5 comments about Seven Arrows.

1. This beautiful book is beyond the beyond in it's flowing rhythm of deep perception and wise assessment of a multitude of reality levels and views. We all perceive reality at what ever level or experience we have been absorbed in, the trick is to get beyond any constraints that might blind us to the bigger view that encompasses all existence. Yes, a tall order indeed, but doable as Storm demonstrates through his song of the medicine shields.
   
   Walking with Storm on this beautiful trail called "Seven Arrows", will open up grand vistas of a larger reality. All points of the reality compass are here to be seen, felt and absorbed.
   
   Storm so eloquently shows us how quietly listening and observing reality from as many points of view and directions as possible will deliver a vast array of those tiny puzzle pieces that when combined, make up the whole picture. Freeing oneself from dogmatic, less-than-clear strictures whether they be caused by one's religious, socio-economic, political, or family upbringing, will allow a clear view even from a new, never experienced vantage point. Walk in your brother or sister's shoes for a mile before judging their reality; see the world through the wide view of the eagle- the macro; see the world from the view of a little mouse who only sees fine details- the micro world- it is all right here to see the many points of reality for a more inclusive view of the world around us.
   
   Hyemeyohsts Storm has put together in this one beautiful book what a thousand other worldly wise people have attempted and that is a way or path to seeing, feeling and embracing other realities that are all part of the one, singular reality that demonstrates the interconnectedness of all life.
   
   Tales of the chaos caused by the intrusion of the Euros and their land/resource grabbing ways makes for some sad commentary on culture clash, especially when one comes to see here what beautiful lifestyles The People had and their willingness to share their wisdom.
   
   This is somewhat in contrast to the other interspersed through the book, lyrical journeys through the eyes of various animals that demonstrate the many levels of perception, but it all blends into a complete whole.
   
   The prose of this book travel between poetic, lyrical, song-like. The descriptive line drawings and colorful medicine wheels conceived by Storm and Karen Harris and painted by her along with the many photographs of The People, animals and landscapes, make this book a treat to the senses all on their own.
   
   I thank you Hyemeyohsts Storm, your family, and all those who helped put this beautiful book together!
   
   More on Hyemeyohsts Storm's works can be seen at his website: hyemeyohstsstorm.com



2. I have to say this book will work for those who are searching for some type of spirituality. However, there are correct ways of doing things in tribal structures and many practioners don't have the "right" to do so and often distort the practices. In answer to Prof. Carroll, Mr. Storm is indeed both N.Cheyenne and German-American.



3. Al Carroll's review is not the first encounter I've had with criticism of "the white man" continuing to abuse indians, now by "stealing" their religion. I am sympathetic with this point of view, but I also think that "the white man" desperately needs all the help he can get toward becoming more respectful of other life forms and more "spiritual" in the sense of being less materialistic. Surely, the religion and spirituality can be shared by all who need it.

   The beautiful artwork in Seven Arrows is criticized for "getting the colors wrong." This strikes me as a foolish criticism, as though the only valid interpretation of a traditional theme must have the traditional colors as well. This is reactionary thinking; for a tradition to be of the greatest value to the living, I think that change is sometimes necessary. If the artwork in Seven Arrows is valid as art, I think that's enough to justify its existence, regardless of its lack of "reverence to tradition." Not every crucifix needs to have a bleeding Christ on it. I don't recall what Storm says about the art in the book, but I don't think it's presented as "views of traditional Cheyenne art." It seems pretty clear that these are modern interpretations of traditional themes.

   In any case, if he "got the religion wrong" and "got the artwork wrong," it's still a dazzling book and I recommend it highly. You can read the "story of Jumping Mouse" from the book on Storm's web site, www.hyemeyohstsstorm.com.

   The following is the review I had on my web site before reading this current controversy:

   Hyemeyohsts Storm's Seven Arrows is a most unusual book, and reading it has been a profoundly interesting and moving experience for me. Seven Arrows is in the form of a novel with a lengthy nonfiction introduction and loads of artwork and photographs. However, as novels go, it simply fails to follow the convention, in two basic ways: most of the main characters are violently killed in the story, and the book contains half-a-dozen lengthy allegorical tales that dramatically slow the action.

