more
I recently finished reading Kenn Harper's book, "Give me My Father's Body", a book with a fascinating story that was not particularly told well. Perhaps it is Mr. Harper's rather basic writing style that allowed me to put this book down every now and again or the fact that he did not relate his subject's life in a terribly empathetic way. Minik, in the author's eyes, ranged from being an poor eskimo who was taken advantage of, to one being an astute manipulator. I was never quite certain which Minik he was talking about and in the end, I had no feelings for Minik one way or another. I had a hard time believing that Minik's presence in America was as important as the author tried to relate. Curiously, the man who comes to life most in Mr. Harper's book is Admiral Robert Peary and the author adds to history's further debunking of Peary's claims that the admiral was the first to reach the North Pole. But to tie Minik as closely and as importantly to Peary as Mr. Harper tries to do is a bit of a stretch. The title, too, is somewhat misleading. "Give me my father's body", Minik's attempt to retrieve his father's remains from the Museum of Natural History, plays a fairly small role in the book. It is shown as a sidelight in the saga of Minik's life....a story I hope will be better told in Kevin Spacey's movie.

Intriguing...... sad
Kenn Harper has managed to bring together an amazing story through detailed research. Minik, the Polar Eskimo child, was brought to the US by Robert Peary and essentially placed on display. The story of his disconnected life is full of pathos and sorrow. Yet Harper weaves the story with life.

Peary's behaviors were simply egotistic and reprehensible. He treated the Eskimos as his property. He placed their lives in harms' way by bringing them to a culture and location that assaulted their senses and immune systems. Minik was the price paid for that deed.

I did get bogged down in names from time to time, especially as Harper recounted the financial misdealings of Wallace, who had taken responsibility for Minik. But overall, the story is entertaining and enlightening. It speaks to the ethnocentrism of Peary's generation and to the isolation of the Polar Eskimos. It took me a long time to read and absorb this book but it was rewarding in the end... to see and feel a culture so far away.

I've read much better
Storyline is very intriguing, but the writing is a bit droll. It is also longer than necessary.

If we only knew then what we know now.
I purchased this book for an Anthropology course in the Spring of 2001 and was just appalled at what I read. The singlemindedness of Robert Peary was reprehensible. The arrogance with which he treated the Inuit he came into contact with and the devasting effect on one little boy! There was no thought of the consequences to the actions of one (person) and many suffered from it.

I recommend this book to anyone who doubts just how far we have come in terms of tolerance, compassion, and understanding of other cultures. It was an amazing tale!

A Sad, Short Life
Kenn Harper's biography of Minik Peary Wallace was a fascinating look at not just the sad life of a young Eskimo brought to this country as a "specimen" but also provided a unique perspective of the society which allowed it to happen.

They may have been referred to as the "good old days," but in the day and age when circuses toured the country with freaks, the "acquisition" of 'primitive' people by institutions such as New York's Museum of Natural History was only marginally more respectable. (In my humble opinion.)

Minik, who was just seven years old when brought to New York City from his native Greenland along with his father and four others, quickly fell ill, but unlike all but one of the others --lived.

The other survivor returned to Greenland within the year, but Minik remained behind to be raised by the Museum's Supervisor of Buildings as an adopted son. That the museum arranged a "burial" of Minik's father, but in reality kept the bones for display, was just one of many deceptions Minik was saddled with over the years.

As a word of warning. Don't expect to sail through a reading of this book. The names alone* will slow you down. Not that that's a bad thing: Think of it like driving on cobblestones. You're forced to go slowly, but you get to enjoy the view. Photographs interspersed throughout the text helped to bring things a little more to "life."

* Names such as Aleqasinnguaq, Nukappiannguaq, Qisunnaguaq, Atangana, Angutilluarsuk, and Taliilannguaq to name a few. They don't really roll off the tounge! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Legend Who's Story is Told
After knowing OF Mourning Dove for over 20 years in my school life.It was not till the internet,that I fully got to know MORE about her.Library books,were only so limited.But thanx to the internet,doing research on herwas well worth it.Her books"Morning Dove" a Salishan Biography,and "Cogewea" are both very well written.So as not to have favorites,I love both of her works.I highly reccomend them.You will gain a better appreciate the Native American Culture after reading about her,her life and her struggles.

