Chiefs Hole in the Day of the Mississippi Chippewa [Paperback]

Mark Diedrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1986 | ISBN-10: 0961690100 | ISBN-13: 978-0961690106

The chiefs Hole-in-the-Day were acclaimed legends on the Minnesota frontier in their own time, and the foremost leaders of the Ojibway, or Chippewa, tribe between 1825 and 1868. Long neglected by historians, this is the first comprehensive, short biography ever published about them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This handsomely designed volume is a spare but comprehensive recounting of the lives of four generations of Chippewa leaders. . . . This well-documented and generally well-written account should appeal to both students and general readers. . . . It is generously illustrated with photographs and with drawings by the author." --Robert Kvasnicka -- Minnesota History

About the Author

Mark Diedrich was born in Chicago in 1951. He began writing and publishing in the 1980s, specializing in books about American Indian leaders, oratory, and tribes, of the Upper Midwestern United States, particularly the Dakota-Lakota, Ojibway or Chippewa, and the Ho-Chunk or Winnebago. He contributed eight biographical sketches of Dakota leaders to the recently published, American National Biography, published by Oxford University Press. He currently lives in Rochester, Minnesota with his wife Ann and several children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 58 pages
• Publisher: Coyote Books (June 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961690100
• ISBN-13: 978-0961690106
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,791,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than a Century of Minnesota History., January 24, 2006

By 

Brendan D. King "Brendan D. King" (Saint Cloud, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chiefs Hole in the Day of the Mississippi Chippewa (Paperback)

I first read this book in the museum where I volunteer. I was so very impressed that I went out and bought a copy. Mr. Deidrich has woven what must have been thousands of hours of research in the Minnesota Historical Society into this thin volume. The book he has written details the history of the Chiefs Hole-in-the-Day of the Ojibway Gull Lake Clan. PRior to 1868, the family ruled as Principal Chiefs of the Ojibway Nation. The majority of the book focuses on Joseph Kwiwisens, 2nd Chief Hole-in-the-Day who, prior to his sensational murder in 1868, was one of the America's most powerful Indian Chiefs. He is a Chief who, despite the book's short length, the reader comes to know intimately. Just when you think you have him pegged CHief Hole-in-the-Day still manages to surprise you. He was, as one commentator wrote of him, an aristocrat and a communist, a man of honor and a devious plotter, and a ruthless warrior who went on war parties in a horse and buggy. His life and his death deserve to be better known. I was especially fascinated, as a student of true crime, by the accounts of his assasination in 1868 which was orchestrated by Clement Hudon Beaulieu, one of Minnesota's most powerful men. This act remained unsolved until 1912 and no one was ever prosecuted for it. I was so impressed with this book that I intend to dig deeper into the sources Mr. Diedrich cites. I recommend this book highly for anyone interested in the unvarnished history of the American Indian or the history of Minnesota. TO Mr. Diedrich, kudos.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome text on the fascinating and complex Ojibwe leaders, March 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Chiefs Hole in the Day of the Mississippi Chippewa (Paperback)

Given the scattered and obscure accounts of Hole In The Day (both younger and elder), this little book is a welcome volume. Diedrich clearly spent his time digging through archives and old newspapers to gather his information on the Ojibwe leaders. However, the writing tends to lose its focus and sometimes leaves the reader having to sort and sequence all the facts. Aside from some of these technical flaws, the book does give a context for two of Minnesota's most fascinating and dynamic figures