Customer Reviews

Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park

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I'm usually not so fond of "Indian myths" and similar collections, as they are often written in a stilted language or are poorly translated. This book is a wonderful exception. Schultz writes it as a series of diary entries as his Blackfoot friends tell stories in the lodge or around the fire at the end of the day. He has managed to keep the compelling style of his original material, told by talented story tellers.

Schultz was born to a wealthy family in upstate New York in 1859, but his wanderlust took him west. He married a Blackfoot woman and stayed with the tribe for several decades until fleeing to California after a legal run-in with Montana game wardens. From the evidence in this book, he was accepted as a tribal member, and he always refers to the Blackfoot as "his people," while whites were not.

The stories run the gamut from tribal history to legend and myth. Most sound as if they are embellished stories of real events. Collectively they convey something of Blackfoot culture, daily life, and beliefs.

Underneath the stories lies a deep sadness. The Blackfoot tribe has lost two-thirds to three-fourths of its members. Though the tribe still hunts there surreptitiously, Glacier National Park has become a tourist destination instead of tribal hunting grounds. The old ways are dying with the storytellers.

I returned the book immediately. It was printed with a machine scanning the original book and converting the text to digital output. It was extremely difficult to read. The print was very small and pushed together with very little white space between the lines. There were no illustrations, and no chapter breaks.
On the positive side, Amazon.com was very good about handling the return, and refunded my costs completely.