Native American Stories

[melv]

I am looking for a good book for my sister in law who I never seem to be able to get a gift for that she really enjoys. I recently found out that she likes to read stories about Native American issues,and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good fiction novel in this vein.

thanks...

[graywarrior]

1. Sherman Alexie.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven and several other books. He's one of the finest Native American writers around.

http://www.fallsapart.com/

[applegrove]

2. I you google native amerindian stories & history - you should be able

to find lots in the way of history done without the european bias. And it is pretty incredible and sad.

Atlantic Magazine did a huge story of "Americas before europeans" a few years ago. Perhaps you could get to theri archives and reprint it as a gift.

[FtWayneBlue]

3. Cheyenne Autumn,

and Little Big Man.

[Sequoia]

8. Oh yeah!! Little Big Man is so great.

I was reading that years ago and my boss at the time asked me why didn't I just rent the movie. Duh!

I've seen the movie, it's fine, but the book is so way better!

Maria Sandoz (Cheyenne Autumn) also wrote "Crazy Horse" very, very, very good! She lived in that area and interviewed people who had known him.

[madmom]

4. there is a series about pre-Columbian Native Americans by

Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W.Michael Gear, it's called The First North Americans Series. It's very good , it's fiction based on some fact.It starts with People of the Wolf and each book is about a different area in the US.There are about 14 on these, also there is the Anasazi Mystery Series by the same authors, The Visitant, The Summoning God, and Bone Walker, also very good, if thats the kind of book you like.There is also a series by William Sarabande about just around and after the ice age, its called The First Americans, it includes Beyond the Sea of Ice, Corridor of Storms, Forbidden Land, Walkers of the Wind, The Sacred Stones, Thunder In the Sky and Wolves of the Dawn. These are all prehistoric Native American novels, hope this helps!

[abluelady]

5. Check Out Louise Erdich

Her books are wonderful--not all of them are about Native Americans but many are.

[kikiek]

7. One of her books is "The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse".

[pitohui]

15. damn good book i second yr recommend EOM

.

[Bluerthanblue]

17. "Birchbark House" is written and intended

for children, but I read it after my son's assignment for summer reading, and was simply engrossed in the simple, yet profound storyline, and message.-

GREAT book- for all ages.

[Uncle Roy]

6. "Where the Chill Came from: Cree Windigo Tales and Journeys"

by Howard Norman. A WONDERFUL little book of Windigo tales collected and translated by Norman and retold in a way that makes you feel like you are right there by the fire on a long winter evening, listening to the village story-teller. There's a long essay on the role of Windigos in Cree story-telling tradition, but the main attraction is the 30 or so stories, some of them quite astonishing. I can't find my copy right now (it's a book that gets loaned out more often than it gets returned) or I'd type out one of the really short ones for you.

The book is long out of print (1982) but you can find copies from the various on-line used book sellers.

[catbert836]

9. The books of N. Scott Momaday

He's probably the best contemporary Native American author. I'd recommend "House Made of Dawn" (he won a Pulitzer for that one) and "The Way to Rainy Mountain" (which is non-fiction, but the best account of the Kiowa tribe that I've found.)
Hope that helps.

[CornField]

10. Jean M. Auel (Earth's Children)

Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of the Horses, Shelters of Stone, The Mammoth Hunters, Plains of Passage, and others.

[Onceuponalife]

11. I enjoyed "The Education of Little Tree"

by Forrest Carter. You might also check out the books of Allan W. Eckert. They are non-fiction, but written in a novelistic fashion and are quite absorbing. Another good author is James Alexander Thom.

[Goblinmonger]

12. We teach Little Tree to our sophmores here

You might be interested to know that Forrest Carte is actually Asa Carter, former speech writer for Wallace and former KKK member. We also talk about that with our classes and what that means for the narrative--it is usually a very good and deep discussion.

[Onceuponalife]

14. yes, I've heard that

but I still enjoyed the book. I didn't hear about that contoversy about Carter until after I read it.

