Book Description

Here Virgil Wyaco, a Zuni Indian elder and leader, recounts his life in both the traditional Zuni and modern Anglo worlds. As a boy, Wyaco learned Zuni ways from his family and the English language and vocational skills in Anglo schools. Earning a Bronze Star during World War II, he killed German soldiers in combat and participated in the executions of SS guards at Dachau. His postwar career included studies at the University of New Mexico, federal employment, marriage to a Cherokee woman, and family life in the suburbs. Later, Wyaco returned to Zuni as postmaster and married a traditional Zuni woman. His election to the Zuni tribal council in 1970 quickly established him as an influential leader. His varied career demonstrates the heartbreaks and rewards of a Native American life bridging two cultures. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Life in Zuni -- by an insider
This is a magnificent book, written with skill, sensitivity, insight and the gentle teasing humor that is characteristic of Zuni. After reading it, anyone will easily understand why Tony Hillerman is still an "outsider" to many Native Americans.

My dealings with the Zunis began in 1967, when I began writing stories about some aspects of life in Zuni and was honored enough to be the recipient of some of their teasing. It's a good place to start: British humor centers on clever word plays, American humor is blunt slapstick, while the essence of Zuni humor is kindly and gentle teasing.

After all, they've lived and prospered in the Southwest for as far back as science can trace. In Zuni terms, they've been here since the beginning of the world. They learned to live in one of the harshest climates of the United States without depending on outsiders. It's only since the coming of the Anglos, which Wyaco portrays as oddball outsiders who vary from insensitivity cruelty to bumbling kindness, that many Zunis have become dependent upon a sometimes crazy American world.

His experiences in World War II, which included winning the Bronze Star, are an example. The all-Anglo draft board in Gallup, which easily filled its quotas by drafting Indians, shipped him off to Santa Fe for his medical. He wanted to join the Navy to get out of walking, but was rejected because he'd once suffered three broken ribs when he was kicked by a horse. So, the draft board tried again and sent him off to the Army where he was accepted, even though he'd have to march every day.

"It didn't make any sense then. It doesn't now," he writes. The book is filled with such examples of non-Zuni illogic. As a combat rifleman, he killed his share of Germans. He was among the troops who liberated Dachau, and was horrified at how the SS guards had treated the dead. He writes the dead "looked like juniper firewood just unloaded from a pickup truck, no more human than that, all naked and skinny.

"The Zunis don't even kill birds without asking permission," he states. "To the Zuni, death is a transition time that must be handled with love and respect by one's closest family. A person's body and hair must be washed, rubbed with corn meal, and pointed to the west toward Kothluwalawa, with prayers to guide the departed spirit on the way."

Wyaco was one of a dozen GIs who summarily executed 60 or so Dachau guards, who had surrendered without firing a shot. He says, "I've never felt any remorse for my part in that execution. Those SS guards were more like witches than like men. They'd already lived too long." When he went home, a medicine man brushed him with a wing feather from an eagle and blessed him with corn meal to wipe away such bad spirits from the war.

It's the only incident in the book that made him really angry. The rest is an insight into traditional Zuni life. It was written by J. A. Jones, a novelist and anthropologist who became a friend of Wyaco after the war. Jones did a superior job, retaining the gentle teasing humor and manner of speaking that is characteristic of Zuni. It is an art Hillerman never mastered, his books present acculturated Navajos dealing with traditional customs, but little of the "soul" of the People.

Obviously, Wyaco doesn't reveal everything about Zuni life. But then, as Wyaco points out, neither do any of the many anthropologists. He offers something they cannot; he explains the spirit, the meaning and the gentle humor of Zuni culture. It's something no outsider can do. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Entertaining and thought provoking
Jim Northrup provides a series of humourous and informative episodes from modern Native American life. An entertaining and emotive read. Highly recommended.

Real life in Indian Country
Northrup manages to take traditional storytelling and gives it a twist of seldom heard, outside-rez-life irony. During the spring 1998 semester, my students read a chapter and out of all the readings, this was the one that was most often used as an illistration on their final exam. Highly recomended for all, and yes, Jim Northrup does write the same way he speaks.