Interesting and Informative
I found this book to be a good source of information about Native American life at the turn of the century. Every aspect of life was covered, at times through stories about the author's life and at other times through her descriptions and explanations. The book is not written in chronological order, so it was confusing to follow in certain sections. Overall, Mourning Dove's experience of living both the traditional nomadic and then the settled Indian life is a fascinating one, well worth reading about by anyone interested in these subjects. As a feminist, I also found her description of the role of women in her culture to be revelatory. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A view of the Indian Wars from the Native-American side
During the War of 1812, Black Hawk (1767-1838), a chief among the Sauk and Fox Indians, fought on the side of the British. In 1823, after signing a treaty with the United States, the Sauk and Fox were compelled to leave their lands in present-day Illinois, and move west of the Mississippi River. In April 1832, after Black Hawk had received what he considered to be too many affronts, he led a large following back to the disputed land, beginning what was later known as the Black Hawk War (April-August 1832). After his surrender, Black Hawk was given a tour of the expanding United States, and he decided that he wished to have recorded his life's story, so that the people of the United States could understand him and his reasons for going to war. This is the Black Hawk's life story.

This book was originally published in 1833, and was supposedly dictated by Black Hawk to his translator, Antoine Leclair. There is some speculation as to how much of this work is actually Black Hawk's own words, and how much is Leclair's ghost writing. But, I must admit that I did not bother much with this controversy. I found the book to be a fascinating look into Black Hawk's mind and how he saw the European-American settlement of the United States.

First of all, the hero of this story is no sugar-coated Disney character. His story is filled with battle and plunder and the taking of scalps. A true warrior, steeped in his culture's ideals, he lived and fought in what he considered an honorable and logical manner, and could not understand the way that the white people lived and fought. This is no politically correct paean to the Native-Americans, but a clear-eyed explanation of who Black Hawk was, and why he did what he did.

So, if you are interested in American history, and want a view of the Indian Wars from the Native-American side, then I highly recommend this book to you. ... Read more

Book Description

An authentic, eyewitness account by a Seneca warchief of the American Revolution. Chainbreaker's (European-Americans called him Blacksnake or Governor Blaacksnake)war path led him to some of the bloodiest encouters on the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers, including the desperate hand-to-hand battle at Oriskany. At war's close, Chainbreaker met former adversary George Washington for treaty negoitiations and became an emissary for peace to western Indian nations. ... Read more

Book Description

This stunning narrative written by a teacher of the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Tununak "is a memoir worth reading," reports the Anchorage Daily News. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A personal favorite
This book is a biography of a bush teacher beginning in 1986. It is available only in hardback but if you are considering teaching in Alaska then go ahead and invest. Carolyn Kremers came to Alaska to teach at a turning point in her life and her wonder at what she sees is shared with the reader. Kremers gives a real "sense of place" through stories, conversations, poetry, journaling and student writing. Prospective teachers should especially consider reading the chapter titled "I hate school." This book demonstrates how challenging the teaching of multicultural students and students in general is everywhere. It covers not only teaching but also living in Alaska. It is also very different from all of the others books I have read about Alaskan teachers because of the contemporary prospective of the author versus the Alaska of 1900 or even 1950 that most books cover.

Place for the Pretend People
I loved the book. I found myself reading before I went to work in the mornings besides reading at night. I felt an eagerness to find out if she shared the same awe of the native culture that I did. She appreciated the culture she found herself in while exploring her inner thoughts and trying to come to peace with them. ... Read more

Book Description

The dramatic, brutally honest, and ultimately triumphant sequel to the bestselling American Book Award winner Lakota Woman, this book continues Mary Brave Bird's courageous story of life as a Native American in a white-dominated society. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

marred by alcoholism
This book is highly readable, but is not a beginning-to-end narrative, so those who pick up the book expecting a simple story will be disappointed.

Yes, it is a book of activism, and there is some feminism. Reservation poverty is described in detail. Domestic abuse and alcoholism also appear here. Plus Sun Dance self-torture. Thankfully, many sweat lodge and cedaring-off descriptions dull down the affect of the more shocking parts of Mary Brave Bird's experiences.

She falls prey to an alcoholic lifestyle inolving "party-ing" until you're either beat up or in jail. She eventually leaves her husband, Sioux medicine man Leonard Crow Dog, and treks across country (with 4 children), moving from women's shelter to homeless shelter, until they all spend a wild three years in Phoenix.

