Reviews (6)

Zintkala Nuni, the Lost Bird
In December 1890 the United States of America massacred an unarmed band of Lakota men, women and children at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Most of them were starving and many of them were very ill. They were cut down like prey in the bitter snows of the Badlands and it was a sad day for Human Beings, one of many days I can never get out of my heart. There was a tiny miracle that day. A little baby girl survived unharmed, protected were she fell, by the body of her murdered mother. She was taken in by other Lakota people but Brigadier General and future Assistant District Attorney of the United States, Leonard W. Colby kidnapped and then adopted the baby as a "living curio." This murderous, inhumane and corrupt man wanted a little souvenir so he stole a human being, a helpless infant, and ripped her away from her people and her culture. He exploited her to attract prominent tribes as clients of his law practice. His wife, Clara B. Colby, who later divorced him was a prominent suffragist and newspaper editor. She tried to give this little Lost Bird a stable home and she meant well but she could never replace the Lakota ways or help Lost Bird to fit in to an alien and inhumane world. Lost Bird, whose real name was Zintkala Nuni only lived to be 29 years old and her short life was filled with pain and degradation and tragedy. She suffered sexual abuse, violence, prostitution and rejection. She was a being caught between two worlds and accepted in neither. The author of this book has done a wonderful job of bringing this poignant story to light. She illustrates the atmosphere of the times and offers rich insight into the insidious racism of the America of that time. This is a story of not only the cruelty that was done to the Native peoples of this land but of the misogynous, unscrupulous and socially unjust attitudes and actions of the leaders and people of this country. It is a testiment to endurance, a chronicle of tragedy. In 1991 Zintkala Nuni was returned from her burial place in California to Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the Badlands of South Dakota. She was buried with respect and ceremony among her people in the tiny cemetary not far from where her mother fell that terrible day. Last summer I drove past the crowded impoverished homes to pay my respects to the people who died that day at Wounded Knee. I saw the harsh reality of the ancient gray hills of the Badlands with their ghostly beauty. I saw the offerings and prayer bundles in the burial grounds. I talked with two men selling souvenirs, trying to make a few dollars in a place where work is so hard to find. I looked at the marker where Lost Bird is buried and I was struck hard like a physical blow to my solar plexus. The arrogance and greed that murdered so many people, that stole a little girl from her people, that sought to cripple and defeat a powerful People is still alive and walking in the land but it has not succeeded. This book may help people to feel the injustice in their heart of hearts. It may illuminate our past and open our eyes to the injustice we still condone, many of us, with our silence. It is a powerful and moving story, well told.

A Moving Piece of Lakota History
The Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 is a shameful piece of our history. This book is a description of what happened to one infant survivor of that horrible day and the woman, Clara Colby, who tried to raise that child, Lost Bird. Readers will shudder at what happened to Lost Bird, including the fact that she had been taken in by a loving Lakota family after the massacre, only to be ripped from familiar arms by General Colby to take home as a prize. One will be torn between what might have been best for the girl and what the well-meaning and kind Mrs. Colby did for her, given the circumstances. Renee Flood tackles the two ideas that it is wrong to raise a child of Native American heritage as a white because of inherent natures and because raising a child of dark skin produces racist tendencies in those of lighter skin who come in contact with the child. For example, Lost Bird did not get along with white children her own age partly because she was so sheltered, but mostly because the children teased her about being Indian. She was not allowed to be with the African Americans either, although this was her choice, because they were "beneath her." This only led her to believe that dark-skinned people, Native Americans included, were "bad." Another facet of this book is that it describes much of the Woman's Suffragist movement and goes into great detail about Clara Colby's role, as well as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Renee Flood has great sympathy for her subject and was instrumental in getting Lost Bird's remains brought from Califonia and reburied at Wounded Knee with a magnificent granite tombstone, where she joins the others buried in a mass grave dating back to 1890. Flood is an excellent and accurate historian who humanizes a sad story.