   Overall the picture presented is that of the ending of a way of life and the introduction of a new way. The narrative mostly consists of characters riding or walking from place to place, meeting other indians (I believe there are no non-indian characters), talking about the latest doings of the crazy white man, telling stories, and killing or being killed. The death of the main characters is quite disconcerting at first. The novel begins by presenting the doings of a character, who is then killed. Another character becomes central to the story, and sooner or later he also is killed. Eventually one learns not to expect the current main character to survive; this expectation leads to abandonment of the usual "naive identification" that engages the reader to most novels and to take instead a more Olympian view. One begins to think of the human characters being as symbolic and allegorical as the mice, wolves, and buffalo that are prominent in the "teaching tales."

   Embedded in the narrative are about half-a-dozen lengthy allegorical tales that often seem to bear little relation to the actions of the human characters who tell the stories. In addition to these "teaching tales" themselves, interpretations of the events of the tales are presented. These interpretations, in conjunction with the introduction, lead one to think of the symbolism, "looking beneath" and reinterpreting everything that happens in the story. As is the case with any allegory worth reading, these tales and the book as a whole defy simple and unambiguous interpretation. There are multiple layers here, and each tale, and the entire book, should be thought of as flowers which can be opened a petal at a time. This approach to the tales is explicitly encouraged in the narrative.

   The artwork and photographs alone are worth the price of the book. The photographs are mostly of indians and their artifacts and various native animals and birds, and almost all of them are striking or thought-provoking. There are also about a dozen exquisite color plates of indian figures and shield designs incorporating symbols that occur in the narrative. Many line drawings decorate and illustrate the text. All these elements work well with the text, though regrettably some of the photographs are marred by the two-page spread treatment they receive.

   Seven Arrows presents a point of view and way of life which I found alien, yet attractive. The gentleness of these indians and their good will towards each other, the slow pace of indian life, and the symbolic and puzzling stories the characters tell each other, all contribute to the inducing of a state of peaceful contemplation and a longing for a quieter way of life. This is a book I intend to reread often. It strikes me as a very profound book, but this is the profundity of obscure poetry, of a flawed quartz crystal, or of a human eye or mind: the deeper you look, the more you will see, but the dull or hurried eye may discern little of interest. If you're looking for something different and potentially life-changing, give Seven Arrows a try.




4. The book, "Seven Arrows" has been in print since approximately 1972. It is a remarkable book, one that speaks to many generations of wise people searching for a deeper meaning, an experiential understanding of life and mystery.

   It is important to read Mr. Storm's book with an open mind - an approach lost on a sad gentlemen reviewer who claims to be a professor of history at Arizona State University. The reviewer is mean-spirited, inflamatory and excitable. Althouh the reviewer seeks a position of authority as a learned man, his claims re. Mr. Storm's book are tenuous and irresponsible.

   Learn to judge for yourself the many merits of "Seven Arrows".




5. HYEMHOYOSTS STORM DESECRATES CHEYENNE BELIEFS
   By Rupert Costo, President of the American Indian Historical Society and Publisher of The Indian Historian

   Seven Arrows brings disgrace to its publisher, Harper and
   Row. It falsifies and desecrates the traditions of the Northern
   Cheyenne, which it purports to describe.

   This reviewer withholds judgment as to whether Mr. Storm is a
   Cheyenne as he claims to be.* He certainly shows little or no
   understanding of the Cheyenne Way. The publisher circulated a letter giving Storm's enrollment number. But an enrollment number does not an Indian make! Quite a few Anglos and some blacks were adopted into Indian tribes. Sometimes the Indians were forced by the US government to accept them. In other cases whites were deceitful enrolled.

   If indeed he is an Indian, the tribal chairman states "I
   don't know how he got on the tribal rolls." Shame on him for making a blasphemous travesty of the Cheyenne Way in Seven Arrows.

   This is a book put together with considerable pretensions.
   The first thing that strikes the eye is the illustrative work:

   1) The color plates are a solid disaster, in extremely poor taste, and the end result desecrates the Cheyenne religion. The Cheyenne do not use such garish colors. Theirs were the colors of the earth.

   2) The designs are actually blasphemous to Cheyenne religion,
   portraying their religious motifs in the worst possible manner,
   making a mockery of the religious beliefs and the theological system of the people.

   There are so many irreligious and irreverent inaccuracies in
   this book that a committee of the Northern Cheyenne is now examining it in detail.** The reaction of Cheyenne people at Lame Deer was disbelief and anger: "Bunk!"