Good Writing Too
I picked this book up at random while browsing the "Native American studies" shelf at my local book megastore, and I was quickly drawn in, reading it cover-to-cover in a day. Jim Northrop is an Anishinaabe who lives on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Northern Minnesota, and in this book he writes about reservation life, about Native American political issues, and about his own travels and experiences. One of the great strengths of this book is his honesty as a memoirist. While sticking largely to a humorous matter-of-fact tone, he does not shy away from his grief at his son's suicide attempt or his difficulties returning from war in Vietnam. Another strength is the conversational quality of the writing itself. At first it bugged me, short sentences put together into these meandering run-on paragraphs, but after some reading I began to think more of Italian vocal technique, where the tone continues, rising and falling, with words just dotted on the surface. Eventually it felt like I was just hanging out with the guy, listening to his interesting stories. There are times when the writing falls down, for example during an extended series of sports metaphors during a dicussion of racism, or in the rather forced series of kangaroo references when describing a tribal "kangaroo court". But despite these problems I found the writing compelling and accessible. I'm not qualified to analyze the political arguments he sometimes makes, but his perspective on treaty rights, sports mascots, and gambling will certainly stay with me, informing and broadening my thinking when I next encounter these issues in daily life.

Tremendous
This book is brutal without being harsh, funny without being lightweight. In a society where everyone (and I do mean everyone) is made to feel guilty for everone else's suffering, this is a breath of fresh air. The problems Northrup faces every day are aired alongside with the joys. For every pain, he offers a happiness.

And he never says you can't understand. He just offers another way to see his life.

Just the Kind of Creative Nonfiction I Like to Read
What Northrup has to say is as interesting as the way he says it. I really loved his style of writing: chatty, wry, ironic, funny, serious--often at the same time. ... Read more

Book Description

100 years before the Lewis and Clark expidition a Yazoo Indian made the same transcontinental journey.Starting from Mississippi Moncacht-Apé travelled as far as southeast Alaska.Maps based on his journey paved the way for the later Corps of Discovery.This book tells the world of the Yazoo Mingo's saga. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Must Read For Any Lewis and ClarkFan
This is a well researched and engaging historical text set 100 years before Lewis and Clark.It is a jouney of a Native American across this continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans outlining the rich and varied cultures of the many peoples who inhabited this land before the impact of European settlers.The author is comfortable and familar with his topic and weaves an engaging story.I strongly suggest this work for anyone who wishes to know, study, or to become aware of the history of the people who have inhabited this North Americian Continent.

I enjoyed following the main character through his journeys and learning the stories, medicinals, sports, traditions of the various tribes with which he traveled and stayed.

The notes at the end of each chapter bring you current with what is happening today in each area of the journey for the Native American People and make it a rich teaching text. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

not well told
This book is too dry for such a fascinating, larger-than-life Apache woman. Try Ghost Warrior by Lucia St.Clair Robson instead - a much more intersting story that does justice to Lozen.

Fascinating!
This book, though rather dry at times, is still a fascinating account of a forgotten warrior. Detailing the life of Lozen is a worthy endeavor (though it's been done before in another book called "Lozen: Apache Woman Warrior" - which is also worth reading by the way.) I found this book to be well worth reading, as well - it's one of those history explorations that seem to take you back to the time and place of it's account, and spark your imagination to what the life of the people of that time might have been like. I hope more people read this book so that Lozen's name is not forgotten (as so many great, historical women in other cultures are) I would love it if one day her name were as recognizable as Geronimo or Crazy Horse. Maybe this book will help with that - who knows!

Historical Fiction
Historical fiction from a white male Arizona State University Professor. He makes up a biography of the Story of Lozen, Apache Warrior and Shaman.

Okay, but not what I expected.
Same old stale info with absolutely no excitement for the reader. Would probably be good for junior-high student who hasn't read anything about the Apaches or Lozen.

Good--but incomplete
Finally, this warrior woman's story is being told! This well researched biography reads like a novel. Peter Aleshire presents her as a hero to her people. He researches every battle and skirmish and reveals Lozen's known or most probable role in them. He shows that her warrior exploits took up the bulk of her life.

He attempts to write from an Apache viewpoint. I'm not sure if he succeeds, but he does choose Apache sources of information over others, and admits his limitations as an outsider, even as he felt compelled to write this book.

This book desperately needs maps and photographs. There are none. Lozen's life criss-crossed much of the Southwest and Mexico. Mr. Aleshire mentions a famous photograph of Lozen without including it in this volume. I had to go to outside sources to track her movements and see her face. So, I call this book incomplete.

But, I am immensely glad this book has finally been written. It's existence is a hundred years overdue. ... Read more

Book Description

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo revitalized Hopi pottery by creating a contemporary style inspired by prehistoric ceramics and was the only potter from that era known by name. This biography draws on historical documents and comments by family members not only to reconstruct Nampeyo's life but also to create a composite description of her pottery-making process, from gathering clay through coiling, painting, and firing. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Readable and authoratative biography of a legendary artist
Barbara Kramer writes a much needed biography of Nampeyo, the Tewa potter. This book is a comprehensive look at Nampeyo's life, as both a member of the Hopi/Tewa nation, and as a seminal artist. Kramer also succesfully challenges much of the conventional wisdom surrounding Nampeyo's life and work, some of which has persisted for almost a century.

