Collection of Native American folklore gathered from numerous tribes.
Originally published as Tepee tales of the American Indian. (New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1979). Reissued in 1993 under current title with a new preface. This editon is based on the 1993 edition, with minor emendations.
Dee Brown did much to shift prevailing attitudes towards Native Americans with his groundbreaking, bestselling account of their displacement, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Nine years later, in 1979, he compiled this collection of Native American folklore. His aim was …
Collection of Native American folklore gathered from numerous tribes.
Originally published as Tepee tales of the American Indian. (New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1979). Reissued in 1993 under current title with a new preface. This editon is based on the 1993 edition, with minor emendations.
Dee Brown did much to shift prevailing attitudes towards Native Americans with his groundbreaking, bestselling account of their displacement, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Nine years later, in 1979, he compiled this collection of Native American folklore. His aim was to demonstrate the ‘kinship’ between people across the world, as reflected in the stories passed from one generation to another.
These 36 tales, beautifully retold in modern prose, originate from many different indigenous Native American communities. 'The Girl Who Climbed to the Sky' belongs to the Arapaho-Caddo culture, 'How Rabbit Fooled Wolf ' to the Creeks. There are tales of tricksters; hero legends; and origin myths about the buffalo, fire, and day and night. As Brown hoped, these tales reveal the shared values of far-flung cultures.
In her introduction, Joy Porter, a historian and joint editor of the Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature, discusses how they speak of 'an expansive, sentient and articulate world with which human beings could be in a positive and reciprocal relationship'. Caroline Smith’s vibrant illustrations, which will appeal to all ages, express the drama and grace of these captivating stories.