   1) His description of the Sun dance is WRONG.

   2) His drawing of the Sun Dance Lodge is NOT Cheyenne.

   3) The Four Sacred Directions are INACCURATELY described as north-south-east-west. They are in fact the northeast-northwest-southeast-southwest.

   4) The sacred number given is WRONG.

   5) The Cheyenne shield colors are WRONG. They are red, black, white, and yellow, not the monstrosity of color shown in the plates.

   6) The shield designs are WRONG and actually BLASPHEME the Cheyenne religion.

   The publisher has boasted this will be a best seller. Not
   surprising. This is a White Man's interpretation of the Cheyenne. A reader searching for a true interpretation of the Cheyenne people will not find it in this book.

   It is most unfortunate that this author, who has no religious
   or secular status in the tribe, is so presumptuous as to
   bestow "Indian" names upon his White benefactor, Douglas Latimer, a vice president of Harper and Row. Only the tribe and religious leaders can do this. In performing such an irreligious act, Storm has outraged and insulted the Cheyenne, their tribal traditions, and religion. On the other hand, it is inconceivable any self respecting individual would accept a pseudo-Indian name given by one who is not authorized to do so. No self respecting Indian would do it either. It is ump quah, as we say.

   This reviewer wonders whether Storm is attempting to create a
   new theology for the Cheyenne.*** If so he has failed, and succeeded only in vulgarizing one of the most beautiful but least known religions of man.
   -------------

   This review originally appeared in The Indian Historian, Vol. 5, No. 2, Summer 1972. The emphases and numbering were added.

   *Subsequent research has turned up two possibilities not known at the time Costo wrote his review. Storm's real first name is Charles or Chuck. At other times he has also taken the pseudonyms "Wolf Storm" or "General Storm." He is, in fact, German-American, and is blue-eyed, blond-haired, and fair-skinned. A few Native people have come forward claiming to be relatives of his, and it's possible he may have a small amount of Crow ancestry. These distant Crow relatives in turn have Cheyenne relatives, which may account for how he was
   deceitfullyenrolled.

   ** Storm's publisher Harper and Row escaped a lawsuit by publishing the book as fiction. (They also paid what the Cheyenne openly called "reparations" for the damage done by Storm's book.) At the same time, Storm and the inner circle of his cult followers maintain his books are absolutely and literally true.

   ***Storm remains a pariah to the Cheyenne. There is no sign of any Cheyenne accepting his blasphemous take on Cheyenne belief. Storm himself has never lived among the Cheyenne, and today lives near the Crow reservation on the profits from his books. His appearances to promote his blasphemy of Cheyenne beliefs are always heavily protested.

3 comments about The Morning the Sun Went Down.

1. Every once in a while a book is written that changes everything. This is one of those books. This autobiography written by Darryl Babe Wilson about his Achomawi/Atsugewi (Pit River) Indian childhood in northern California is filled with wonder and lyrical beauty, and at the same time with painful tragedy and brutality. This is the masterful recounting of a personal journey that enfolds us warmly in a child eye's view ofWilson'sfamily and tribal relations, as well as the intrinsic and permanent relationship with theland in its ancient and essential dimensions. This book is simultaneously literature, an autobiography and the history of a People. Thebook begins with a dream in which Wilson is tested and reminded by the Elders of his responsibility to his People. It combines observations both minute and practical with those that sweepinglyencompass infinate place and time, understood both by the heart and mind. We are deftly drawn into a world that is simultaneously rugged and sweet. The family tragedy, the death of his mother and baby brother, and the subsequent family separation are described in wrenching detail, mirroring and paralleling the descriptions of historic events resulting from the lethal coming of whites into his homeland following the discovery of gold in California. Wilson places us, as readers, in a spot that is at the same time ancient, historical and contemporary. This is a story of growingself-assurance and human understanding as Wilson matures and comes to see the world from a broader vision, as well as his place and potential role within that world. He says, "...we must seek a power or a series of powers outside of ourselves which we identify as 'helpers.' Helpers can be a tree or animals, rocks or mountains, stars or flowers, frogs or rainbows. Helpers come to us in our time of need, and they guide our dreams." This book is utlimately the story of strength and power. Near the end of the book, he says, "For it was a song, according to our narratives, that caused all of the universe to have a beginning. We must seek within ourselves the spiritual terrain from our watu/ah'lo (spiritual umbilical cord) to the Great Power, cultivating our personal power and creating wholesomeness with our thoughts and intentions...It is taught in our lessons and legends, and by our Elders, that The People are responsible for life upon earth. Honoring the lessons then becomes a mandate from Great Power/GReat Wonder/Great Spirit that we are bound to obey. All people must obey the Great Law, so the sweetness of life can continue."