Impressed me&Dr.Elizabeth Townsend,my WomensHistory Prof
For a required history course, my least favor ite subject, Prof. Elizabeth Townsend,PhD., UCLA, wanted to introduce those of who were computer UN- friendly, to the inter-net. She assigned a user- friendly with those like me. My first five minutes were highlighted by the "Lost Bird..." web site. Within thirty minutes, not only was my thesis in process, but the entire class, predominantly female (52:5), was given a whole new attitude on the REAL first Americans. Dr. T. was so impressed that she included the book, the lost bird, and the entire Native American Women issue a dominant spot on her lectures, her mid-terms, and her final exam She then went on to include an essay on this topic into her extra credit and final essay choices list (on which only seven women/topics appeared). The great irony came to fruition when over 70% of the class gave an incorrect response to the test question: ?Who were the first American women? This highlighted to Dr.T., to me, and to much of the class, just how much ignorance still exists on this key part of women in the American experience. This valuable addition to my own personal library has made an especially powerful impact on my life, as well as my academic career. Being a third generation Celtic male, in my 40's, whose own grandparents came from Scotland (pater) and Ireland (matre) so as to escape late 19th, early 20th century injustices in our home countries, it was very painful to read the names of the perpetrators of the Wounded Knee genocide, and recognize surnames which must have matched those of many of the townsfolk in my grandparents' towns What a traumatic, rude awakening for me, and especially during my last semester of my undergrad work as a Womens' Psych. major, with domestic violence, rape, and incest counseling as my field; add to that my recent licensing as a CAADE, CAADAC and NAADAC student chemical addiction counselor, and the info. regarding the "nite before" which a majority of the Celtic soldiers had imbibed, and the image of the "brave Celtic warrior" bearing down on the fleeing, panic stricken mother of the Lost Bird...well, ?you get the picture, right? So, my personal recommendation, from "James George Arthur Mulcahey-Michaels-Marshall (aka: Jay-Bird), of Clayton, Alexandria Bay, New York, to all my Celtic sisters and clansmen is this: "As you sit and tap your feet to the river dance, and raise your spirits aloft in tribute to the lords of the dance, as your heart rate and respiration elevate to the haunting tunes and enchanting melodies of our ancestors, add the salt of tears of sorrow to your saline tears of pride as you recall all that we, as a people, have endured in our journey to our new homeland. As you weep for the lives lost in clan feuds, and potato famines, and wars of our lands to free "all" humans, tip your lager to Renee Sansom-Flood and her victory of helping to re-unite a mother & daughter whose separation weighs heavily and squarely on the broad Celtic shoulders with which we pride ourselves. May we as a proud and noble culture, take the lessons of the "Lost Bird..." and vow to do what we can to erase the intolerance which fostered such an atrocious act of barbarism, to avoid any participation in any such act against "any" race or gender, and to strive to show due respect from cultures which differ from our own,...and especially if they arrived BEFORE our very own grandparents. As we fought for and demand(ed) fair treatment from conquerors to our island homes, may we, by our treatment of other indigenous peoples, show that we practice towards others that which we espouse as our inalienable right. I highly recommend this book for any who wish to have their eyes and their hearts opened to a piece of history from which ignorance there-of can only foster fertile ground for repetition. We Celtic people, who are drawn to and love the light thank you Ms. Renee Sansom-Flood, for introducing us to "Zintkala-nuni" and her noble people, and for your subtle way of showing us, the Celtic American, the great debt we owe to a race who has suffered in ways very similar to our own; we, too, were one despised, hated, maligned, and unwelcomed in this place we now call home: "...the land of the free, and the home of the brave".

Well written and factual history of the Sioux nation
Tells the true story of the expioitation of a proud nation of people by those bent on their own desires. Tells of the need of understanding between cultures of people and their need to live their lives peacefully. An outstanding history that everyone should read. Spiritual in quality.