Definitely, the alcoholism mars this narrative, and lowers Mary Brave Bird's credibility. Yes, there are a lot of references to the American Indian Movement's standoff at Wounded Knee. And there's a good chapter about native American traditions with regard to menstruation. And inspiration about fighting for the land.

But I can't help wondering if the sort of hopeless drunken revelry portrayed here typifies ALL reservation Indians, and if so, aren't they in fact contributing to the end of their own culture..? Who's watching all those Indian kids while Mom's on a two day drunk?

In other words, this is a disturbing book. It's good but scandalous reading.

A gripping, touching account of life on the "rez"
I read Ohitika Woman a few months before I read Lakota Woman; this was the first Native autobiography I ever read. To respond to an earlier review, the book did reiterate things covered in Lakota Woman, but that is neccesary if people read this one first as I did. I spent some time on Rosebud as a volunteer teacher last summer and came to understand to some degree why Mary writes what she does about the rez.

Daring, Provocative, Enlightening
"Ohitika Woman" is a true confession of a life most American Women have never lived. From Wounded Knee to Washington, from rags to riches, from love to heartbreak. Mary Brave Bird talks openly about her life as a proud Lakota woman, who defends the best interest of her people in the best ways she knows how. She talks honestly about life growing up on a poor Indian reservation, and proudly of her time with the American Indian Movement during the seige of Wonded Knee during the massive Red Movement of the 1970's. She is is a remarkably head-strong woman, and has lived her life this way even against incredible odds. What I enjoyed most was her enduring strength and the need to succeed and never give up. For this, she is a true winner, and a true success. A book for all Americans, "Ohitika Woman" has something to teach us all. As a Native Canadian, I greatly admire her overwhelming courage, strength and passion in fighting for what she believes in!

Daring, Provocative, Enlightening
Mary Brave Bird tells the very compelling and dramatic story of her life, growing up as an American Indian woman. This is a life full of non-stop action, from Wounded Knee, to stand-offs in Washington, from rags to riches, from love, to heartbreak. This is a book for all Americans. As a Native Canadian, I understand her strength, her generosity, her courage, her pain. I am most impressed by her overwhelming fighting spirit, and her desperate and never-ending need to finish her work fighting for First Nations people across the continent. Derek Sinclair, aspiring writer

Unnecessary sequel to the illuminating "Lakota Woman"
Mary Brave Bird's first book, "Lakota Woman" (written under her former husband's last name, Crow Dog), is a gripping and explicit account of Native American life on a reservation and details the beginnings of the American Indian Movement and its battles against the United States government and corrupt tribal government. It is also an illuminating first-hand account of a feminist within the movement. The sequel, "Ohitika Woman" (which translates to "brave woman"), which takes place some 15 years after its predecessor, attempts to pick up where "Lakota Woman" left off but instead spends much of its length reiterating everything from the first book. Brave Bird's divorce from Leonard Crow Dog and her subsequent remarriage is touched on, but the bulk of the book is devoted to disjointed retellings of the first book's stories. There is little to gain from reading this sequel, and it is written in a confusing manner; not only does the book repeat its predecessor, it repeats itself---characters are introduced and reintroduced over and over throughout the book by telling the exact same stories. "Lakota Woman" is a stellar book, and those interested in Native American topics or feminism should stick with that. Those who read only "Ohitika Woman" are really missing out ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The full account of the Apache and Cochise
This author makes no bones about his feelings. He says Cochise was a true chief of his people, a noble warrior. He says of Geronomo that he was not a chief, just a vengeful leader of small band. Cochise was a political and military leader who cared for his entire people for many years, fighting to keep them independent and finally dying alone, free in the Dragoon maountains of Arizona. The Apache lived in a savage, inhospitable desert, a no mans land, no food, no water, but these amazing people lived up in these mountains and for more then a hundred years were a nemesis to indians and Anglos and Mexicans alike. Cochise led his men in battle against the americans only a few times. Mostly he negotiated with the soldiers at Fort Bowie(today you must walk a wonderful short trail to see this post). Sweeney has written this and a book on Mangas of the New Mexico Apache tribes.

This book os so thorough so well written and so unflawed in its great depth of study of the experiences of Apache in Arizona and Mexico and slowly theyw ere driven from thier way of life.

This is a must read, superior to any biography of similar Native American characters.

