Greengrass Pipe Dancers: Crazy Horse's Pipe Bag and a Search for Healing (Native American) [Paperback]

Lionel Little Eagle (Author), Matt Atkinson (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0879612509 | ISBN-13: 978-0879612504 | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

A true story of one man's journey through the heartbreak of his wife's struggle with cancer and the fulfillment of a sacred obligation: the return of Crazy Horse's pipe bag to the Lakota people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...readers will walk away with enough taste of Native American history to want more - much more.-- OSEA Journal, December 2000I found joy, sorrow and healing. A journey of a pipe bag that once belonged to Chief Crazy Horse. -- Chief White Bear, PAIA NewsLittle Eagle is a Micmac Indian who is deeply versed in the traditional way of life of Native Americans... --The Small Press Review

It is difficult for anyone to expose their innermost feelings, let alone in a heart warming book! You have the chance to travel along with Lionel Little Eagle Pinn, a Micmac Indian, on his life journeys. Lionel, retired from the Coast Guard, lives with his present wife, Hilda, and youngest son, Travis, in Battleground, Washington. He thoughtfully dedicates each chapter of this saga to the people who came, influenced and guided him through his wanderings.

For Native Americans, particularly the Lakota Sioux, Lionel's dream concerned his father-in-law, a truly wonderful person and owner of Naturegraph Press, the late Vinson Brown, who as a child inherited a pipe bag that belonged to Crazy Horse when his father died in 1948. Vinson's father, Dr. Henry Alexander Brown, received this pipe bag from a Lakota Chief in 1896 when he cured his son from pneumonia. The chief believed that good fortune would come to his tribe if he would present the pipe bag to the first White man who did something kind. But ownership of the bag also carried a great deal of responsibility. Vinson, in turn, would entrust this pipe bag to Lionel, his son-in-law and author of this wonderful book, in October of 1987, three years before Vinson would cross to the other side.

The remainder of this thoughtful book concerns itself with Lionel's travels after he was entrusted with the pipe bag, Lionel attempting to do his best to live up to the honor bestowed upon him. But he would have to endure the long bout with his first wife, Tammy, who would die on June 7, 1990. Eventually he would learn that the Lakota Sioux finally decided that it was time when Lionel could return to them the pipe bag of Crazy Horse. When he placed the relic on a buffalo skull, he could sense a tremendous release of the hundred years of care and responsibility that his extended family had to bear. And he could visualize images of a young Doctor Brown and Tammy who were also happy to be released. And Lionel could continue, released, down the road of life. --(Chuck Hamsa, Reviewers Consortium, September 2000)

...Lionel Little Eagle relates the touching and often humorous story of his first journey to South Dakota to participate in the honoring of the White Buffalo Calf Maiden pipe, and his initial encounters with several Native medicine people and friends....His book--written as if he were talking--relates the life-changing story of his subsequent journeys to participate in several Sun Dances at Greengrass. Interspersed with accounts of startling events and uncanny experiences with various medicine men, the book tells of Little Eagle's heartfelt efforts in search of healing for his first wife, Tamara Brown Pinn, who was dying of cancer. --(Shaman's Drum, Number 57,2000)

About the Author

Lionel Little Eagle has established many lasting friendships among Native people, including those described in this book. He is a devoted seeker of the traditional Indian lifestyle and medicinal ways, and holds Native American workshops on a wide range of topics. He is a pipe bag carrier and a Micmac Indian. Retired from the coast guard, Little Eagle lives in Battle Ground, Washington, with his wife and youngest son, Travis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Naturegraph Publishers (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879612509
• ISBN-13: 978-0879612504
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lionel Little Eagle Pinn, aka Kitpoviosee, is a member of the First Nations people, Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, Canada. He is also profoundly proud of his German, English, French and African American heritage but when ask he refers to himself as a "Earth Citzen" first. During the last 45 years he has worked closely with Indigenous peoples throughout the county and entire world on various ceremonial, nature and earth related subjects and programs. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Wisdom of Elders, Inc and on the Advisory Board for the Turtle Mountian Story Tellers and the Native Aermican Music Awards. He currently lives in Napavine, WA with his wife, Hilda Kumpf Pinn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant witnessing of light and healing., March 3, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Greengrass Pipe Dancers: Crazy Horse's Pipe Bag and a Search for Healing (Native American) (Paperback)

Greengrass Pipe Dancers is both a story of pain and death and a search for healing and transformation. The first focus is on the history, safekeeping and restoration of a holy pipe bag, perhaps once belonging to Crazy Horse. The underlying text is the author's experience of healing and acceptance in mourning the passing of his beloved young wife Tammy through witnessing the rite of the Sun Dance and pipe dancers with the Lakota of Greengrass, South Dakota. Lionel Little Eagle sees his own totem animal and receives his sacred message from the experience. Straight from the heart, Greengrass Pipe Dancers is the author's testament to the power and beauty of Lakota spirituality, and the miraculous healing essence of the beautiful pipe bag he is given to carry and protect until a sacred resting place is found.