2. Every once in a while a book is written that changes everything. THE MORNING THE SUN WENT DOWN is one of those books. This autobiography written by Darryl Babe Wilson about his Achomawi/Atsugewi (Pit River) childhood in northeastern California is filled with wonder and lyrical beauty, and at the same time with painful tragedy and brutality. This is the masterful recounting of a personal journey that enfolds us warmly in a child eye's view of Wilson's family and tribal relations, as well as the intrinsic and permanent relationship with the land in its ancient and essential dimensions. This book is simultaneously literature, an autobiography and the history of a People. It is highly recommended.//This is a portion of the review by Susan Lobo that will appear in the journal NATIVE AMERICAS (Cornell)



3. from "Kirkus Reviews" (starred review): A slim, modest, and altogether extraordinary memoir of rural Native American life. Wilson, a poet and scholar from the Achumawe and Atsugewi tribes of northeastern California, came into adolescence in the mid-1950s, when his people had all but disappeared through assimilation or extermination. Blame for part of that disappearance he lays squarely at the door of whites; but, he adds, "the neglect of our Elders to teach us our traditions was equally damaging." His own parents did their best to teach Wilson and his siblings something of the old ways: how to hunt deer, how to tame rattlesnakes, how to listen for mountain lions, lessons that he imparts to his readers with precision and grace- and not a little humor. But when his mother and younger brother were killed in a collision with a logging truck, Wilson was sent off to live with white foster parents among unfriendly neighbors (he remembers, touchingly, one young girl "who did not accuse me with her eyes or attitude," principally "because we were not enemies"). Whe it appeared that his foster parents wanted to strip away his Indian identity, Wilson rebelled, for which he was sent off to a boarding school where the young California Indian charges were locked in their rooms at nights and punished by day for minor infractions. Wilson recounts these horros matter-of-factly but doesn't dwell on them; instead, he celebrates a teacher who sagely corrected his compositions, encouraged him to improve himself, and urged him to become a writer. Readers have reason to be grateful to that teacher as well. Wilson is a careful and compassionate obeserver of his life and those of other young Indians, and his book is a fine addition to the growing library of Native American autobiography.

No comments about Haa Kusteeyi, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories (Classics of Tlingit Oral Literature, Vol 3).

5 comments about Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, Twenty-First Century Edition.

1. I personally didn't mind the interpretation of a white man (Neidhart) translating Black Elk's legendary stories into a published work of art. The book was a very easy read and insinuated deep emotion and spiritual awareness. I higly recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in Indian culture and tense relations between Indians and Cowboys (Federal Government)



2. Both Thomas E.Mails and John Niehardt have brought to life the true nature of the Native American in their masterly renditions of their interviews with these Medicine (Holy) men, both Fools Crow and Black Elk. The result is an understanding of the simple honesty, good nature and trust that initially left them so open to exploitation. More importantly, they demonstrated a sincere belief in God that the 'White Man' was singularly lacking in the early pioneers. Their beliefs ran parallel with the Primitive Church as established by Jesus during his ministry in the Middle Ages.Fools Crow



3. _Over the years I have read this book in the wilderness and in the wasteland. Every time that I have reread it I have come away renewed.
   
   _There are just so many levels on which this account can be appreciated. It is one of the best first-hand accounts of plains life- from camp life, to the march, the hunt, courting, healing, etc. It is also one of the best first-hand accounts of historical events- the Fetterman Fight, the Wagon box Fight, Red Cloud's Treaty, the Custer Fight, Wounded Knee... It is also a first-rate autobiography of the deepest thoughts of a man who fears that he may not have lived up to his God-given destiny. But, above all, it is a legitimate Revelation from the world beyond.
   
   _At times Black Elk seems to despair that he didn't live up to his great vision. Personally, I do not see this. He did what he was supposed to do. First, he brought his vision to his people in the form of the magnificent Horse Dance. Then, in his twilight years, he wisely brought the same vision to the outside world in the form of this book. This was too powerful and universal a vision to be confined to one people alone. Every part of it resonates with the Perennial Philosophy, the eternal religion that underlies all true Tradition- from the World Tree at the center of the people's hoop, to the certain knowledge that the things of this world are but a shadow of the true Reality of the next.
   
