Reviews of new/recent books by/about Native Americans (1/3)

Steve Brock (brock@ucsub.colorado.edu)
28 Sep 1995 01:22:02 GMT

Here are several short reviews of new and recent books by and about
Native Americans, part one of three. All reviews are written by
Steve Brock:

WOMEN AND POWER IN NATIVE NORTH AMERICA, edited by Laura F. Klein
and Lillian A. Ackerman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp
Ave., Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, (405) 325-5000 FAX.
Index, references, notes, map. 304 pp., $24.95 cloth. 0-8061-
2752-X

The status of women in eleven tribes in the United States and
Canada is examined in this first academic presentation to look at
the power of tribal women (an expression of the amount of autonomy
they possess) in a structured manner. In virtually every instance,
the chapter authors find that women (as clan mothers, war and
medicine women, etc.) have more power than previously thought,
though there is concern about its erosion from contact with the
paternalistic Anglo culture. A rich and thoughtful presentation
(don't miss Vine Deloria's tips on how to spot an anthropologist on
a reservation); perfect for classes in anthropology and gender
studies. Grade: A-.

CLOTHING TRADITIONS SERIES: EARTH LINE AND MORNINGSTAR: NLAKA'PAMUX
CLOTHING TRADITIONS by Leslie H. Tepper, SANATUJUT: PRIDE IN
WOMEN'S WORK: COPPER AND CARIBOU INUIT CLOTHING TRADITIONS by Judy
Hall, Jill Oakes, and Sally Qimmiu'naaq Webster, FROM THE LAND: TWO
HUNDRED YEARS OF DENE CLOTHING by Judy Thompson. Published by the
Canadian Museum of Civilization, distributed in the U.S. by the
University of Washington Press, P.O. Box 50096, Seattle, WA
98145-5096, (800) 441-4115, (206) 543-3932 FAX. Illustrated,
bibliography, notes, maps. 136 pp., $29.95 paper, each. "Earth
Line" is 0-660-14026-8, "Sanatujut" is 0-660-14027-6, "From the
Land" is 0-660-14025-X.

Canadian natives, especially those of the Northwest Territories,
live in a climate in which clothing must not only signify cultural
identity, but keep them warm in winter and cool (yet protected from
droves of biting insects) during the short, but warm, summer
months. These three exhibition catalogs, published in cooperation
with each tribe, describe the history, function, and design
variations of clothing worn by the Nlaka'pamux (southwestern
British Columbia), the Inuit (eastern Northwest Territories), and
the Dene (western Northwest Territories). All are significant
contributions to native and fine arts collections. Grade for each:
A.

MOLLY SPOTTED ELK: A PENOBSCOT IN PARIS by Bunny McBride.
University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019,
(800) 627-7377, (405) 325-5000 FAX. Illustrated, index, bibliogra-
phy, notes. 380 pp., $24.95 cloth. 0-8061-2756-2

Molly Nelson (1903-1976), born on Indian Island, Maine, adopted the
stage name Spotted Elk as a teenager and danced in vaudeville and
wild west shows as a means of linking her Penobscot culture with
the increasingly Anglo-dominated world. She eventually achieved
international fame, starring in the silent movie "The Quiet Enemy"
in 1930, and was invited to perform in Paris. McBride, using
Molly's diaries and extensive interviews with her daughter, has
written a touching account of a little-known figure in Native
American history. Grade: A-.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF NAVAJO RUGS by Marian E. Rodee. University of
New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, (505) 277-9270 FAX. Illustrated,
index, maps, reading list. 199 pp., $29.95 paper. 0-8263-1576-3

Revised and expanded from Rodee's 1981 edition of "Old Navajo
Rugs," this history of the great Navajo weavers (primarily from
1900-1940), and the trading posts, Indian agencies, and museums
that bought their rugs, includes many black-and-white and color
plates from all periods. The book is well-researched (though a
list of sources for the blankets would have been helpful) and
recommended for both libraries and collectors. Grade: B.

NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN WISCONSIN 1600-1960: A STUDY OF
TRADITION AND CHANGE by Robert E. Bieder. University of Wisconsin
Press, 114 North Murray St., Madison, WI 53715, (608) 262-8782.
Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes, maps. 302 pp., $37.50
cloth (0-299-14520-4), $17.95 paper (0-299-14524-7).

Written for the general reader, Bieder analyzes the idea of
community and how it has changed for Wisconsin tribes (Ojibwa,
Potawotamie, Menominee, Winnebago, Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and
Ottawa) as they experienced contact with French, British, and
American explorers and settlers. During the period studied, Bieder
found that more important than the loss of their land was the
constant need for tribes to redefine their cultural identity.
While those looking for a structural approach or specific informa-
tion on individual tribes will be disappointed, this is a solid
general history. Grade: B.