While setting the context in which Nampeyo lived and worked, Kramer also draws a vivid picture of life in the Hopi/Tewa villages at the close of the 19th Century. Beset by archeologists, ethnographers, and missionaries, the Hopis attempted to maintain a way of life and culture that had sustained them for generations.

Kramer writes in a clear, accessible style, and makes liberal use of quotes and other references from Nampeyo's extended family. For anyone interested in the history and development of 20th Century Hopi pottery, this book is a must read. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

SUPERB
This is a truly tremendous book! Among my personal list of favorites. I found this book quite by accident years ago in a local bookstore and it continues to impact me today. I recommend it wherever I go and have had my own teenage sons and other family members read it. It should be on high school and college reading lists. The style is simple yet heartfelt. The themes so meaningful yet rare in todays world. Themes such as real character, unselfishness, solid role models, tradition, and attachment to place are woven throughout the text. Read it!

Warm, insightful and uplifting
I am reminded of a saying I once heard: People may come to dinner, but a true friend helps you wash the dishes. This book presents friends. I can picture Grandma as she tells stories of her childhood or humbly contemplates the meaning of the owl's call. She remains with me after the book is finished. This is a good book for those who need to see the beauty and small acts of kindness and generosity that are triumphant in the face of hardship. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Book
This book was an outstanding read! I had never heard of Te Ata before, and knew very little about Chickasaws. I heard about this book from several of my colleagues and I was captivated by it. Richard Green does an exceptional job writing of the life of an american princess!

A Great Read!
Richard Green has captured the spirit of independence and the Native American in this fabulous collection of pages from Te Ata's diary and notes from her husband Clyde Fisher. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A classic scholarly biography
Samson Occom And The Christian Indians Of New England is a classic scholarly biography written at turn of the century by a Congregational minister. This reissued paperback is introduced by Margaret Connell Szasz, professor of history at University of New Mexico and author of Indian Education in American Colonies 1607-1783, and editor of Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker. She correctly categorizes Love's biography of Samson Occom as "fin de siecle, a work of its time," and she describes Occom as an intellectual giant, a "cultural intermediary (who) strode across the cultures of his time and place (p.xv)."

Both Mohegan and Christian, Occom dazzled Euramerican contemporaries with his intellectual sermons, calm demeanor, and impassioned requests for educational support for Indian students. Crucially instrumental to the founding of Dartmouth College, which was to be "Fro the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land in reading, writing, and all parts of Learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and christianizing children of pagans as well as in all liberal Arts and Sciences; and also for English Youth and any Others," he nevertheless became disillusioned when his fundraising efforts were used by his partner Mr. Wheelock to be subverted for a college that served English rather than Indian students. This was to be but one of many betrayals in the life of Samson Occom.

Szasz concludes that Love, in his biography of Samson Occom "in some instances...belied his times by demonstrating a degree of understanding about Occom's world view that moved beyond mainstream attitudes toward American Indians (p. xxv)." The biography contains a valuable impetus to contrast to the present day ethnographic biographer who would theoretically present Occam more from a native viewpoint for analysis. An example would be Occam's conflicted role in 18th century Modegan society. In this and other areas, Love's Samson Occom highlights further truths to be mined for. It is a mirror of our Western emergence from Eurocentrism.

There is much to be gained from further study of Samson Occom. One additional resource suggested is The Sprit Of The New England Tribes (1986) by William Simmons. The search for cultural continuity is a valuable theme for today's ethno-historian/biographer. Samson Occom And The Christian Indians Of New England is a challenge and a piece of the puzzle that remains tantalizingly uncompleted. May it teach us to examine, question, or perhaps recraft entirely our cultural assumptions today as well.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer ... Read more

Amazon.com

Three decades old and counting, the worldwide AIDS epidemic has touched millions of lives. It has also yielded a sorrowful library of memoirs and tributes, among the most memorable entries in which is this compelling portrait of a child born into illness and determined to beat it.

Born of a Navajo mother, Nasdijj met 11-year-old Awee while still mourning the loss of his own son. "AIDS had knocked him out," Nasdijj writes. "But Awee was a fighter. He always got back up again." Determined to help Awee in that fight, Nasdijj recounts the miseries of dealing with indifferent doctors and Indian-agency bureaucrats ("Anglos," he writes, "would never tolerate the kinds of limited options Indians have to live with every day"), of seeking avenues of relief from pain that lead into back alleys and other tortured lives, of finding reasons for hope against an ever-stronger enemy--one of whose most powerful guises, he tells us, is loneliness.