FAIR
i gave this book a fair rating because i wanted to learn more about native americans, wounded knee, and lost bird. what i read was more about womens sufferage, the personal life of the colby's, and very little about lost bird. really only the last two chapters went into any detail about lost bird. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Superb book
Anyone interested in the Apache and the history of the American Southwest needs to read this book. You will likely consider the events and participants of this controversial period of history in a new light when you hear the "other side of the story" from one who was there. I wouldn't be surprised if you measure all other accounts of the "Apache Wars" period against Mr. Kaywaykla's testimony.

Victorio, A must.
As an apache woman, this is one book I would highly recommend. Not only does it tell of what The Warm Springs Apache had to endure, but of what they felt and of the internal conflicts amonst the apache people. In this book not only do they focus on Chief Victorio but all that surrounded him.
I recommend all to read this book and see what it was like from the Apache point of veiw. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A collage composed of events of one year
Diane Glancy composed a college of snippets, written over the course of a year in her life. She reflects on her marriage, her divorce, her mother's death - and most interesting, she confronts her own conflicts between her Cherokee heritage and her Christian training. Much of her material bubbled to the surface during the long hours on the road driving to schools to teach poetry. Glancy makes us feel we're accompanying her on her journeys, peeking over her shoulder - no, peeking into her mind as she explores memories and their relevance to the present.
Here's a telling line: "Aren't all of us made up of paradox and diversity, anger, hurt, hope, guilt, endurance?"
This is not an easy book. No real plot holds you to the structure. But it's an infinitely thought-provoking book, one to be savored in small doses and pondered upon in leisure. ... Read more

Book Description

The first biography of Jackson Barnett, who gained unexpected wealth from oil found on his property. This book explores how control of his fortune was violently contested by his guardian, the state of Oklahoma, the Baptist Church, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and an adventuress who kidnapped and married him. Coming into national prominence as a case of Bureau of Indian Affairs mismanagement of Indian property, the litigation over Barnett's wealth lasted two decades and stimulated Congress to make long-overdue reforms in its policies towards Indians. Highlighting the paradoxical role played by the federal government as both purported protector and pilferer of Indian money, and replete with many of the major agents in twentieth-century Native American history, this remarkable story is not only captivating in its own right but highly symbolic of America's diseased and corrupt national Indian policy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Both Scholarly and Enjoyable
With some writers, an abunce of detail is mind-numbing, as in the "begat" passages of the Old Testament. In contrast, Tanis Thorne uses a myriad of details as would a pointillistic painter to create a vivid and poignant biography of Afro-Muskogee Jackson Barnett, "The Richest Indian in the World".

Barnett had belonged to the Muskogee faction opposed to individual land allotment, known as Snakes. On the Snakes' refusing to designate choice homesteads, allotments were issued in their names in the hardscrabble hills of Oklahoma. Barnett's 160-acre allotment ironically turned out to be centered over one of the world's great oil pools. Barnett was thereafter placed under state court conservatorship to limit the enormous flow of oil royalties to a meager living allowance.

An attractive "adventuress" heard of Barnett's wealth, located his modest home and eloped with him the following day.

A three-way battle erupted between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Oklahoma state courts and Anna Barnett for control of the fortune. Anna Barnett succeeded in prying free enough income to finance a move to a fashionable suburb of Los Angeles, where Jackson Barnett passed many of his days directing traffic. He became a regular tourist attraction.

Anna ultimately lost after Jackson Barnett's death. The marriage was judicially annulled and Anna was evicted from the home. She died in poverty years later.

Dr. Thorne uses the biography to portray the inherent clash between Creek values of generosity and sharing and the dominant culture of selfishness. Using this theme, Dr. Thorne segues into a brief discussion of today's Cobell litigation challenging the entire federal trust accounting of American Indian funds.

