Messengers of the Wind Native American Women Tell Their Life Stories

by KATZ, JANE

• ISBN13: 9780345402851
• ISBN10: 0345402855
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-03-05
• Publisher: One World

Summary

"Messengers of the Wind goes beyond the autobiographies of everyday women. These are women who have long been an invisible part of American culture. Their stories are haunting, frightening, encouraging, and courageous. . . . Katz is a faithful guide." --The Minnesota Daily In Messengers of the Wind, Native American women, old and young, from a variety of tribal groups, speak with eloquence and passion about their experience on the land and in urban areas; about their work as artists, activists, and healers; as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; as modern women with a link to the past. And as each woman, renowned and obscure, tells her remarkable personal story, it is clear that each has tapped into the power that comes from within and has reached back into a history that brings with it courage and hope. " 'Giving energy to Mother Earth' -- Yes. That is our duty as women, as Natives, and as human beings. Messengers of the Wind is a way of doing just that. It is not a dance, feet patting our mother, but it is an offering, the voices of the women sent to comfort her. Thank-you, Jane Katz, for your offering. It is a special and much-needed gift." --Paula Gunn Allen Author of Voice of the Turtle "COMPELLING. . . INTIMATE." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer "A RICH COLLECTION OF PERSONAL STORIES. . .REWARDING. . . These are powerful women with important stories to tell." --Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

Jane Katz is an oral historian, artist, and editor of several multicultural anthologies including Messengers of the Wind: Native American Women Tell Their Life Stories. She studied drawing and watercolor at Minnetonka Art Center and Edina Art Center. Katz resides in Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
We Have to Have Ceremonies	p. 21
Men and Women Lived with the Seasons	p. 33
People Cared About One Another	p. 46
In My Family, the Women Ran Everything	p. 55
From My Grandmother I Learned About Sadness	p. 69
Still Grieving over the Loss of the Land	p. 79
The Power Comes from Within	p. 88
The Cottonwood Tree Talks to Me	p. 101
We Are All Members of a Family	p. 110
I See an Incredible Force within Native People	p. 123
I Give You Seeds of a New Way	p. 131
The Pipe Ceremony Is Really Cool	p. 140
The Puyallup Tribe Rose from the Ashes	p. 147
I Dream a Lot	p. 166
You Take Care of the Land, and It Takes Care of You	p. 170
We Give Energy to Each Other	p. 184
Let Us Survive	p. 194
You ... Who Have Removed Us: At What Cost?	p. 205
We Have a Long History Here	p. 214
We Are the Caribou People	p. 221
They're Trying to Sell Our Treaties	p. 230
The Spirit Takes Care of Us	p. 243
There's Some Kind of Healing Force Here	p. 256
You Defend What's Sacred to You	p. 272
Our Cathedral Is the Black Hills	p. 284
Notes	p. 301
Selective Bibliography	p. 303
Index	p. 307
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.