"Why would anyone sane adopt a child with AIDS?" Nasdijj writes, answering his own question: "Because one comes to you. Because you can." This tragic, beautifully written memoir encourages us all to do more. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The boy and the dog are sleeping
The book was touching and amazing to me. He is very poetic and so open and willing to write how he feels and what he is thinking. He writes things that most people would never dream to admit that is what they even thought about. Its wonderful. He is so real I love it. I have recommended this book to my friends and they love it as well. I was craving more when I was done with it. It was sensational. I read his other one as well and its just as good. This man is amazing. I would love to thank him for the insights he gave me and the way I was able to have his book help me in my life. I hope many more people can benifit from this mans writing as well. Nasdijj I say bravo to you, and Thank you.

A haunting love story
This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. I finished it weeks ago and still think about it so often it's haunting. A relative was reading the book and said, "read just the first two pages to get a sense of his writing..." Two days later, I emerged having finished the book--it was one of those books I just couldn't stop. Nasdijj's writing is beautiful--in many ways it seems to be the only kind of writing that could ever get close to what he wants to say. But above all, I felt this was a love story--of the truest and most beautiful kind, between a father and son who are not biologically related but who chose each other. Nasdijj's love for Awee is magnificent--it is inspiring and frightening for it points to the horrific lack of love in the rest of the world, and in our own private lives. To be able to love the way Nasdijj loves...And Awee is such a character! It's easy to see why Nasdijj loved him as he did. I too mourn for this boy.

I feel honored to have been allowed to read this intimate story. I am deeply grateful to the author for allowing us into his heart and for introducing us to Awee (as well as Crow Dog). This book will stay with you for a long time, it will change the way you think about children with AIDs, about Native Americans in general, and about the politics of medicine. It changed the way I thought about love and parenting and life itself. Deep gratitude to Nasdijj. Read this book.

an amazing story of giving
Wildly Enthusiastic Recommendation: The boy and the dog are sleeping by Nasdijj
I had to tear myself away from Awee, the little boy in this amazing memoir, to get out the door to run this morning. This book has absolutely gripped my essence. A story of love between a man and boy - not any man and boy. An 11-year old with AIDS and the dad he adopted - the daddy who is fabulously in love with the child, the child who has learned to love with all his being a father who is not his naturally, but has become his wholly, spiritually. No father could give and take more. That's the spirit of this relationship - giving and taking from each other. It seems to me Nasdijj gets the better portion of the giving. That's how Awee is. It's a very tough read. AIDS is not pretty, and Nasdijj tells us about things we wish did not exist. But you won't be the same after you read this book. It's a must.

Compelling
This is a very moving and compelling piece of work. It certainly isn't orthodox, either in it's content or it's style. It is disturbing and thought provoking. And while you certainly will not agree with all the methods Nasdijj employs - I actually cringed when I read about Awee having a sexual experiance with the mechanic - in the end you have to empathize with his motives. He was placed in an impossible situation, one that had no road map, no directions, no guareentees, and he did what he thought was right.

Nasdijj has an unforgettable writing style that is all his own. And while it would seem ridiculous, even juvinile, anywhere else, it works so very well with the stories Nasdijj has to tell.

I only gave it 4 stars, however, because, in my opinion, it just doesn't have the same impact that Nasdijj's first book did. When I read "The Blood Runs Like a River.." I actually wept like a child. I told everybody I knew about the book. I sent copies to friends. This book, "The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping", just doesn't have the same emotional thrust.

"The Blood Runs Like a River..." had the feel and spontaneity of reading someone's diary. That's why it was so...real. You felt it all the way down to your bones and you knew it was true and untainted and from the heart.

"The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping" has a more, dare I say, commercial feel to it. You don't feel like you've peeked into someone's journal...you feel like you're reading a carefully constructed book, written for distribution.

Don't misunderstand me - this book is a great work and certainly worthy of your attention.

But I think fans of "The Blood Runs Like a River..." are going to recognize the lack of spontaneity and miss that feeling of innocence that made us fall in love with Nasdijj in the first place.

American health system fails native Americans
Native American author Nasdijj delivers an unforgettable memoir with The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping, a chronicle of the death of his adopted son, a 12-year-old Navajo born with AIDS. Nasdijj, whose first son, also adopted, died of fetal alcohol syndrome, is persuaded to adopt Awee by the boy's parents, also AIDS patients. Against his better judgment, Nasdijj agrees. Taking on hopeless boys is something of an addiction with him, he admits.

"I want the mad ones," Nasdijj writes. "The children who have had everything taken away from them. The children who are broken and mad enough to attempt to repair themselves. The children mad enough to spit and fight."

Nasdijj makes some unorthodox decisions about how Awee should spend his last weeks of life, choices he suspects minivan moms would not approve of. Instead of hunkering down in a hospital or hospice, with pill bottles and intravenous drip close at hand, Nasdijj takes his son on a motorcycle to the coast, lets him play baseball, lets him spend the day in an auto repair shop and introduces him to several Indian rites of passage.