Authoritative, Even-Handed, with Exhaustive Research
I was highly impressed by the exhaustive research conducted by Sweeney for this biography of Cochise, who was surely one of the most impressive Indian chiefs ever. Sweeney's extensive use of obscure documents and recollections, as well as general knowledge of nearby events and geography, give this biography an authority that you don't often see in the historical bio field. Therefore Cochise clearly emerges from the world of rumors and romanticism, and is shown as a true man with real concerns and actions. So instead of the ruthless, bloodthirsty savage of popular legend, we see that Cochise was a highly intelligent leader of men and was nearly a military genius. He managed to fight a nearly even war with White settlers for a much longer time than any other Native American leader. This would not have been possible if Cochise were not a clear-thinking man of great intelligence, and Sweeney gives exhaustive proof that this was the case.

Sweeney's historical and geographic backgrounds, as well as extensive testimonials from the characters around Cochise, truly make the story come alive. Of special interest are many of Sweeney's footnotes, in which he gives a brief life story of just about every single person mentioned in the story (wherever possible). Sweeney is also ready to admit when information is missing, which is very refreshing for a biography. And in an even-handed fashion, Sweeney is not afraid to criticize Cochise at points, such as when he flouted his agreement to stay on the Chiricahua reservation to allow his warriors to continue raiding in Mexico.

Anyone who reads this book will come to greatly respect Cochise as a man, even if some of his actions were brutal. Unfortunately, this story ends like all other works of Native American history, with the eventual destruction of the people's independence. But while he was in his prime, you can't help but root for Cochise.

Rescued from Romanticism
Ed Sweeney has written a marvelous biography of an Apache war leader of much greater stature and importance than the more popular Geronimo. It is based on a detailed examination of American and, especially, obscure Mexican documents having to do with the Chiricahuas and Cochise. As a result, Sweeney rescues the chief from the romantic mythology of Elliott Arnold and Michael Ansara. He turns out to be a fierce and uncompromising leader of a barbaric and savage people. His was not an era of gentle, politically correct, and liberal humane attitudes. Some of the accounts are chilling of the brutalities committed by whites, Mexicans, and Apaches toward each other. Sweeney examines in great detail the incident at Apache Pass that spurred Cochise's war against the whites. He notes that such a conflict was likely inevitable between two such very different cultures. Sweeney also writes about the relationship between Cochise and Tom Jeffords, which turns out to be somewhat different than the common myth. But it is also clear that the relationship was indeed a strong one and important to the final peace effort by General O.O. Howard. After reading this biography, you may want to read Sweeney's recent publication of the journal of Captain Jos. Alton Sladen, "Making Peace with Cochise". My only regret with Sweeney's biography is that he did not include more detail on the lifestyles of the Chiricahua Apaches. But the book is an important resource to everyone interested in the 19th century history of south Arizona.

Best biography ever written about a native american.
Thank you Edward R. Sweeney. You've rescued Cochise from obscurity and myth. The real Cochise is every bit as admirable and fierce as the mythical one. This book is brilliantly researched, wonderfully written and combined with this same author's edition of "Making Peace with Cochise" supplies a vivid, objective and sympathetic portrait of the man who may have been the greatest of all the Indian chiefs. ... Read more

Book Description

After spilling bourbon on Schnaubelt's grave, its pugnacious and very dead occupant becomes Ross's mentor, sidekick, and boozing companion through this epic telling of the hallucinatory, carnal, and ornery histories of the American Left and John Ross's own remarkable life. Schnaubelt navigates us through his seemingly boundless revolutionary battleground, uttering cries of subversion from within the grave while trying to remain out of earshot from the FBI snoop and local supermarket tycoon buried nearby. Ross's own story-hobo revolutionist, junkie, poet, and journalist is a contrapuntal to Schnaubelt's. Ross never takes himself too seriously, yet his most remarkable trait is the honesty with which he approaches life, even while trying to deconstruct his own faults, personal tragedies (including the death of his one-month-old son), and imperfections. His pursuit of revolutionary politics and poetics is the constant, often spent with his muse, Revolutionary Mexico. Ross concludes with a trip to Baghdad as a "human shield," before the Anglo-American invasion, ready to sacrifice his life as part of his perpetual struggle for justice. Award-winning writer John Ross's memoir is inspired from a tumbledown tombstone in California: The headstone reads: E. B. Schnaubelt 1855-1913, "Murdered by Capitalism." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I read it to my wife the afternoon it arrived in the mail
John Ross is a fascinating and funny storyteller. The Publisher's Weekly dweeb who dis-ed this excellent book must have no soul. Ross might be that guy you've seen by the roadside and dismissed as a homeless drunk, however this homeless drunk tells a story everyone should know, and maybe understand. The enemy is revealed, and also the reason it is so hard to defeat.