This book is a valuable contribution to American Indian history. Beyond that, the book sets a high standard for combining historic writing with lively and accessible prose. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Eye-Opening
I guess I'm not done with this book quite yet, so technically I shouldn't be reviewing it, but I'm going to anyway. I live in Owatonna and work in the main building of the old orphanage. I had never heard before that children were abused and even killed here! Peter's book is definitely eye-opening! It's well-written and sometimes seems more like a novel, I have to keep reminding myself that it is indeed true and didn't happen all that long ago. I would defiinitely recommend this book!

while the locust slept
Like Peter I lived and went through total hell from a matron while I was in the same orphanage. After reading Peters book while the locust slept,I relived the same anger, as Peter indured.This book should be a must read by anyone,who plans on going into the socialwork field and know that this is truly a non fiction tragedy which happened.This is a story that took place a long time ago,but could still and does happen today.

Tragedy and horific treatment of innocent babies & children!
My father as well was in the Owatonna "orphanage" which he termed as an "intournment camp/prison"! Babies and children were treated more tragically at this place than you could even imagine. Babies died for lack of "touch" and nurturing! Children were beaten, mauled, and oftentimes died as a result of such treatment. Peter Razor cites an insightfully true story of just SOME of the horific experiences of babies and children in this most insightful book on our country's past (AND EVEN PRESENT) ways of "Social Services" treating our "lost" children!! A MUST TO READ! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must read
Anyone who has ever read "Black Elk Speaks" should put this book "Black Elk and Flaming Rainbow" on their must read list. Written by a woman who was there during the interviews, this book sheds much light on the arguement of whether "Black Elk Speaks" is fiction or non-fiction. It also explains why "Black Elk Speaks" could not have been written exactly as Black Elk had told his story to Neihardt. The book also touches lightly on interviews leading to the writing of "When the Tree Flowered" also by John Neihardt, as well as "The Sacred Pipe" by Joseph Epes Brown. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Lakota culture. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Buy this one USED!
This book does have some cultural/sociological worth, but if you buy it new, you've got gross emotional problems. Buy it used--as long as you can find a dependable seller, and it looks like there's a good one already up here, you'll be much happier for it. Trust me on this one--save the few dollars and the years of therapy.

A Great early Indigenous voice
Four stars seem appropriate for an abridged edition of a work rating five stars for the complete version. For more detail, see my review of "On Our Own Ground" with the same date. The spectacle of Apess delivering his "Eulogy on King Philip" to the descendants of the Puritans who destroyed the Wampanoag leader should cause many Americans to rethink their image of our country's history.

A pioneering Native American writer
"A Son of the Forest and Other Writings," by William Apess, is an important resource in United States history and literature. The book is edited by Barry O'Connell, who also provides an introduction. Apess (1798-1839), of the Pequot Indian people, was a pioneer Native American writer. In addition to his 1831 autobiography, "A Son of the Forest," this volume also contains "The Experiences of Five Christian Indians of the Pequot Tribe" (1832) and his "Eulogy on King Philip" (1836).

Apess' writing is dominated by his fervent evangelical Christianity, and also by his articulation of a Native American consciousness. "Son" is at times a very gripping autobiography. In it Apess writes about poverty, child abuse, alcoholism, ethnic identity and religious conversion: all topics that remain very relevant over the centuries. This volume contains, in addition to the primary texts, a useful bibliography and chronology. This book is an excellent choice both for the classroom and for the independent reader. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Stimulating contribution to Native American studies.
The Black Elk Reader contains a variety of old and new perspectives on theBlack Elk Speaks vision entrusted by Nicholas Black Elk to John Niehardt in1931.Both classic and contemporary essays are included as well asreflections by Hilda Niehardt on 1931 and 1944 interviews with Black Elk. The issue of cultural appropriation is thoroughly presented both by FrancisKaye and anthropologist Raymond Bucko in his annotated biography and guide,"Sources and Suggestions for Further Study of Black Elk and LakotaCulture." Although some of the selections may seem a trifledated or ponderous and condescending in tone, sufficient respectfulmaterial is included to stimulate and appeal to students of Native Americanstudies, anthropology, religion, and the general audience.