[La Coliniere]

13. "Fools Crow" by James Welch

is a masterpiece about the life of a band of Blackfeet in 1870. Highly imagistic and detailed in its portrayal of life in the high plains. A historically significant, dramatic, magical, but ultimately tragic tale that is unforgettable. James Welch is a member of the Blackfeet tribe. Highly recommended.

[petgoat]

24. I'll second Fools Crow.

Welch's other work is worth reading, but Fools Crow is the best.

Ah: Rabbit Boss is up there with Fools Crow.



It's a kind of hallucinated and Joycean style, so if the first few pages
don't make sense to you maybe you won't get through it, but I couldn't
put it down once I got into it.



Also Trask by Don Berry.




You'll pick up a bit of the chinook trade jargon in that one. Moontrap I recall
as less indian-oriented but still worth reading.

[BlueIris]

26. Hook yourself up with a copy of "Winter in the Blood" if you

don't have one already. I adore James Welch.

[phusion]

16. Spider Woman's Granddaughters by Paula Gunn Allen

I assume you mean Native North American issues...

If so, I'd recommend Paula Gunn Allen. Here's one of my favorites:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/044990508X/qid=1131435900/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3248097-3816150?v=glance&s=books

These 24 compelling and bleakly evocative narratives compiled by Allen, a professor of Native American studies at the University of California, all stress the theme of loss: loss of identity, loss of culture, loss of personal meaning. By juxtaposing traditional stories with contemporary tales, Allen allows readers to see how the same themes, values and perceptions have endured through the centuries, "testaments to cultural persistence, to a vision and a spiritual reality that will not die." Echoes of the traditional "Oshkikwe's Baby," about an old witch who steals babies, can be found in two stories. In Louise Erdrich's "American Horse," a white social worker separates a boy from his mother for his own "good," to the anguish of mother and son. In "As It Was in the Beginning," by E. Pauline Johnson, a preacher takes a girl away from her family to attend a mission school; the tale is a powerful indictment of the hypocrisy of the "Christian" white culture in dealing with native Americans. The importance of storytelling in keeping the Pawnee culture alive is beautifully conveyed in Anna Lee Walter's "The Warriors," in which their alcoholic uncle teaches two sisters that they must struggle to find beauty in the midst of squalor and poverty--"For beauty is why we live," he says. Allen's somewhat patronizing attitude toward her non-Native audience--in her introduction and editorial notes--is sometimes intrusive, but should not detract from the poignant impact of these stories.

If she is interested in the indigenous of Central America, I'd recommend anything by Martin Prechtel. He often writes about Guatemalan village life...In particular, I really enjoyed his book Secrets of the Talking Jaguar:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0874779707/qid=1131436119/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3248097-3816150?v=glance&s=books

[oneighty]

18. A book

That I read years ago sticks in my mind. Oddly I can not remember much about it other than that it must have been good.

That book is. 'Laughing Boy' by La Farge. It is an older book at least fifties I would guess.

I live next door to a reservation. An old Indian there was an acquaintance of mine. He was a writer, a poet, a musician of sorts and an artist. His book 'Moccasin Paths', his name is/was Arthur Wakalee; Wakalee meaning Buffalo Hump.I have never read the book and I do not know if it is fiction or non-fiction. I do know the book is hard to find.

Another book I have heard of locally is 'Black Elk Speaks'.

For what it is worth.

180

[oneighty]

19. I did an edit on this post

I must not have entered it.

'Laughing Boy' 1957 Oliver LaFarge.

Arthur Wakolee not Wakalee.

Amazon lists 'Moccasin Paths' as being written by Pat Wakolee. I think she was his daughter and co author. An Indian friend of mine has that book and wisely WILL NOT lend it out. Sigh.

DUer Bigtree has a book he wrote. I alerted him to this thread just a few minutes ago.

