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Luther Standing Bear, a Lakota Sioux born in the 1860s, heard these
legends in his youth, when his people were being moved to
reservations. In haunting mood and imagery, they celebrate the old
nomadic life of the Sioux, when buffalo were plentiful and all
nature fed the spirit. The twenty stories honor not only the
buffalo but also the dog, the horse, the eagle, and the wolf as
workaday helpers and agents of divine intervention; the wisdom of
the medicine man; and the heroism and resourcefulness of individual
men and women.
This book details the intersections between the personal life and
exceptional writing of Louise Erdrich, perhaps the most critically
and economically successful American Indian author ever. Known for
her engrossing explorations of Native American themes, Louise
Erdrich has created award-winning novels, poetry, stories, and more
for three decades. Tracks on a Page: Louise Erdrich, Her Life and
Works examines Erdrich's oeuvre in light of her experiences, her
gender, and her heritage as the daughter of a Chippewa mother and
German-American father. The book covers Erdrich from her birth to
the present, offering fresh information and perspectives based on
original research. By interweaving biography and literary analysis,
the author, who is herself Native American, gives readers a
complete and nuanced understanding of the ways in which Erdrich's
identity as a woman and an American Indian have influenced her life
and her writing. Tracks on a Page is the first, book-length work to
approach Erdrich and her works from a non-Euro-Western perspective.
It contextualizes both life and writing through the lenses of
American Indian history, politics, economics, and culture, offering
readers new and intriguing ways to appreciate this outstanding
author. Chronological organization takes the reader from Erdrich's
childhood, through her years at Dartmouth College, her personal
life, and her career as a writer
There is nothing particularly noteworthy about an Easter turkey.
But when the turkey is stark white and appears on Easter Sunday on
the doorstep of a Lakota medicine woman and her teenage
granddaughter, it is clearly out of the ordinary. Taking turns,
Stella and her grandmother, Hazel Latour, tell the story of what
follows as the mysterious turkey stirs up discord on the
reservation, where some greet it as "wakan," holy and sacred
because of its coloring and timing, and others dismiss it as
inexplicable but unimportant, while a less reputable local healer
views it as a clear challenge to his standing. A tour de force of
storytelling, "The Sacred White Turkey" is at once remarkably
entertaining, rich with suspense and humor, and deeply
philosophical, exploring questions of spirituality and power, abuse
and trickery, all within a framework that embraces both Native and
Catholic traditions. As the Latours find themselves the target of
escalating violence, embroiled in a BIA leasing scandal, and
witnesses to a turkey crucifixion, readers will find themselves
thoroughly engaged in the unfolding mystery and meaning of the
sacred white turkey.
Beaten, raped, and left for dead at the side of a road on the
Standing Rock Reservation, the young Elsie Roberts disappears into
her self to revisit the haunts of her childhood and, perhaps, in
the depths of her experience to uncover the deepest mystery of all.
In Elsie's Business, Elsie's search through her own memories
ultimately intersects with the search of a stranger who is seeking
Elsie's story. A picture emerges of a poor child, half black and
half Native, whose mother has barely eked out a living for the two
of them by tanning deerskins and cleaning houses. Rebuilding her
life in a different town as a housekeeper, tanner, and beader of
moccasins and bags, much like her mother, the taciturn Elsie finds
modest comfort and connections among the white people who employ
and befriend her. But her peace is fleeting, for someone from her
past or possibly her present would like to see her silenced
completely. A mystery of mesmerizing suspense and sadness, Elsie's
Business weaves the story of a ravaged woman into the traditional
tales of her people to create a vivid sense of communities bound by
storytelling and understanding and sundered by ignorance and
silence. English at the University of Arizona.
Opening July 4, 1969, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, "The Red Bird
All-Indian Traveling Band "begins with a raucous Fourth of July gig
that abruptly ends with the Red Birds ducking out of the
performance in a hilarious hail of beer bottles. By the end of the
evening, community member Buffalo Ames is dead, presumed to be
murdered, just outside the bar. Sissy Roberts, the band's singer
and the "best female guitar picker on the rez," is reluctantly
drawn into the ensuing investigation by an FBI agent who discovers
Sissy's knack for hearing other people's secrets.
"The Red Bird All-Indian Traveling Band "is part mystery, part
community chronicle. Shaped by a cast of skillfully drawn
characters, all of whom at one time or another are potential
suspects, at the core of the story is smart and compassionate
Sissy. Four years past high school, Sissy's wry humor punctuates
descriptions of reservation life as she learns more about Ames's
potential killer, and as she embarks on a personal search for ways
to buck expectations and leave rural South Dakota to attend
college.
Ames's death is just an example of the undercurrents of violence
and passions that run through this fast-moving novel of singing,
loving, and fighting. Following Sissy as she unravels the mystery
of both Buffalo Ames's death and her own future, "The Red Bird
All-Indian Traveling Band "is the story of Indian Country on the
verge of historic change and a woman unwilling to let change pass
her by.
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