NancyLorraine, Reviewer ... Read more

Book Description

How Japan, after 250 years of self--imposed isolation, began the process of modernization is in part the story of Ranald MacDonald. In 1848 this half-Scot, half-Chinook adventurer from the Pacific Northwest landed on an island off Hokkaido. Although promptly arrested and imprisoned for seven months in Nagasaki, the intelligent, well-educated MacDonald fascinated the Japanese and became one of their first teachers of English and Western ways. Based on primary research in Japan and North America, this book chronicles the events leading to MacDonald's journey and his later struggle to obtain recognition at home.

Frederik L. Schodt has written extensively on Japan, including America and the Four Japans and Inside the -Robot Kingdom. Fluent in spoken and written Japanese, he lives in San Francisco.

Reviews (3)

another world
Schodt masterfully recreates a time when the west was truly wild, with a group of bizarre characters and a truly unbelieveable protagonist. It is all the more amazing, then, that this is a true story. As in his other books, Schodt has so many interesting asides that even his footnotes read like adventure novels -- I hope he returns one day to write the full story of the Japanese radio operator-girls who committed suicide when the Russians attacked. But back in the world of the 19th century, this story of the Amerindian-Scot who learned Japanese and was one of the first westerners to see the closed land of Japan is truly fascinating. The ideal gift for anyone who thinks they know all about the way the West was won, or indeed, the East.

A gripping history with larger-than-life characters
Schodt has accomplished two things with one book. He has told the tale of a fascinating individual and his adventures in the Orient and elsewhere. And he has also brought to life a unique period in North American history that few of us learn about in school. Although the exploits of McDonald alone make for a great story, what interested me most was the vast historical and geographic tableau the author ambitiously depicts -- one that sprawls over decades and continents and is populated by such colorful characters as John McLoughlin, the virtual emperor of the Pacific Northwest, and James Dickson, the self-styled general of the "Indian Liberating Army," to name just two. The book's portrayal of the Metis culture of the U.S. and Canada in the early 19th century is a compelling story in itself. Coupled with McDonald's remarkable adventures in a Japan that was on the cusp of opening to the West, this makes for a gripping epic. Schodt has done a thorough and eloquent job of bringing it to life. "Native American in the Land of the Shogun" should entertain any history buff as well as satisfy the most discriminating scholar.

An amazing, trailblazing account of one man's achievements
Frederik L. Schodt is an interpreter and translator whose specialty is writing and understanding Japanese culture and Japanese-U.S. relations. In Native American In The Land Of The Shogun: Ranald MacDonald And The Opening Of Japan, Schodt ably presents the fascinating and true account of a half-Chinook, half-Scot adventurer who braved feudal Japan in 1848, when it was still closed to the outside world, and helped establish a legacy of knowledge that would pave the way to Japan's involvement in modern times. It was Ranald MacDonald's study of the Japanese language, and his teaching of English to interpreters of a nation, which helped Japan when the Japanese government had to negotiate with foreign visitors such as Commodore Perry and his fleet of "Black Ships" which arrived in 1853. An amazing, trailblazing account of one man's achievements and the intercultural communications he fostered, Native American In The Land Of The Shogun is an enthusiastically recommended addition to 19th Century Japanese History reference collections and reading lists. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Easy reading and very educational
a must for anyone who will be visiting Montana's Indian territory. It not only describes the lifestyle of Indian Tribes, but also how modern times took away that lifestyle during that era.

An inspiring read!
To put it bluntly, this book changed my life! I found the old chief's stories mesmerizing and this has inspired a life-long interest in Native American culture and its preservation. The story is well written and easily followed. I first read this book at about age 10, and still find it stirring now, at age 37. A MUST READ for folks wanting to know more about the plight and past of the Crow.

