Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe [Hardcover]

Mr. Robin Ridington PhD (Author), Dennis Hastings (In'aska) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997

Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings ingeniously adopt the conventions of Omaha oral narratives to tell the story and convey the significance of the Sacred Pole. Portions of classic anthropological texts (particularly Fletcher and La Flesche’s The Omaha Tribe), Omaha narratives, and other historical and contemporary accounts are repeated—each time in a different, more enlightening context—in a circle of stories seamlessly woven around Umon’hon’ti. The result is an innovative account that effortlessly glides between past and present. This unique blend of Omaha poetics, ethnography, and ethnohistory is a significant contribution to our understanding of the religious life of Native Americans.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For centuries the life of the Omaha people was centered around their Umon'hon'ti (Venerable Man), a sacred pole. Then, feeling the pressure to assimilate and adopt Christianity, in 1888 the Omaha surrendered the pole to Harvard's Peabody Museum, where it remained for the next century. Ridington (anthropology, Univ. of British Columbia) and Hastings (Omaha Historical Research Project) narrate the sacred pole's story and describe its eventual return home. The cast of characters includes the pole itself, which takes on the persona of a respected tribal elder; Francis LaFlesche, an Omaha anthropologist who actively sought the pole for the museum but published singularly sensitive accounts of Omaha beliefs; and the authors, who, with tribal officials, were instrumental in effecting its repatriation. Written to be meaningful to both Omaha people and scholars, this account demonstrates the complexities involved in the return of a sacred object to an Indian community. An important addition to anthropology and history collections.?Mary B. Davis, Huntington Free Lib., Bronx, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“For centuries the life of the Omaha people has centered around their Umon’hon’ti (Venerable Man), a sacred pole. Then, feeling the pressure to assimilate and adopt Christianity, in 1888 the Omaha surrendered the pole to Harvard’s Peabody Museum, where it remained for the next century. . . . This account demonstrates the complexities involved in the return of a sacred object to an Indian community. An important addition to anthropology.”—Library Journal

(Library Journal )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803239254
• ISBN-13: 978-0803239258
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,243,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work in history and (material) culture, December 3, 2011

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Frederic (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe (Paperback)

I have reviewed and written about this book in the professional literature, and won't duplicate that here. But it deserves a note here for the convenience of would-be readers/purchasers. Blessing for a Long Time tells the story of Umon'hon'ti, the Sacred Pole of the Omaha Indians, which was given over and spent a century in the Peabody Museum at Harvard before being returned to the Omahas. Hastings and Ridington beautifully tell and contextualize this story with the situations of the Omahas in 1888 (when it was given over) and in the late 20th century when it was returned, and with the history of the Peabody and anthropological collecting more in general. This is a great piece of anthropological work - and a great story, well-told, and accessible for general as well as academic audiences. Highly recommended for those interested in the Omahas, or Indians in general, or in museums and collecting and their relationships with contemporary Native people.