The true story of the pipe bag is recounted according to Lionel Little Eagle's wife Tamara and other traditional sources. The pipe bag was originally given by a Lakota chief to Dr. H. A. Brown (Tamara Brown's grandfather) in 1895 after he saved his son from pneumonia. This tale has been told in another book, Warriors of the Rainbow, written by Dr. Brown's son, Vinson. In Greengrass Pipe Dancers, Lionel Little Eagle, a Micmac Native American, continues the sacred obligation of being the pipe bag bearer while presenting its history and his wife's story. The wonderful thing about the pipe bag history is it is directly connected to the founding of Naturegraph, a publishing house founded by Vinson Brown to publish Warriors of the Rainbow. Naturegraph continues to publish works on Native American history, spirituality and culture, thus fulfilling the dreams of both the original Oglala chieftain pipe bag bearer and Dr. Brown.

The author introduces the main elements of the story simply. They are Tammy, the Healing, the People, the Pipe Bag, and the Dance. Each element is key, but it is their interplay, the dance of words, visions, and songs that emblazons the heart of the book. Greengrass Pipe Dancers is voiced from the essence of sacred enlightenment, which includes death, pain, and deep celebration of life. Partly because of its simple, unassuming style, Greengrass Pipe Dancers may be read as a sort of personal journal of seeking spiritual enlightenment. The subtext is clear and undeniable, a brilliant witnessing of light and healing.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of Spiritual growth in the Native American community, March 5, 2001

By 

Chris Houck (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greengrass Pipe Dancers: Crazy Horse's Pipe Bag and a Search for Healing (Native American) (Paperback)

"Greengrass Pipe Dancers" starts out with an intriguing story of how the author came to be the caretaker of Crazy Horse's pipe bag, and continues with a powerful story of Lionel Little Eagle's journey to return the pipe bag and to seek spiritual guidance dealing with his wife's cancer. The reader will join Little Eagle in Native American ceremonies both fascinating and uplifting. A sense of family and belonging in a community is strong throughout this book. Many emotions surface as Little Eagle searches for the next caretakers of the holy pipe bag while separating the pain of losing his wife from the realization that she also is to return to her spiritual beginning, just as the pipe bag must. Ultimately, the wonderful cycle of life vividly described here leaves you wishing Little Eagle will write again soon.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly-authentic portrayal of Native life experience, September 5, 2000

By 

WichacpiHoskila (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Greengrass Pipe Dancers: Crazy Horse's Pipe Bag and a Search for Healing (Native American) (Paperback)

In a sea of for-profit new-age mischaracterizations of Native American life and spirituality, Little Eagle's book is delightfully honest, humorous, brutal, painful, uplifting, and gentle. Little Eage writes a true story of how his family came to possess the authentic handmade Ceremonial Pipe Bage which once belonged to Sioux leader Crazy Horse. Little Eagle (Micmac Nation) struggles with his responsibilities as the caretaker of this powerful emblem, even as he discovers that his wife has terminal cancer.

By consulting with tribal elders and trusted friends, Little Eagle comes to realize that he has been the caretaker of the Pipe Bag, but not its owner, and he faces the realization that such a beloved treasure must rightfully be returned to its makers--the Sioux tribe. The process of making this realization parallels his emerging understanding of his wife's own transition from this life to the next, and Little Eagle realizes that she, too, is a beloved part of his life which he has cared for but not owned. Like the precious Pipe Bag, his wife is to be lovingly returned to her maker as well.

Lionel Little Eagle's efforts to return the ceremonial bag to the Sioux becomes a spiritual metaphor for his painful experience with the loss of his wife, as he realizes the sacred distinction between being a caretaker for part of God's creation, and clinging to a beloved partner who can never be withheld from her Creator.

The book is true, although retold with artistic distinguishment, and was produced after years of consultation and encouragement from the tribal elders it describes. Unlike many other so-called "American Indian" books, "Green Grass Pipe Dancers" is not selfishly told, nor self-centered, and represents a humble, authentic insight into one Native man's traditionalism.