A fantastic read!
One of the best books I've ever read. Plenty Coups recounts his life growing up in the Crow tribe during the 1800's. Beautiful. Mystical. Heroic. It's an easy read but will keep everyone from 10 to 100 spellbound. ... Read more

Book Description

Army scout, buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, and impresario of the world-renowned "Wild West Show," William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody lived the real American West and also helped create the "West of the imagination." Born in 1846, he took part in the great westward migration, hunted the buffalo, and made friends among the Plains Indians, who gave him the name Pahaska (long hair). But as the frontier closed and his role in "winning the West" passed into legend, Buffalo Bill found himself becoming the symbol of the destruction of the buffalo and the American Indian. Deeply dismayed, he spent the rest of his life working to save the remaining buffalo and to preserve Plains Indian culture through his Wild West shows.This biography of William Cody focuses on his lifelong relationship with Plains Indians, a vital part of his life story that, surprisingly, has been seldom told. Bobby Bridger draws on many historical accounts and Cody's own memoirs to show how deeply intertwined Cody's life was with the Plains Indians. In particular, he demonstrates that the Lakota and Cheyenne were active cocreators of the Wild West shows, which helped them preserve the spiritual essence of their culture in the reservation era while also imparting something of it to white society in America and Europe. This dual story of Buffalo Bill and the Plains Indians clearly reveals how one West was lost, and another born, within the lifetime of one remarkable man. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Bobby Bridger, American Historian, author, entertainer
Bridger, decendent of the reknown Mountain man, Jim Bridger, has written an outstanding book on two of history's most colorful and enduring icons of the American west and the dynamic process that each dealt with during the late 19th century America. Bridger is one the best entertainers in American today and this book only shows a small example of his profound abilities. Years of research and documentation of historical events pays tribute to truth, justice, and injustices, of the American West. This book should be a standard fare for all collegiate history classes and for the general public at large. History is always multi-sided and Bridger illustrates that to perfection. This is a must read. It will impress both scholars and the general public. BRAVO MR. BRIDGER! We look forward to the next! Sing on Great Spirit!

The history behind the music
For years, Bobby Bridger has been entertaining audiences musically with his Ballad of the West. One of the hour sets, Pahaska, tells the story of Buffalo Bill in what Bridger describes as Homeric ballads. Now, Bridger puts aside the guitar and period garb to show his serious academic side. "Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull: Inventing the Wild West" is the history behind his music. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the old west and is an intriguing look into how the popular vision of it was created.

The history behind the art
For years, Bobby Bridger has been presenting the story of Buffalo Bill in a one-hour musical act that tells the story of Bill Cody in a series of enthralling songs. Now, with this historical tome, Bridger has completed the circle. This is the history behind Bobby Bridger's art. Bridger puts down the guitar and period garb used in his musical drama to show readers the serious academic side of his personality. If you want some intriguing inquiry and suggestion about how the modern vision of the romantic west was created, this book is a must read. ... Read more

Book Description

Yellow Wolf was one of the last surviving participants of the Nez Perce War. This is his story of the hitherto unrevealed Indian strategy and policy in that conflict as told to L.V. McWhorter, his friend for decades. McWhorter has documented the Indian's autobiography with a mass of evidence and testimony that is a monumental contribution to the history of the Far Northwest. History. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Perfect Counter Point
I'm a history student who has researched the Nez Perce history for several classes. I first read this book long before college and it sparked a life long interest in the Nez Perce history and the Nez Perce War of 1877. I live in Montana so my "backyard" is where most of this history took place. Yellow Wolf is, in my mind, the MOST credible book on the war I have read. Reading Yellow Wolf and then the book by Gen O.O. Howard it is simple to see the half truths and blatant lies the Government published in its efforts to remove the Nez Perces from their land. McWhorter took Yellow Wolf to several sites where Yellow Wolf pointed out things such as rifle pits in the distance that, until McWhorter was right next to them, were invisible to the eye. An excellent book that I have used time and again in giving lectures and writing papers. A must have for anyone researching the Nez Perce Tribal history.