   _As far as the sacred herb of four blossoms is concerned that he saw at the end of the forth ascent- that was the rebirth of the sacred tree from sacred seed. This book is that seed.



4. This is an exceptionally moving book for anyone yearning to know more about Native American spirituality. Black Elk was truly a man filled with the holy spirit. It reminds me of the book, Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Both are highly recommended.



5. It says on the jacket of this book that Black Elk Speaks belongs in the company of 'religious classics'. Maybe so, but even if you regard his visions as indicative of a religious experience, the parts of the book dedicated to the description of these visions make for rather tedious reading. The real meat of the book is his decriptions of the last of the major indian battles at Rosebud, Little Big Horn (Custer's Last Stand), and Wounded Knee. Black Elk and his friends were there, and lived through those harrowing days. A must-read book for anyone who wants to know how it really was.

5 comments about Lightningbolt.

1. I was on a vision quest in my life looking outside and was taught by elders and others to look within and with the help of this Book and Hyemeyohst Storm and other books he wrote I was able to learn more and feel more in touch with the earth medicine of Nature and its often looked over healing power The Power of One "Nature" may we all find our way to a place of peace and serenity within and share it by being.. JG



2. I found this book over two years ago and I have yet to finish. I can't bring myself to accept that it will end, so i've been doing everything i can to avoid turning that last page. It's that kind of book. There are so many layers of brillance and value to this amazing piece of artwork. Athough it is psychologically complex and methaphysically profound, it is Storm's simple love for the Earth and his masterful, unassuming language that set this book apart. The characters have a fully developed humanity to them that is unparalleled. Truly destined to be an all time classic. This is more than a book.



3. This is a book about more than the guru-guided personal search for self-understanding of a half-breed, more than a remarkably profound exposé of the life-philosophy (not religion) of the native american peoples. More even than a confirmation of the inner validity of other ancient systems of thought and knowledge to be found in other parts of the world, for example in Scandinavia. This book is exactly what it claims to be: the revelation of A WAY, an approach to life and the problems of identity, balance and peace, second to none, and applicable to everyone, where ever in the world they may live, and whatever religious and cultural tradition they may formally adhere to. Something that if widely spread, and attended to in the right way, might just ... just ... (to coin a heavily misused, but in this context really appropriate phrase)"save the world". In other words, not without subversive, but highly life-enhancing social and political connotations. My advice: Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. And then practice, as best ye may. Good luck, and may the Spirit give you strength in the quest for yourSELF.



4. The Red Road curves through a parallel universe with only tenuous ties to contemporary reality. Storm speaks to the wanna-be warrior in all of us, with humorous vignettes spiked with hidden awareness, as he looks back at the valiant fool he was, beginning his quest before he even knows he was on it, missing all the clues to his personal Grail. (The sign said "Stop", he looked at it, but he couldn't see the message for the word...) Conservative Native Americans shun this guy for letting the cat out of the bag...But for the rest of us waschisus, this is as close to understanding life on the Res as we'll ever get. No matter what your path to personal enlightenment has been, any spritual trekkie will enjoy this guy's experiences. Great read!!!



5. This book speeks to me about the inner turmoil and multitude of voices that haunt the uninitiated and estranged males in our society. To not belong, to be cut off from community is a plague on our youth and spirit. The feeling of isolation leads to antisocial behavior, unhappiness, stupidity and violence. Herein is the story of a disenfranchised man and how, with a mentor and female partner, he finds strength in the Self to command and conquer the demons of a disfunctional conformist society. This is a primer on taming the destructive, finding peace and living with beauty. Great insights for all!

5 comments about Ohitika Woman.

1. Most history consists of the actions of royalty and people in power. We know the stories about the lives of the pharoahs but not of common laborers. Until now. This book documents the life, not of a chief, but of an ordinary Native American woman. We see how she lives, how she feels, how she thinks, and she is open in expressing her opinions on political issues as well as cultural and social issues.
   
   In addition to telling the accounts of her life, the author Mary Brave Bird opens up to allow the reader to see deep into her heart and innermost thoughts. She is very candid not only about her thoughts and feelings but about her actions as well. She does not try to hide her faults and describes her own infidelity and irresponsibility without excuses.
   