The real deal
It's true this book is funny, but it is also very moving as it traces the more pugnacious side of US Left History. You get a real sense of the actors in this drama, their personalities as well as the effect of those personalities on the unfolding of rival left "organizations." In some ways, this is a real People's History as it contains and dramatizes all the contradictions of the various movements-Stalinist, Maoist, Anarchist, etc. Ross is much more sympathetic to violent resistance than Howard Zinn is, and his running down the forgotten violence by both right and left is meant to remind us that being left can't be being in a vacuum. Pacifism, for example, didn't bring on the 8hr work day. Most importantly, it reveals that the life of a political outsider and activist need not be sheer drudgery. Though it is struggle, Ross expresses a revolutionary joy. A good primer about left history, an excellent memoir of struggle. Ross has a muscular, but finely honed prose style. A joy to read. ... Read more

Book Description

Elizabeth B. Pinson shares with us her memories of Alaska’s emergence into a new and modern era, bearing witness to history in the early twentieth century as she recalls it. She draws us into her world as a young girl of mixed ethnicity, with a mother whose Eskimo family had resided on the Seward Peninsula for generations and a father of German heritage. Growing up in and near the tiny village of Teller on the Bering Strait, Elizabeth at the age of six, despite a harrowing, long midwinter sled ride to rescue her, lost both her legs to frostbite when her grandparents, with whom she was spending the winter in their traditional Eskimo home, died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. Fitted with artificial legs financed by an eastern benefactor, Elizabeth kept journals of her struggles, triumphs, and adventures, recording her impressions of the changing world around her and experiences with the motley characters she met. These included Roald Amundsen, whose dirigible landed in Teller after crossing the Arctic Circle; the ill-fated 1921 British colonists of Wrangel Island in the Arctic; trading ship captains and crews; prospectors; doomed aviators; and native reindeer herders. Elizabeth moved on to boarding school, marriage, and the state of Washington, where she compiled her records into this memoir and where, at age ninety-two, she now lives. ... Read more

Book Description

Sacagawea Speaks is filled with classic storytelling and user-friendly history that leaps off the page and into the imagination. Here, Sacagawea tells readers of her extraordinary life with the Corps of Discovery. Author Joyce Badgley Hunsaker elegantly combines oral traditions, scholarly research, historical anecdotes, and images from a multitude of collections to present to readers the first complete picture of Sacagawea --the woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Rounding out the first-person narrative and exquisite selection of color, historical, scenic, and expedition artifact photos, readers will find Shoshoni vocabulary, quotes from the journals of Lewis and Clark, interpretive notes, a timeline, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

an brilliant way to learn history!
Imbued with a lyrical talking style, each page offers morsels of everyday tribal life, as Readers listen to Sacagawea's memories, stories, explanations & interpretations. From how the white men misunderstood the hand sign which described her tribal name, to how the First People spoke to each other. From when Sacagawea is taken prisoner by a warring clan, to when she, as wife to the expedition scout Charbonneau, is delivered of her son. From the contents of Thomas Jefferson's Medicine Chest, to the animals they came upon on & the uses for their hides. From full page photographs of the daunting & beautiful landscape over which they trod, to the expedition's supply list.

Complete with a Shoshoni vocabulary, quotations from the Lewis & Clark journals, interpretive notes, a timeline, biographical sketches of Sacagawea, her family & members of the Corps of Discovery, together with over 100 photographs & illustrations, SACAGAWEA SPEAKS is an awesome experience! Eloquent, elegant, filled with information & quirky historical footnotes.

All that is missing is a CD of this author speaking her story.

A piece of American exploratory history
Sacagawea Speaks: Beyond The Shining Mountains With Lewis & Clark by historical interpreter and story teller Joyce Badgley Hunsaker is a superbly illustrated coffee-table book that combines extensive historical research, eye-witness history, participant journal entries, and more in order to present the story of Sacagawea, the Native American woman who traveled alongside the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Stunning color photography of landscapes and historical artifacts, timelines, Shoshoni vocabulary, and much more round out this beautiful and absorbing preservation of a piece of American exploratory history as showcased from the truly unique perspective of a Native American woman.

