Indian Old-Man Stories

by Linderman, Frank Bird

• ISBN13: 9780803280014
• ISBN10: 0803280017
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

The Indians of the northwestern plains always laughed at the tales aboutOld-man, heard around the lodge fire in the wintertime after sunset. For a powerful character, he was comically flawed.Old-man made the world but sometimes forgot the names of things. Victim and victimizer, he seemed closer to common experience than the awesome god Manitou. Frank B. Linderman thoughtOld-man was, under different names, a god for many Indian communities. These stories--collected from Chippewa and Cree elders and first published in 1920--are full of wonder at the way things are. Why children lose their teeth, why eyesight fails with age, why dogs howl at night, why some animals wear camouflage--these and other mysteries, large and small, are made vividly sensible.

Author Biography

Frank B. Linderman (1869–1938) spent his adult life in Montana, first as a trapper and then as a publisher, politician, and businessman. He lived closely with the Flatheads, Blackfeet, Crows, and other Native Americans in the region for many years. A number of his works are available in Bison Books editions, including Indian Why Stories, Kootenai Why Stories, Pretty-Shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, and Henry Plummer: A Novel.



Celeste River is a Montana scholar, photographer, and research consultant who has lectured throughout the state on the life and writings of Linderman.

Table of Contents

Quo-Too-Quat	1	(24)
Why Our Sight Fails With Age	25	(10)
Why Children Lose Their Teeth	35	(14)
How The Skunk Helped The Coyote	49	(8)
Why The Weasel is White	57	(12)
Old-Man and His New Weapons	69	(12)
Looks at The Stars	81	(16)
CA-Mee-No-Wa-Sit	97	(8)
Strikes-And-Kills	105	(18)
Old-Man's Courting	123	(10)
Billy Bent and The Echo People	133	(12)
Old-Man And The Sun-Dance	145	(10)
Why The Dogs Howl At Night	155