A lesson in history
As a child growing up on the Camas Prairie. I was told by my Great Grandma. How her mother as a child & her parents had gone to the Fort at Mount Idaho to seek refuge from the NezPerce in 1877. Years later I was working in a small bar in the town of Whitebird, Idaho (Where the first battle occured.) One day a friend brought me this book and told me that he thought that I might be interested in reading it. That was almost 12 years ago, and I think I've read "Yellow Wolf" at least once a year sense then. Me,my husband and my 2 daughters (19 & 11) have traveled almost all of the NezPerce Trail. This book brings you into the lives of the non-treaty NezPerce on their flight for freedom. They were not a hostile people, but were forced from their homes & their way of life. You feel their pain and suffering from the begining to the end of this book. I feel it is a must read for all poeple. Another good book by L.V. McWhorter "Hear Me My Chiefs!" NezPerce legand & history

Compelling
Go back in time and live, travel and fight with the Nez Perce as they seek to return to their own lands. Feel their utter despair as gradually they are chased down by the US Army murdered, and finally with so few left, forced to live the lives of captives on a reservation. This book brings home the enormity of the crime committed by the US Government of the day, not only against the Nez Perce but all of the Native Americans, it should be compulsive reading for all US schoolchildren. It is without doubt one of the most absorbing books I have read on the subject of Native Americans. Dont take my word for it, read it yourself, you will not regret it.

Incredible Story, One of the best books I've ever read.
Amazing account of the Non-Treaty Nez Perce flight to Canada. It took around 24 YEARS to complete. Should be required reading in High School. It reads like a novel and is filled with history.

This book should be required reading for all students
As I read the book with the warying accounts of each battle, I was amazed at the similiarities of another not too distant war. (Vietnam) Each dispatch sent to the higher authorities was distorted and slanted much as the body count pressed on the public thirty years ago. The Indians had no idea what they were up against. This was a time when Manifest Destiny was more than a subject discussed in inner circles, it was a reality. No one bothered to explain to the Native Americans that the true meaning was subjugation and anilation. All Americans should read this book for no other reason than to gain a historical perpespective on the foundation of their country. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Great Book about my Great-Grandfather
I just found this book at my library a few days ago. I am the great grandson of Navajo Oshley. I only met him once and I have only been given small pieces of information about him until I found this great book. This book brings me great pleasure because it allows me to get to know Navajo Oshley is ways it hasn't been possible in the past. For anyone interested in a book that tells a great and profound story about a complex person and the people around him, I suggest reading this book. For Natives, I believe our fading of a culture can be connected through reading a well documented and supported book.

A rich contribution to Native American biography & history.
Filled with poignant statements and detailed descriptions of day-to-daylife, The Journey Of Navajo Oshley covers the life story of a respectedNavajo man of the San Juan River Basin area in southeastern Utah from 1879to 1988.The style is simple, immediate and vivid.Many details arecarefully explained in footnotes, such as the significance of the Navajo'sreaction to livestock reduction (p.131).Manyblack and whitephotographs help animate the autobiography.Navajo Oshley was a man wellrespected by both the dominant culture and his own.He was kind, gentle,hard-working, honest, and he always met his responsibilities.He deeplyloved his family.He also was evidently blessed with a gift of a sense ofhumour.This is well described in the final chapters by McPherson on his"Later Life."When Navajo Oshley speaks in his own voicein the narrative, many emotional nuances must be inferred by the reader. It is said that though he never spoke English, he was a gifted comedicsign-language maker.The Journey Of Navajo Oshley is a rich contributionto the genre of Native American autobiography and history of humanexperiences in the southwestern United States area.