DIRT FOR MAKING THINGS: AN APPRENTICESHIP IN MARICOPA POTTERY as
told to Janet Stoeppelmann by Mary Fernald. Northland Publishing,
P.O. Box 1389, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-1389, (800) 346-3257, (800) 257-
9082 FAX. Northland also has a line of southwestern design T-
shirts and other gifts. Illustrated, index, appendix, map. 112
pp., $14.95 paper. 0-87358-595-X

Fernald, concerned that Maricopa pottery would become a lost art
(there are currently only four practicing potters left), has
written a book about her apprenticeship with Mabel Sunn and Ida
Redbird, which contains her recollections, a history of Maricopa
pottery, and instructions for making a Maricopa pot. This
affectionate narrative is a tribute, as well as a major step toward
perpetuating the artform. Grade: B+.

SHADOWCATCHERS: A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE TEACHINGS OF NATIVE
AMERICAN HEALERS by Steve Wall. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
(HarperPerennial), 10 E. 53rd St., N.Y., NY 10022-5299, (800) 242-
7737, (800) 822-4090 FAX. Illustrated. 294 pp., $16.00 paper. 0-
06-092672-4

In this companion volume to his "Wisdomkeepers" (1990), Wall visits
the elders and tribal leaders of seven tribes in Mexico and South
America and revisits six nations in the U.S., recording in their
words how they feel about the earth, their place in it, and its
ability to heal them. The book also contains Wall's experiences
with each tribe, many of which were reluctant to talk to him about
their spirituality. Though the book is an inspiring call for
harmony among the races, there is little here that makes it
preferable to others on the same subject. Grade: B-.

FACES IN THE MOON by Betty Louise Bell. University of Oklahoma
Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, (405)
325-5000 FAX. 192 pp., $10.95 paper. 0-8061-2774-0

Now out in a paperback edition, here is my review of the hardcover:

Three generations of women, each attaching a different meaning to
their Cherokee heritage, struggle with their interpretations in
this emotional and spellbinding debut. When Lucie is called back
to Oklahoma after her mother suffers a stroke, she must again
confront her past as a pawn in the battle of the lifestyles of her
grandmother, Hellen, who supports Cherokee traditional ways, and
her mother, Gracie, who yearns to escape her Indian trappings and
make it in the less confining white world. As the plot unfolds
amid flashbacks and Gracie's worsening condition, Lucie finds
comfort in the "women's stories" that the Cherokee have told
through the ages. With sincerely-spoken dialogue and a lean and
evocative prose, Bell resonantly illustrates that culture and
kinship can never be fully separated. Bell, a Cherokee herself, is
a professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Grade: B+.

A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF MINNESOTA OJIBWE by John D. Nichols and
Earl Nyholm. University of Minnesota Press, 111 Third Avenue
South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520, (800) 388-3863, FAX:
(612) 626-7313. Orders for University of Minnesota Press books may
be placed via Internet e-mail at ump@maroon.tc.umn.edu. Illustrat-
ed. 316 pp., $9.95 paper. 0-8166-2428-3

Ojibwe is spoken by the Anishinaabe (also known as Chippewa) of the
upper Midwest and central and eastern Canada. In this volume (an
expanded and revised version of "Ojibwewi-Ikidowinan: An Ojibwe
Word Resource Book" published in 1979), more than 7,000 words of
Minnesota Ojibwe, a local dialect spoken in central and northern
Minnesota, are presented in both Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe
formats, in a standardized orthography. This is an interim
publication (a reference dictionary with more than 25,000 words is
being prepared), of use to all who wish to become conversant in
Anishnaabemowin, and the price listed above is not a typographical
error. Grade: A.

THE BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF NATIVE AMERICAN PAINTERS by Patrick
J. Lester. SIR Publications, P.O. Box 700156, Tulsa, OK 74170,
distributed by the University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave.,
Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, (405) 325-5000 FAX. Tribal
index, bibliography. 719 pp., $49.95 cloth. 0-8061-9936-9

A revised and expanded edition of "American Indian Painters: A
Biographical Directory" (1968), this reference contains over 3,000
concise biographies of painters of American Indian ancestry from
1800 to the present. Each entry contains the artist's tribal
affiliation and tribal name, dates of birth and death, residence,
education, publications, exhibits, commissions, collections, and
awards and honors, as well as anecdotal information and excerpts
from reviews and critiques. While the information provided is
valuable to those seeking dates, places of exhibit, etc., the book
provides little feeling for the artist as a person. Grade: B-.

FOLLOWING THE SUN AND MOON: HOPI KACHINA TRADITION by Alph H.
Secakuku. Northland Publishing, P.O. Box 1389, Flagstaff, AZ
86002-1389, (800) 346-3257, (800) 257-9082 FAX. Northland also has
a line of southwestern design T-shirts and other gifts. Illustrat-
ed, index, appendix, glossary, list of readings, map. 147 pp.,
$19.95 paper. 0-87358-644-1

A spectacular catalogue of over 200 Hopi katchina dolls in the
collection of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, with commentary
from the Hopi point of view. The book is arranged according to the
Hopi ceremonial calendar, and Sekakuku explains how each of the
Kachina ceremonies, which begin in February and last until July,
relate to the Hopi religion. Colorful and informative, "Following
the Sun and Moon" will benefit kachina collectors as well as those
interested in the Hopi way of life. Grade: A.