Along the way, Nasdijj exposes the failure of America's health care system to provide relief for indigent AIDS patients, especially those on Indian reservations, where welfare hospitals may take as long as six weeks to return blood test results. Awee is frequently in and out of the hospital-with pneumonia, with terrible pain from nerve damage, with sarcoma.

The most scathing criticism Nasdijj offers is the health care industry's failure to relieve a 12-year-old's pain. Here, Nasdijj runs up against a medical brick wall. Pain medications for children with AIDS haven't been developed, he writes, and doctors are unwilling to experiment.

Despite the prevailing darkness and forgone conclusion of The Boy and the Dog Are Sleeping, the book has wonderful moments of humor, whimsy and warmth. But the narrative's most important accomplishment may very well be its biting commentary on the neglect of AIDS patients in a complacent society that mistakenly believes the monster has been leashed. ... Read more

Book Description

“There’s a war going on. A war against the earth, against mother earth. I wonder whose side you on?” So says Clayton Tommy, Salish teacher and mentor, to Tom Harmer, his apprentice in the old ways of the native peoples of the American Northwest, and the even more ancient ways of nature.

What I’ve Always Known is Harmer’s wondrous memoir of his pursuit of the answer to that question. Roaming the mountains and forests with Clayton, Harmer is guided along the arduous and perilous road of “self-training,” as he learns how to interpret his dreams, participate in sweatlodges and healing ceremonies, track and hunt deer, deal with raw fear, and—Clayton’s own personal gift—foretell, and even influence, the weather. By journey’s end he realizes that the legacy he has received is the knowledge of how to live in a way that benefits and serves the earth and all the creatures who call it home. ... Read more

Book Description

When nineteen-year-old Harriett Gold, from a prominent white family in Cornwall, Connecticut, announced in 1825 her intention to marry a Cherokee man, her shocked family initiated a spirited correspondence debating her decision to marry an Indian. Eventually, Gold's family members reconciled themselves to her wishes, and she married Elias Boudinot in 1826. After the marriage, she returned with Boudinot to the Cherokee Nation, where he went on to become a controversial political figure who was editor of the first Native American newspaper.

Providing rare firsthand documentation of race relations in the early nineteenth-century United States, this volume collects the Gold family correspondence during the engagement period as well as letters the young couple sent to the family describing their experiences in New Echota (capital of the Cherokee Nation) during the years prior to the Cherokee Removal. In an introduction providing historical and social contexts, Theresa Strouth Gaul offers a literary reading of the correspondence, highlighting the value of the epistolary form and the gender and racial dynamics of the exchange. As Gaul demonstrates, the correspondence provides a factual accompaniment to the many fictionalized accounts of contacts between Native Americans and Euroamericans and supports an increasing recognition that letters form an important category of literature. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting Comanchie Chief
Our classroom read a poignant short story about his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker. I was pleased to find this book on the life of her son in this carefully researched, well-presented biography. It is an interesting read of a man and also a chief showing how he is torn between two worlds of belief and behaviors. Informative read. It received the Oklahoma History Book of the Year award.
Evelyn Horan - teacher/counselor/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three

A Man of Two Worlds: Quanah Parker
This past summer, I made a trip to the reconstruction of Old Fort Parker in Groesbeck, TX - and the actual massacre site - where Cynthia Ann Parker, age 9, was captured by Comanche warriors and raised as a Comanche woman for the next 25 years before a well-meaning Texas Ranger discovered her and returned her to her white relatives. Cynthia Ann never readjusted to white society and, in mourning for her Comanche husband and her children, eventually starved herself to death. Yet, out of this tragic story, her son Quanah - half white, half Comanche - rose to become the most influential representative of the Comanche tribe and the last Comanche Chief.

In this book, author William T. Hagan presents the meticulously researched story of Quanah's life and the politics of both the white and native worlds which he straddled, serving as an eloquent bridge between two societies struggling for survival on the Oklahoma and Texas plains. An astute businessman, Quanah recognized the futility of staving off white settlement and turned his warrior energies toward negotiating for the best "deals" he could get for the American Indians. Although he made many trips to Washington, DC and the White House to represent the needs of the Indians and often wore western Anglo dress, he refused to give up his braids, his "much married condition" (7 wives), and his dedication to the peyote cult.

This is a fascinating book which I highly recommend to any afficianado of the Old West and Native America.