   While reading the book, one is tempted to judge her. But don't. She must be applauded for being so open and honest.
   
   At one point, she assigns blame to the white man for all the ailments of Indian society. Yet remarkably she knows that more handouts from the government or more government programs will not be the answer. The Indians themselves are the only ones who can lift themselves out of poverty, and she is honest in that her own decisions and her own behavior has prevented her and her children from living better lives.



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

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

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

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

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

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




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



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



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

5 comments about Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas (50th Anniversary Edition) (50th Anniversary Edition).

1. I must say what a noble man. I just wish there was more about him. it was a beautiful story. one that should be read in every highschool along with sitting bulls bio, black elks six grandfather etc.



2. The 5 star reviews are right-on. When I first read "Crazy Horse" six years ago, I ranked it as one of my two favorite books ("Grapes of Wrath" being the other). One hundred books later and it still retains that ranking in my list, along with Grapes and, now, Katz's "Battleground" (a bullet-proof presentation of Jewish claims to Eretz Israel) and Fischer's "Paul Revere's Ride" (which brings that event to life brilliantly). Sandoz writes and retells magnificently. This is a great book.



3. I had never read Mari Sandoz so I can't compare this to her other books. The writing style is unique and pleasant. It is a very interesting, and unfortunately sad story about Indian life on the great plains. The book seems very well researched and therefore more interesting to read since it is about history. The Indians suffered strategically from a lack of organization, but their whole life style was about independence and in fact a much more pure form of democracy in selecting and de-selecting their leaders. In reading the story with regard to the lies and deceipt of the white men it reminded me that world politics and war is no different today than then. Crazy Horse had attributes that leaders should aspire to, he wanted to help his people and he was not vain about himself as leader. In the end he was tricked into surrender by his own people.
   
   I thought it was one of the best books of Indian life and history that I have read.



4. Little is known about Crazy Horse in comparison to other legendary chiefs, warriors and heroes due to the quiet-spoken and solitude-seeking nature he possessed. Indeed, Crazy Horse was considered "strange" due to standing true to his ideals and who he really was, instead of the conventional ways of others no matter how traditional. Born of lighter hair and skin, young Curly stood out as different from the beginning of his days. Most humble and purely strong and good-hearted, Crazy Horse grew to be the truest and most brilliant leader of the Lakotas. Self-sacrificing even to the bitter end, Crazy Horse earned his place of honor as a hero to be respected.
   
   Combining interview information of Eleanor Hinman with survivors who knew Crazy Horse, with Mari Sandoz's meticulous research, gives "Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of The Oglalas" clout in accuracy of detail and fact in the day and time of Crazy Horse. I very highly recommend this book.



5. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and couldn't recommend it more. If you are a Native American history buff, or have any interest at all in the so-called Indian wars of the Great Plains, this book is a must-read. It is written in the vernacular of a Native American who speaks English tolerably well, and I believe this adds a great deal of character to the writing. The story of Crazy Horse's life is a sad one filled with the mistrust and back-stabbing deeds of his own people, along with the well known deeds committed by the American settlers and soldiers. Crazy Horse's ultimate downfall was aided by the restraining hands of his own people, as foretold by his vision. A sad ending to his life indeed, but Sandoz's re-telling provides a fascinating work of history. One word of advice to the reader: A much better understanding of the events that occur in this book can be had by "pre-reading" a good, concise history such as Indian Wars by Utley and Washburn.

5 comments about The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams.

1. This book has to be the worst and most sickening case of cultural apropriation in the history of the US. The fact that it was writen by a white man is further proof of the emperialist and colonialist mentality that still exists in this nation twords the Native American Community. However when I forst read this book Nasdijj was still a navajo within the eyes of the public. At the time the book mooved me deaply. Nasdijj's use if diction and the storytelling nature of his narative was beutifle. It made me want to learn more about the status and problems facing the Plains Indian community and work bring about change. That meens somthing to me and despite what I know now that initial responce when I first read this book stays with me to this day. I urge those who are going to critisize this book to read it first if you have not, and when you read it, do so with eyes un clouded by the trouth.