Nancy Lorraine,Reviewer ... Read more

Reviews (3)

FINALLY, A FACTUAL ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANS
Although there are a number of well researched accounts of Indian Cheifs and tribes, there are as many if not more books and articals written on them that have their base on hear-say and downright wrong information. I have spent a number of years reading about Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, and Tecumseh, his more famous brother and have been futher confussed from one source to the other. Which was more true? Until this book 'The Shawnee Prophet' by R. David Edmunds came along, I was about to give up; thinking there couldn't possibly be a correct account. Mr Edmunds bothers to futher authenticate his findings with numerous pages of refferences(about a fourth of the book's volume). The reading format was heavy at first but soon, because of the welcomed amount of information, it quickly became relavent and facinating to read. By all means do read this book. More books like this need to be written. We need to know the truth about our history.

Excellent Account of Tenskwatawa, The Shawnee Prophet
This biography of Tenskwatawa is the only work devoted to the role and importance of the influencial Shawnee Prophet who has long been eclipsed in both popular and scholarly works by his far more famous brother, Tecumseh.

Born in 1775 in Ohio, Tenskwatawa was one of three triplets born into the family of the Shawnee war chief Puckeshinwa. After surviving a less than ideal childhood and losing an eye in the process, Tenskwatawa soon found himself an outcast among his own tribe. Following the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, he and his people are forced to give up their claims to most of the Ohio Country and many, including himself, fall victim to alcoholism and despair. But after experiencing a vision he believes is sent by the Master of Life, Tenskwatawa is reborn as the Shawnee Prophet and begins to preach a return to the old ways and to reject the ways of the whites whom he says have corrupted and destroyed the Indians. His religious revival brings together many thousands of loyal followers from many tribes across the Old Northwest and becomes the core of the pan-Indian confederacy engineered by his older brother Tecumseh who intends to push the Americans back east of the Appalachain Mountains and reclaim their ancestoral homelands. Tragicly, these dreams are crushed by William Henry Harrison's victory over Tenskwata's forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Though Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa would continue to fight alongside the British in the War of 1812, the Prophet's reputation is devastated forever, as is the dream of uniting the tribes and driving the whites from their lands.

This is a fascinating book that covers much information not only about the Prophet, but his people and their history, as well as shedding much light on one of the primary causes of the War of 1812 and the Indians' role in that conflict.

A thorough account of the influences of Tenskwatawa
The author uses many sources and many factual accounts of the events of the early 19th century in the area of the Old Northwest, present day Ohio Valley region. He shows that Tenskwatawa, also known as the Shawnee Prophet, was a proud man who would do anything to maintain his followers. It gives us a great insight into the difficult relations between the Americans and the Native Americans. The reading is fairly easy and the events described were very interesting. It was a very in-depth look into the life of the Shawnee Prophet, his followers and how they dealt with the world of change swirling around them and the culture clash that existed between the Native Americans and the white settlers moving in.

If you are interested in learning more about Native American culture, especially the Shawnee, then I would strongly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Tell Me, Grandmother is at once the biography of Goes-in-Lodge, a traditional Arapaho woman of the nineteenth century, and the autobiography of her descendant, Virginia Sutter, a modern Arapaho woman with a Ph.D. in public administration. Sutter adeptly weaves her own story with that of Goes-in-Lodge—who, in addition to being Sutter’s great-grandmother, was first wife of Sharpnose, the last reigning chief of the Northern Arapaho nation.

Told in a question-and-answer format between twenty-first-century granddaughter and matriarchal ancestor and, Sutter discusses four generations of home life, including child rearing, education, courtship, marriage, birthing, and burial. Goes-in-Lodge speaks of social and ceremonial gatherings, the Sun Dance, the sweat lodges, and the changes that took place on the Great Plains throughout her lifetime. Sutter’s portrait of Goes-in-Lodge is based on tribal history and interviews with tribal members. Sutter details her own life as a child born in a teepee to white and Indian parents and the discrimination and injustice she faced struggling to make her way in an increasingly Euro-American world. ... Read more