Terrific, Well-Researched Book
Just when you think there is nothing else to be written about Sacagawea, Joyce Badgley Hunsaker's book Sacagawea Speaks goes to the top of the list. This is a magnificent book brimming with artifacts and illustrations to support the well researched text, and little known facts about Sacagawea and her Lemhi Shoshone people that helped me understand her in a way I never had before. This is a book to keep on your coffee table for the entire Lewis and Clark bicentennial 2003-2006. You and your visitors can open it up to any chapter or sidebar and be immediately taken back in time, enjoying the story because of its rich details and friendly style and poring over the illustrations. A beautiful volume that young and old will want to read and reread. I was delighted to find it.

Yes, it IS a BEAUTIFUL book!
The narration in this book is nothing extraordinary, but it is indeed the LOOK of the book that makes it so special. Gorgeous photography and other artwork that really bring the topic alive and make this book stand out. Also, a very nice discussion of each of the Corps of Discovery members at the end of the book. This one's a keeper!

A beautiful book!
As a reader and relative of Sacagawea,I couldn't be more pleased with this book in both content and presentation. I feel that Joyce Hunsaker has gotten to the heart of this woman,and her place in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She's presented us with a wonderful gift. The photographs, charts, maps, Bodmer and Catlin paintings included are the best and most complete I've ever seen. Even the footnotes are fascinating! You honor my family, and all of us in America, where the world lives, Joyce. Mitakuye oyasin! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A lyrical tribute to the Aleutian Islands
Ray Hudson's memories of Unalaska and its people form a beautiful portrait of a time and place. As a former resident of Unalaska, I highly recommend the book. Although the community can no longer be called a village, the Aleut roots described in Hudson's tale are still there. And his deeply evocative descriptions of the land--one of the most remote and beautiful in the world, I'm convinced--are wonderful. The descriptions of everything from fog to wildflowers to stormy nights are moving and accurate. A definite must to anyone traveling to the Aleutian Islands--and a terrific travelogue for the armchair traveler.. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The only primer on Mr., Coloradas
Mangas COloradas led his people for many years in New Mexico and on raids in Mexico and Arizona.He was related to Cochise, who sweeney has also written a book about.This is a wonderful read, fully researched and vivdly portrays the Apache chief in all his splender, letting you feel the southwest as well as detailing the minute negotiations and military conflicts that raged about him.

Well researched and founded history
Some of us go to the bookstore and seek out the history section and browse the displayed titles. History entice us, it shows our past and tells about the mistakes repeated time and again. Maybe, for some of us it is able to tell a warning or two.

History seems to me a most dangerous field to write in. Especially when in the case of this material, the concrete facts are so small and insignificant and what may or may not be the real answers to a lot of questions are buried by time and dust. One will perhaps never know what Mangas Coloradas did in his first life-years, historian Sweeney means he has found a good answer and presents it to the reader but he doesn't claim it to be the sole answer, he says it's possible. This is the respect every historian should have to his/her audience.

Of course, it's not only Mangas' first years that are lost in obscurity. Official mexican and spanish papers tell only half the story of his people, but Sweeney is extraordinary in his ability to sow a thorough and well founded history of this remarkable and gargantuan statesman. It also seems from the book's voluminous notes that Sweeney has been everywhere to find the tinyest bits of information.

All this makes noone wonder he has written his finest piece yet on the Apachean-Mexican/American relations.

The Greatest Chief
Before Geronimo, before Cochise, there was Mangas.Mangas Coloradas "red sleeves" isa facinating read.Having grown up in Apacheria I knew of Mangas.In fact I lived, and have relatives, at Apache Tejo, where he met his demise.If you want to truly understand what led up to the American/Indian wars of the late 1800's, and why they occurred, then this is a must read.It is written exquisitely.My only regret is that there weren't more maps to help show where the various battle sites were.A 5-star rating for a wonderful book.This one I'm keeping. ... Read more

Book Description

2001 Ohioana Book Award

Blue Jacket (ca. 1743–ca. 1808), or Waweyapiersenwaw, was the galvanizing force behind an intertribal confederacy of unparalleled scope that fought a long and bloody war against white encroachments into the Shawnees’ homeland in the Ohio River Valley. Blue Jacket was an astute strategist and diplomat who, though courted by American and British leaders, remained a staunch defender of the Shawnees’ independence and territory. In this arresting and controversial account, John Sugden depicts the most influential Native American leader of his time.