Good, In-Depth Look at a Great Man
Although I tend to be wary of any biographies that speak with an omnisient narrative voice, and don't cite their sources as they go, Hagan's book does well remaining mostly unbiased in discussing native-white relations, and stating facts. It has an excellent collection of pictures I haven't seen elsewhere, and gives a well-written account of Quanah Parker's life without 'juicing it up'. Being a descendent of Quanah Parker, I've read anything about him I can get my hands on, and this is definitely one of the better resources. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good photographs, but not much of a biography
Despite the obvious irony of a photographic biography of Crazy Horse-the man who eschewed the medium-Bill and Jan Moeller use a combination of photos and text, to re-tell his life story. They have compiled their own color photos, which comprise, not only pictures of battle sites and forts, but various landscapes on the Great Plains where Crazy Horse's people may have lived and traveled.

I enjoyed leafing through these beautiful photos of places I had been, and places I plan to visit. The Moellers have done a wonderful job of photographing striking landscapes, as with their photo of a rainbow arching over Scotts Bluff. (7) However, while this book works well as a themed photographic collection, as biography and history it falls short. It does not, as the authors hoped, "...add to the works on Crazy Horse and...provide the subject with an expanded dimension."(v) Instead they provide a very simplified and, by their own admission, biased version of Crazy Horse's life, which is more mythology than biography. Indeed, at times, the writing seems better suited to a young adult audience

I also found the photographs of battle sites rather disappointing. Not that they are not visually pleasing, like the markers on Custer Hill surrounded by golden grasses. (113) But the authors seem to favor the attractive landscape over views that enhance our understanding of what took place there. For example, at the site of the Wagon Box Fight, they chose to photograph the area just beyond the circle, where the hill begins to slope down. While this hill did figure prominently in the battle, a photograph of the wagon boxes, and the small area they enclosed would have given a much better idea of scale.

I was also disappointed in parts of the last chapter, "Life-and Death-at Camp Robinson." Included here, of course, are photos of the buildings that now stand on the site of the Guard House and Adjutant's Office, where Crazy Horse was wounded, and later died. The authors fail to mention, however, that these are not the original buildings, but reproductions, nor do they note that the original buildings looked somewhat different.

The Moeller's version of Crazy Horse's wounding is that, "Private William Gentles...lunged at Crazy Horse with his bayonet, plunging it deep into his right side."(139) Of course, there are as many versions of this event as there were eyewitnesses, and many say that Crazy Horse actually fell against the bayonet, making his wounding accidental. I would have preferred it if the Moellers had noted that there were other versions, and not stated theirs so definitively.

This is an attractive book for those who enjoy landscape photography or romantic images of the American West. However, those wishing for an expanded biography of Crazy Horse will find only a re-hash of the old myths. ... Read more

Book Description

Translated from her own words, this story of a Navajo woman who lived for more than 102 years is a vivid account of traditional lifeways in a harsh and challenging environment. Tall Woman was raised in a family of foragers and herders: “we never lived in one spot for any length of time; we just roamed about from place to place, and from time to time.” Forbidden to go to school, she learned traditional skills and knowledge from her elders, growing up to be a well-known weaver and an expert on the uses of traditional plants as food and medicine. She was also in demand as a midwife. Despite her reputation and that of her husband, Frank Mitchell, a well-known political leader, judge, and Blessingway singer, Tall Woman lived the unassuming life of a traditional Navajo woman, focusing on the hogan, her twelve children, the sheep and goats, and the farm.

Edited and annotated by a distinguished anthropologist who has worked with the Mitchell family since 1963, this book was written to fulfill Tall Woman’s desire to share her story not just with her descendants but with others. In addition to her own life history, Tall Woman tells ancestral stories and offers wise advice to future generations. Both Navajo and non-Navajo readers will be fascinated by the courage and ingenuity evoked in her account of the People’s survival during a period of immeasurable change.

Frank Mitchell was the subject of another biography by Charlotte J. Frisbie (Navajo Blessingway Singer; University of Arizona Press, 1978). Together, these two book comprise the first husband-and-wife Native American life histories. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

In Death, Crazy Horse Comes to Life
I purchased this book since I am researching one of the army officers who witnessed the death of Crazy Horse, Officer-of-the- Guard Lt. Henry Lemly, who left behind an account that appeared in the New York Sun and is reproduced herein. I found that and much more. For anyone who is familiar with Hardorff's similar treatments of the Little Big Horn, CUSTER BATTLE CASUALTIES I and II, HOKAEHY! A GOOD DAY TO DIE, this work follows a familiar approach, compiling numerous Lakota accounts of the circumstances surrouding the famous warrior's death.

Beyond that, it is much, much. Many of the first-person accounts describe other aspects of the life of Crazy Horse--his appearance, deeds in battle, his demeanor, marriage, nicknames, family etc. All of this culminates with the recollections of his fatal wounding, how it happened, who was to blame, and the reaction of both the Lakota and the army. In other words, a treasure trove of biographical information on Crazy Horse that is far more instructional than any existing biography of him. The general reader should be warned that such accounts can be repetitious and certainly aren't as readable as, say, Stephen Ambrose's CRAZY HORSE AND CUSTER. If it is unedited first person recollections you are after though, you will find them here.