2. It's a shame that because of works like this, not to mention the Forrest Carter (Education of Little Tree) scandal a few years back, many unknown and undiscovered--but authentic--Native American writers will probably have to struggle that much harder to become published. Well-established American Indian authors are already naturally suspect of any newcomers on the scene; the sad fact is that for some reason Native American culture and identity is misappropriated by more misguided white writers--whatever their individual agendas might be--than any other race or ethnic group. The sad truth is that, for every Forrest Carter and Timothy Barris who manage to secure a publishing contract, there are dozens of truly deserving Native voices that are going unheard.And thanks to these imposters making the buying public- as well as agents and editors- increasingly suspicious of anyone claiming to be Native American-their chances to be read and heard are only going to diminish.



3. To hold the power to move people with words regardless of the validity of those words is a very impressive art. With the exception of one specific actor, no one in history has made a powerful film about his or her own life. There is no reason to believe that written works shoud be treated differently from movies in this respect. Obviously this writer has realized that human deception is an important method of eliciting an emotional response from an audience. By reading the responses from readers prior to the false exposure of the true writer, it is clear that this man or woman is light years ahead of current authors when it comes to manipulating the human brain into believing a story, factual or not. With the increasing pace of desensitization of the mind in recent years, obviously new techniques must be made available to entertain an insatiable public. To say that this author's amazing work is only confined within the pages of the book is downwright ludicrous. Everything, including the monikor and real identity of "Timothy Barris" is part of a larger piece of fiction that may be even further exposed as time passes. After this "identity" was unearthed, opposite and even stronger emotional responses were elicited from readers, demonstrated in print on these very pages of Amazon.com. Is it not true that disgust and outrage are also emotions that sub-par authors struggle to touch in their works? "The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams" is such an example of a work of writing and deception that is capable of plucking each string of human emotion in such a way that has never been attempted before. There is a larger picture.
   
   -AK



4. I read this book last year, and was moved by it, though I often found it rather fuzzy on certain details, and the chronology seemed to jump around. Now, I learn this guy is a total FRAUD: He's not Indian and Tommy didn't exist. He's apparently lazy, too: I've read that his descriptions of Navajo culture don't fit with reality, either. This is disgraceful, both his lying about his heritage, and inventing this sick child, as well as the other people he made up. What a waste of time.
   So many literary frauds have been exposed this month (Jan 06). Now, I'm wondering about a few other memoirs that have been popular the last few years. I'm rather disinclined to buy any memoirs these days; and I bet I'm not the only one who feels this way. I bet these scandals hurt sales of this book genre.



5. I haven't read any of "Nasdijj"'s writings, and I don't expect to do so, but as a REAL Amerind (Cherokee), I am disturbed and indignant at Navajos being used as a publicity hook by a white sado-masochist. Don't take my word for it. Read an exhaustive exposé at
   http://www.laweekly.com/index.php option=com_lawcontent&task=view&id=12468&Itemid=47

5 comments about Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America.

1. It isn't too common for me to start crying by the ending of a book. But this story brought me to tears. I really came to admire this reticent and dignified man, and the people who befriended him, and it saddens me to think of all the other people like Ishi who were mercilessly slaughtered. Ishi is really a representative of that hunted and slaughtered class, a class that existed right here on this California soil, and a slaughter which was perpetrated by people I thought I admired: the good old cowboy types.
   
   This is a story of epic character (Ishi's) and epic cruelty. Please do not misunderstand me: this is not a book which has any intent of guilt-tripping anyone. But it did take me by surprise, because you can talk about slavery all day long, or the Nazis, and I feel no relation, no nexus between myself and those crimes. But, here, I felt a little weird. The degenerate conduct is very close to home, literally and figuratively. I had cowboy guns and chaps as a kid, and I pretended to shoot Indians. And that is a really pathetic thing to pretend, because Ishi was an Indian, and I've learned he was just like you and me. He and his people were rational and empathetic. There had to have been a more humane way to co-exist.
   
   "The true ghastliness of these events is that they were carried out not by alien monsters but by people shockingly like you and me."--Karl Kroeber in the Foreword to the book written by his mother. That's exactly right. This book describes how Ishi's family and tribe was basically hunted down and exterminated right in front of his eyes as a child, in at least two major massacres and a few other lesser atrocious moments. It breaks your heart. I always thought the Indians scalped the settlers. In this book, it is the local sheriff and his gang of quasi-criminals that is scalping the Indians, including their children, in retaliation for a theft of some beans or the killing of a cow, or some other handy excuse. "No state in the Union surpassed the Golden State in systematically and shamelessly harassing, murdering, and stealing from its native inhabitants." Since I live in California, this strikes a painful chord as well. The data cited by Ms. Kroeber is compelling and I suspect unrefuted. The conduct she describes is well documented and uncontested. These Indian peoples were treated like vermin, just a little over a hundred years ago, right where your wine grapes are now growing, or nearby.
   