John Sugden is an independent scholar and a former associate editor of Oxford University Press’s American National Biography project. His books include Tecumseh: A Life, winner of the Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Good Book, But Based on Scant Material
Sugden's third book on the Shawnee tribe (Tecumseh's Last Stand and Tecumseh: A Life being the other two) is a competent piece of historical writing, but is, in my view, the weakest of the three. Sugden does a fairly good job of debunking the belief that Blue Jacket was a white man, presenting a variety of materials to counter the dubious evidence usually cited by those who support this contention. While diehard believers will not be convinced, Sugden will likely influence those who do not cling to this old (and widely accepted) tale.

As for the bulk of the book, Sugden does a fair job of collecting the bits and pieces of Blue Jacket's history and weaving them into a readable narrative. The difficulty he (or anyone in the future who wishes to explore Blue Jacket's life) faces is that there is too little material available to produce a thorough biography of this Shawnee. Compared to other Shawnees of the same time frame such as Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa (the Prophet), or even Black Hoof, there is little in the historical record about Blue Jacket, certainly when one is attempting to write a full-length biography.

Perhaps if Sugden had published this as an article (or series thereof) or incorporated Blue Jacket's story within the framework of a larger tribal or regional history, the holes in Blue Jacket's history would be less gaping. However, the lack of source material forces Sugden to draw conclusions and make some speculations based on suspect evidence and assumptions. For example, little is known about Blue Jacket before the American Revolution. Sugden uses the few sources available from the American colonial period, but is forced to fill in holes with generalizations about what is known about the Shawnee and their neighbors. This weakens the biography because Blue Jacket the individual is often lost in these generalities.

On the positive side, Sugden presents, to this point, the most complete biography of Blue Jacket. The only other widely available biography is Allan Eckert's: Blue Jacket: War Chief of the Shawnees, which, while more vibrant and perhaps better written, is subject to broad speculation by the author, fosters the highly suspect Swearingen (captive white) connection, and is more literature than history. Therefore, Sugden's book is currently the best if one wishes to learn about the historical Blue Jacket. In all fairness to the author, I am not convinced that a better book on the subject is achieveable, which is a shame because Blue Jacket may never achieve the historical status of contemporaries such as Tecumseh or Little Turtle; a place he richly deserves.

This guy just isn't a very good writer
It tried to like this book, but I couldn't. This guy is just not a very good writer. He takes a very exciting period of history and makes it not so exciting. He is good at presenting facts (though some are a little shaky), but not so good at writing a story based on the facts. There are better writers dealing with this time period.

An exciting, authoritative Native American biography.
Blue Jacket is an exciting authoritative biography of a Shawnee war chief of great military, diplomatic, strategic and political achievements. Compared with other Native American leaders such as Red Cloud, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull, Blue Jacket, or Waweyapiersenwaw is portrayed as a Shawnee patriot and defender of his tribe's Ohio River territory.Unafraid to utilize white and mixed blood connections(he married two wives of white or mixed Native American/white blood), Blue Jacket provided inspiration and a role model for the famous Tecumseh in his later years. Covering an estimated lifespan from 1743 to 1808, the biography details a fully human portrait of Blue Jacket with fine details drawn from a variety of close sources.

Many examples of Blue Jacket's skill and astuteness are given. The precarious position of the Shawnees, between the British, the French, and enemy tribes is well documented. A reputation for handling disagreements among allies also is characteristic of Blue Jacket. Respected by Native Americans and Europeans alike, Blue Jacket's conduct throughout his life was characterized by a balance of abilities, traditional religion, warring and hunting skills, and also an ability to prosper from the additions of white culture. An example of an attempt to analyze Blue Jacket's political support of Tecumseh and the Prophet is quoted: "And so in the early days of the movement of Tecumseh and the Prophet, Blue Jacket illustrated its capacity to attract differently minded men and women, people who saw advantages in one way or another.Blue Jacket probably saw the sense in much of what the Prophet said, but we cannot suppose that these arguments were sufficient inducements for the most sophisticated of all Shawnees. We can, however, only guess at his motives. We know he was ambitious; he always had been. We know, too, that he was isolated, living apart from the center of Shawnee affairs in Ohio and seldom attending their tribal council. The most likely explanation of his interest in the Prophet is that he saw in him a way to recover influence and power. It was his final attempt to challenge the supremacy of Black Hoof and other old Meckoche rivals (pp. 241-242)."