Two items of mystery especially surround the great warrior--was he ever photographed? (Hardorff is very skeptical of any such photographic claims), and where was he buried? On this last question, there are various accounts of his body being buried and then moved, etc. to the point that no one knew where he ultimately rested. There is even a photograph of his first burial site that I have never seen published before, showing an army-built wooden structure surrounding the temporary sepulcher of Crazy Horse's remains, erected on a bluff above Camp Sheridan, Nebraksa. The inclusion of such photographs and the many conflicting details of his burials make this a fascinating aspect of this book.

In all, an excellent source of information for anyone interested in Crazy Horse, the Lakota, the Little Big Horn and the frontier military.

A must to read for any serious student of Lakota history
The Death Of Crazy Horse: A Tragic Episode In Lakota History is a collection of interviews of Indian and mixed blood contemporaries of his last days between May 15, 1877, when he was sworn in as a noncommissioned officer in the U. S. military and September 5, 1877, when he was killed by a military guard, bayonetted in the back. Recollections and interviews are supplemented by a collection of official documents, including telegrams, military dispatches, newspaper accounts, and other eyewitness reports. Stark, bloody detail emerges quickly, along with complex shadows of views of the man known as Crazy Horse. The aspect of betrayal and fear of this charismatic, modest young Oglala Sioux man is underlined again and again. A dark fascination arises from the accumulated documents.

What was the cause of the martyrdom? One response comes from the newspaper account in The New York Sun, dated September 14, 1877, titled "The Death of Crazy Horse:" Crazy Horse's father is quoted as saying 'His boy...would never have fought the whites, but they (the military) hunted him and his village in their own country, and they had to defend themselves, all would have perished. He had enough buffalo in that country to last several years, and (he) wanted to stay. He fought only the Crows and Snakes and stole their ponies. But he was not left alone. Every courier that came North to him said,"Come in! Come in! Or the Gray Fox (Crook) will drive you after Sitting Bull!: At last he came. Spotted Tail and Red Cloud, the greatest chiefs of the Brules and the Oglalas, had to stand aside and give him the principal place in council, and on this account they and their young men became jealous. They were the cause of his poor boy lying there. He was killed by too much talk. He had said (p. 243).'

The Death Of Crazy Horse has a documentary quality. Though brief, less than 300 pages, its impact is gut-wrenchingly huge. It will take more than one reading of even these few pages to construct a new truthful understanding of the end of this man's life. Though events described are often brutal, the information is presented in a tone of respect. Additional informational details such as the genealogy of Crazy Horse, in Appendix C, and the description of Crazy Horse from the Campbell letters help enflesh the image of the man. There is a hard, painful beauty about this book. The Death Of Crazy Horse: A Tragic Episode In Lakota History is a must to read for any serious student of Lakota history.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

Primary sources at your fingertips
Like The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse this book comprises various interviews with individuals who knew Crazy Horse or were present at his death. However there is no repetition here. Those accounts that are by the same people, have different dates (which, in itself makes for interesting comparisons). This book also includes valuable additions such as telegrams between the various officers involved--giving us the true picture of what their plans for Crazy Horse actually were--and many newspaper accounts, showing just how important an event this was throughout the country.

Anyone who has studied this period knows the controversy that rages over Crazy Horse and his death. Was he the quiet man beloved by his band and betrayed by the agency chiefs out of jealousy? Or was he sullen and withdrawn, plotting a return to the warpath, and stopped just in time? What you find in these pages, as you would expect, is that the answer depends largely on who is doing the telling. E!ven the physical descriptions of this man, of whom no photo exists, vary greatly. Some say he was tall. Most say he was slight. Some call him handsome. One man said he was downright ugly. The only agreement seems to be on his unusually light hair and complexion.

This book is not recommended for someone who is not already familiar with the story of Crazy Horse. However, for those who are, it provides access to some great primary sources, that you will probably want to re-read many times. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Quality Bio on a Fascinating Character
This biography truly reveals the man behind the myth. Geronimo has had a reputation as either a bloodthirsty, pitiless scalp hunter (the conservative view), or as a divinely-guided leader trying desperately to save his people from destruction (the romantic view). Both of these are partially correct, but neither gives any indication of Geronimo as a human being, and that's what Debo does ably in this book. Debo compiles all the information available to give an impressively detailed portrait of the man's life, and uncovers many aspects of his personality, both good and bad. So we get the predicted praise for his bravery and honesty; but the author is not afraid to criticize his ill temper, vindictiveness, and lack of eloquence.