   I'm perhaps unduly emphasizing negative themes. I just learned of these events, or perhaps I should say I just finally comprehended them while reading the book. They struck me out of the blue. This education about nearby and recent enormous cruelties is just a part of the reading experience, however, and isolating these events does this fantastic story no favor, and I apologize. Rest assured, this is a life-altering book, and I've mentioned only the part which shocked me in a negative way.
   
   Ishi the man is a wonderful character, he is warmly introduced and developed here, and I can think of no character, real or fiction, which I came to care about more than Ishi. He was capable, strong, polite, free from bitterness, totally alone. His champions and protectors, Professors Kroeber and Waterman, and Dr. Popey, I came to admire and respect and envy. I loved the depictions of wild nature, and Ishi's ability to make handicrafts, a skill-set described in fabulous detail by Mrs. Kroeber. You may want to make an arrowhead or a bow based on her description. Ishi recommends Mountain Juniper for your bow-making, so heed his advice, he was master.
   
   The writing is first-rate. Mrs. Kroeber was herself a scientist, and her book takes an artful but methodical approach to the events--both tragic and hilarious-- it describes: the way of the Indians; the way of the Yana (Ishi's tribe); the experiences Ishi endured during his hard life in the wild; the discovery of Ishi; the revelations from Ishi; the "camping trip" with Ishi in his old home territory (and his anxiousness to return to the city: he learned to love beds, toilets, stoves, towels, and the other "clever" inventions of the white man); and Ishi's demise from tuberculosis.
   
   I am one of those people who marks up a book as I read it. My copy had virtually every page marked up by the end. This book is so thought-provoking and idea-rich on so many levels it will take me years to fully asimilate it.
   
   One of the newspaper reviewers is quoted on the cover: "A book every American ought to read." True. And, I suspect, every American will be deeply enriched and rewarded for the effort. But the ending is still sad, when you think of what Ishi endured and how little time he had in his hard, hard life to enjoy things. I kept imagining the things I would show Ishi if I had the chance: Disneyland; a Rolling Stones concert; a Benny Hill video, lasagna, a motorcycle ride.
   
   He only spoke about 600 English words by the end, but you will understand him very well. And, I'm confident, he will be someone you deeply respect.



2. Stunning. Only 100 years ago and the atrocities were numbing. Don't read this if you don't want to be ashamed of how our ancestors dismissed the rights, culture, and wisdom of native Americans. By the end of the book, I felt as though I was sitting with Ishi, quietly appreciating the abundance of nature and the solace of family and tribe. The book is fifty years old and some of the vocabulary and phrasing is quirky, but there is a reverence that is unmistakable.



3. ALL humans can benefit from reading this fact based book. ISHI was a real MAN, and his humbleness and genuine qualities are what young people should strive to match!



4. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the story of Ishi. However, the binding on the new paperback fell apart before I was half way through it.



5. This book is very enjoyable, informative, and enlightening. If you are interested in Native Americans, this is a must read. It truly describes the last "Wild Indian" that was brought into modern society. It explains both the natural heritage of Ishi along with the typical exploration of finding the last "Wild Indian". Truly, a story that had to be told

2 comments about The Book of Elders: The Life Stories of Great American Indians.

1. Do not miss this book if you are interested in wisdom that one seldom, gets in any world that is not Indigenous. Indigenous wisdom gives us lessons for life lived from the heart and lived in tune with our Mother Earth, particularly from elders; be they natives of Turtle Island (North America), Australia, New Zealand, South America or the African continent.
   I loved this book and I love the wisdom imparted by the authors of each story. It is good to learn and it is best to learn from those who have lived long lives and learned their wisdom, not only from their own lives but also from the teachings of their ancestors.



2. This is a WONDERFUL collection of the real life stories of thirty elders from nineteen North American tribes. They are inspirations for us all. It has my HIGHEST recommendation--read this book, it will touch your heart and soul!