To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman [Paperback]

Lucy Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

Lucy Thompson is, even today, one of the few Native American women to have written a book about her people. When she published _To the American Indian_ in 1916, the world of the Yurok Indians of northern California seemed on the edge of collapse. Concerned about the survival of her people and their customs, and concerned also that the true story of the Yurok was not being told - not by the popular press, not by the anthropologists - she took it upon herself to write this remarkable book. An aristocrat by birth, and an initiate into the exclusive priestly society known as Talth, Lucy Thompson gives us a unique insider's view of a great culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Thompson sheds new light on the role of women in Indian life...essential to historians and lay readers..." -- San Francisco Chronicle

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Heyday Books; Reprint edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930588479
• ISBN-13: 978-0930588472
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #540,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Yurok account of North America beginning 8,350 BC., October 26, 2000

By 

Stuart Harris (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman (Paperback)

"The traditions handed down say that the land north of Redwood Creek, where it goes into the ocean, extended far out into the sea to the large rock that is now known to the white people as Redding Rock." The base of Redding Rock lies 50m beneath the sea. The last time Redding Rock was on dry land was in 8350 +/-200 BC [9600 BP].

This very early date means that Lucy Thompson's Yurok tribe has occupied the Klamath River Valley for over 10,000 years. Her 1916 narrative is the oldest American history of any sort, and could be the oldest anywhere on earth. Lucy's descriptions extend even further back, "to the Age of Giants, when large animals roamed the earth."

"From the land of Cheek-cheek-alth, the mystic Eden of long ago, came our wandering tribe of people, who long since inhabited North and South America." This ancient name still exists, now pronounced Chechen-Aul, near Grozny, after which Chechnya was named.

"Our part of the people traveled on until they reached their final earthly home on the Klamath River, which we call Health-kick-wer-roy; and here we found the white race, Wa-gas."

This is a stunning statement! The Yuroks were preceeded by a white tribe! "These white people were found to inhabit the whole continent, and were a highly moral and civilized race."

After 1000 years of peaceful coexistance, the Wa-gas migrated out of North America back "to the land of their birth, in the far north, the valley of Cheek-cheek-Alth, .. the same land as ours." They built dugouts and paddled north along the coast, to Japan, then across Siberia, retracing the route used by the Yurok, back to Chechnya. This migration resulted from a catastrophic tsunami that obliterated the entire Mississippi Valley and most of their civilization in 7130 +/-50 BC [8160 +/-50 BP].

A unique description of early America and Europe by a brilliant tribal historian.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The autobiographical narrative of a pure-blooded aristocrat, June 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman (Paperback)

First published in 1916, To The American Indian: Reminiscences Of A Yurok Woman is the autobiographical narrative of a pure-blooded aristocrat of the Yurok Indians, and one of the few firsthand accounts of Native American life and culture written by a female. Author Lucy Thompson did not present her story to anthropologists or the press; instead she took it on herself to write her own tale, out of concern for the survival of her people and her customs, and worry that their story would not be told. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, To The American Indian offers a revealing and timeless portrait of Yurok life in the nineteenth century that only a firsthand viewpoint can provide.