While the focus remains on Geronimo himself, this book also serves as an informative history of the final days of Apache independence. Many interesting characters are covered in a good amount of detail when Geronimo is absent from the narrative, like Victorio, Loco, Chihuahua, Kaywaykla, Naiche (my personal favorite) and even the white generals Crook and Howard. There is ample coverage of the tribe's post-glory days when they were imprisoned on various disagreeable reservations, and the depressing consequences of the loss of their culture and the deaths of many tribe members from disease. The only flaws in this book are Debo's criticism of previous information sources as inaccurate (they were, but the author's criticism is often arrogant), and a rather sappy, overly sentimental writing style.

The most complete study of Geronimo that I have read
Ms. Debo has presented a complete analysis of the man Geronimo, from both sides of the Apache conflict. She deals with the prejedice of the day as well as the myths and legends of the time. I was well informed by her conclusions and believe the concepts she presented were both truthful and informative. ... Read more

Book Description

The story and teachings of Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950), first recorded by John G. Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks, have played a critical role in shaping the way in which Native Americans and others view the past, present, and future of Native America. These conversations with the descendents of Black Elk offer an intimate look at life on the Pine Ridge Reservation and fresh perspectives on the religious, economic, and political opportunities and challenges facing the Lakota people today. In addition to revealing more about Black Elk the healer, the family also provides glimpses of Black Elk as a family man, teacher, and influential ancestor.

Esther Black Elk DeSersa and Olivia Black Elk Pourier are the granddaughters of Nicholas Black Elk. Aaron DeSersa Jr. and Clifton DeSersa are the great-grandsons of Black Elk. Hilda Neihardt is the daughter of John G. Neihardt and chairman of the board of the John G. Neihardt Foundation. She is the author of Black Elk and Flaming Rainbow (Nebraska 1995). Lori Utecht is a former executive director of the John G. Neihardt State Historic Site. Charles Trimble is the current executive director of the site and president of the John G. Neihardt Foundation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A vibrant expression of the inheritors of the vision
Black Elk Lives: Conversations With The Black Elk Family is an intimate set ofinterviews with the family and descendants of Nicholas Black Elk collected and edited by Hilda Niehardt and Lori Utecht.The intent of the collection is to present more of the perspectives and outlooks of the family members. Even more important, Black Elk Lives is a celebration of the strength and resilience of the human spirit, and the questioned survival of a way of life and thought that is Lakota in origin.Beginning with a transcription of a 1969 talk at Pine Ridge Boarding School by Benjamin Black Elk, the son and interpreter of Nicholas Black Elk as well as father and grandfather of other contributors, Black Elk Lives contains chapters on family memories, the changing roles of men and women, reclaiming the legacy (of Black Elk), the use and misuse of Lakota religion, fighting in Vietnam (Clifton DeSersa interview), working, Lakota legends, stories and games, grandfather's healing, and caring for grandfather (Black Elk).

Each chapter is actual interview dialogue, which allows the Black Elks to speak in their own chosen words.Because of this, and because of the relationship between the Black Elks and the interviewer(s),the reader has a sense of being told from the heart the feelings and experiences of these representatives of the Black Elk family.Sometimes the outlook is distinctly bleak and sad.Sometimes it seems hopeful.Other times, the speaker is making corrections, often to the assumptions or misunderstandings of the interpretations of "Black Elk Speaks" and other matters of Lakota vision.

Black Elk Lives is invaluable because of just that opportunity to inform the nonnative population.An example of this is at the end of the chapter titled "The Use and Misuse of Lakota Religion."Aaron DeSersa Jr. says:"It's just like my great-grandpa's book: People are walking on this road and some go off the road.As I've said, my great-grandpa's vision wasn't a spiritual vision.It was the future of our people, the Lakota people.Some people can't look at it that way - they want it to be spiritual and have a deep meaning.But what it is, when you look at it and interpret it, is what our people are going through in this life and in the future, and how they're going to be put back on that good road - bringing back the old ways and ceremonies and understanding them(p.103)."

The chapters of interviews and dialogue are enriched by several pages of black and white photos of the family members in several different decades.The cover jacket photograph of Nicholas Black Elk on Cuny Table (1931) is magnificent and unforgettable.Another helpful detail is the Black Elk family tree described on page 151.It is good to see the generations descent into the present.Perhaps there was not space for the birth dates of the present generation .It is still helpful to see the names of all the family members and to trace their lineage.

Black Elk Lives is a vibrant expression of the inheritors of the vision of "Black Elk Speaks".Now it is to unfold what will happen if people listen.Black Elk Lives will help to ensure that not only will they listen, perhaps also they will begin to hear and understand.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer ... Read more