180

[Broken_Hero]

20. sherman alexie

Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfights in heaven, also Indian Killer....also, Fools Crow...can't remember the authors name. Anything by Vine Deloria Jr.....:)

[Marie26]

21. First North Americans series

Kathleen O'Neal Gear & W. Michael Gear have written many novels about Native Americans. They're basically historical fiction, and each tells the story of a different tribe in pre-Columbian times. I like them - the novels are fast-paced & interesting (if a bit formulaic), and the authors really bring that era to life. Some of the books are "People of the Fire," "People of the River," etc.

[Uncle Roy]

22. Tony Hillerman's mysteries: contemporary Navaho setting, and very

sensitive to the spiritual side of Navaho life, which I found fascinating. Hillerman isn't a Navaho himself, but the tribe made him an honorary member in recognition of the good job he has done in these books.

The two main characters through the series are: Detective Joe Leaphorn (older, more "assimilated") and Officer Jim Chee (younger, more "traditional").

It's best to read them in chronological order, since 1) the lives of the main characters are presented that way, and 2) once a Navaho cultural issue is explained in a book, it doesn't get re-explained every time it re-appears in a subsequent book.

Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mysteries

(1970) The Blessing Way
(1971) The Fly on the Wall
(1974) Dance Hall of the Dead
(1978) Listening Woman
(1980) People of Darkness
(1982) The Dark Wind
(1984) The Ghostway
(1986) Skinwalkers
(1988) A Thief of Time
(1989) Talking God
(1990) Coyote Waits
(1993) Sacred Clowns
(1996) The Fallen Man
(1998) The First Eagle
(1999) Hunting Badger
(2002) Wailing Wind
(2003) Sinister Pig
(2004) Skeleton Man

[NuttyFluffers]

23. well, this is quirky enough to throw her for a loop...

i think it's fantastic and wanna collect them all. newly released one too! native american stories drawn anime style! :D

the school link and how to buy. proceeds goes to athabascan chickaloon school.
http://www.chickaloon.org/CVStore/CVStore.html
the link to the newspaper story about what this is about.
http://www.adn.com/life/story/6285692p-6161026c.html

this was mentioned in the native american group here in DU ages ago.

there's other stuff, but most of it ends up being unbearably depressing. non-fiction to fiction, quite a sad history. almost had a NA studies minor.
let's see... Lakota Woman is pretty good, as is Jailing of Cecilia Capture... then there's plenty of non-fiction works i have....

but NA fiction written by NA people can be quite sad -- good, but very sad. i think this comic book would be pretty damn cool alternate gift; interesting, not so depressing, actually supports their community. could get one of both as well, one happy, one sad. also better than the oft fanciful representations from those not NA. sure, it can be fun fiction, true, but if you really wanna hear what NA are talking about, hear it from themselves, not from the lens of distant admirers.

[japple]

25. Kinda late to be getting into this discussion, but maybe you're still

looking for suggestions.

Louise Erdrich's books: Love Medicine, Tracks, The Beet Queen, The Bingo Palace

Linda Hogan's, Solar Storms is spectacular, as well as Mean Spirit

Leslie Marmon Silko: Ceremony and Almanac of the Dead

[BlueIris]

27. Am I blind or is there no Leslie Marmon Silko on this list?

"Ceremony" is a modern classic.

[aaronbees]

28. Yes, it is a classic...

one of the first books I read in college -- it's a total treasure. :)

[Uncle Roy]

29. So melv.... are you there?? ... Hello??? (nfm)

[cynatnite]

30. The Ways of My Grandmothers by Beverly Hungry Wolf

Wonderful book. A daughter chronicles the life of her Blackfoot grandmother and also tells the stories passed down through the generations by the women of the tribe. It's so beautiful in the telling. I really loved it.

[RebelOne]

31. Vine Deloria Jr. was an excellent Native American writer.

I've read several of his books. The one I enjoyed the most was "Custer Died for Your Sins."

www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A31