The history of the Shawnee and other Native American tribes in the East is riddled with blood and lost ground. However, this biography of Blue Jacket testifies to a man who straddled cultures and achieved a level of both success and bitterness. Most interesting of all is the legacy of blood that he fathered, traced in meticulous detail by authentic sources by author Sugden. Although it may suffer from the loss of a Native American voice, Blue Jacket presents a piecing together of a lost portrait, powerful and sure. It provides a missing piece of history. "Today, most people's perception of American Indian armed resistance, itself only part of a complicated history, is extremely limited. It is the warriors of another age who are remembered - men of the later nineteenth century, whose fame has benefited from the growth of the popular press, the cinema, and improved communications. Yet Blue Jacket's followers accounted for more American enemies in serious battle than the forces of Cochise, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Geronimo put together, and his vision of intertribal unity was much keener and more sophisticated. Of course, we are all products of our own times, but when the long roll of Indian notables is called, surely the name of Waweyapiersenwaw, or Blue Jacket, deserves to find its place. (pp.263-64)."

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

A selective take on scant evidence.
I too wanted to like this. I enjoyed it the first time through, but upon examining the notes I find that the author jumps to some shakey conclusions off of too little evidence. And lots of primary documents were either missed or ignored. For instance, Sugden says that the first record we have of Blue Jacket is in David Jones' Journal in 1773. That is simply not true.

The first primary document we have of a Shawnee named Blue Jacket goes back to 1756 in trader John Owens' account books in the Ohio Company Papers, and other mentions of Blue Jacket as already a major hunter go back to 1751. The original manuscript is in the Etting Collection in Pennsylvania but it has been transcribed and many libraries have copies, including the Filson Club Historical Society in Louisville.

Sudgen theorizes that their was only one Blue Jacket, when in fact there were several going by the name, a concept name among the Shawnee involving an animal, and probably the blue jay, the bird with the blue jacket. He enhances Blue Jacket's reputation by diminishing that of Little Turtle, arguable but hardly credible given the author's other postulates. Sugden makes too many mistakes here for me to rate it above one star.

Wanted to like it but found it tough going.
To my knowledge this is only the third Shawnee that anyone has written a book about, Tecumseh and the Prophet being the other two. An interesting time period, but I found myself yawning thru this rendition of it. Perhaps there was just too little data for the author to work with. After reading the book, Blue Jacket still seems a shadowy figure, a block of wood, a carved face on a totem pole. The author gets an A+ for research for all I know, but I wish he had found something in this story that had some charm, some mystery, or some semblence of personality. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great
attention mike hittman please contact david andrews northern nevada paiute for the next book of yours. he has alot of investigations of the recent leades of the northern nevada tribes. good reading and i will bet a best seller! contact kay fowler and the special collections unr ... Read more

Reviews (1)

"Paiute Princess" Writes Her Own Page In History
Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins was the daughter of Northern Paiute Chief Winnemucca. Edited by Mrs. Horace Mann,Sarah Winnemucca provides more than a brief glance into the lives of the Northern Paiutes living on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation during the late 1800s. Winnemucca gives her voice to the plight of her people as they struggle to survive the effects of government Indian policy in the Western United States.

Sarah Winnemucca's autobiography enables the reader to examine how the US reservation system, assimilation policy and the BIA failed to provide adequately for the Paiute people. The author provides the reader with an opportunity to experience the feelings of hope and despair of the Paiute people during the late 1870s and 1880s. Her examples of the corruption by white settlers and Indian agents provides reasonable and believable evidence of what life was like for Sarah Winnemucca and her Paiute family.

Sarah Winnemucca's memories are bitter-sweet. She relates her actions to help not only her own people but the US army during the Indian wars of that era, including the Bannock War. Marrying US Army soldier Lewis Hopkins in the early 1880s, her story also includes events during their marriage. An advocat for her people, Sarah traveled to Washington, D. C. to speak with the President, and she traveled coast-to-coast publicly speaking about the plight of her people as well as her life as a young Paiute woman. Her daring escapades as an Army scout and participant in several Indian wars further illustrate her strength as a Native woman.

This book, written in Sarah Winnemucca's voice, is both a powerful and moving example of the active role some women played in the history of the west. I found her memories to reflect a side of history often overlooked by other authors, and I highly recommend her work. ... Read more