Hanta Yo: An American Saga [Paperback]

Ruth Beebe Hill (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 834 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; Warner Books ed edition (April 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446978574
• ISBN-13: 978-0446978576
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty swell read..., February 22, 2001

By 

Jay Stevens (Missoula, MT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hanta Yo: An American Saga (Paperback)

Gotta love those `70s covers that make every novel look like trash. On the cover of my copy of "Hanta Yo," there's a handsome Native American man holding out a pipe, and over his shoulder stands an upright, proud, and cute woman. On the back cover, the book blurb highlights war and "sexual initiation rites," like it's some kind of North American "Clan of the Cave Bear."

Good news. "Hanta Yo" is not "Clan of the Cave Bears."

Instead, it's like some sort of Native American "Pilgrim's Progress": a book that defines a culture's values by embodying those values in a fictitious character by the name of Ahbleza, a Shirtwearer and symbolic embodiment of Lakota tradition and values. "Hanta Yo" is the story of his life and his band, the Mahto, and his nation's demise in a whiskey rampage at a whiteman's tradingpost.

The book feels like a very authentic depiction of Lakota life in the early 1800s. The level of detail is amazing, showing all aspects of life, from hunting, child-rearing, domestic chores, to correct social graces. But all told from the perspective of Lakota viewpoint, using Lakota expressions and judgement.

What seems most authentic about the book is that, while it obviously is trying to venerate the culture, it doesn't hide the negative aspects of Lakota life. Characters are violent, stubborn, vain, greedy, and full of hatred. Women are severely oppressed, sometimes passed from husband to husband, and have little or no say in tribal matters. Children and animals are roughly treated.

The final scenes of the beginning of the end of the traditional Lakota nation were especially wrenching. As the Lakota drank themselves into a frenzy at a tradingpost, they began to turn crazy, acting like fools and fighting among themselves, raping their own women, and murdering the traders. It was as if they threw away all of their traditions in one orgiastic moment of self-destruction. But more importantly, the book held the Lakota responsible for their own behavior, and, in the end, for their own downfall.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Language use, January 4, 2005

By 

Andrea Forte (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hanta Yo: An American Saga (Paperback)

Since none of the other reviews I've read have pointed this out, I thought I would because I think it's fascinating...

According to the foreword, Ms. Beebe Hill learned the Lakotah language and translated the entire book into Lakotah and back again to ensure the conceptual and linguistic integrity of readers' impressions of the Lakotah culture. To me, the initially awkward-sounding phrasing eventually became an important part of both the story and my understanding of the characters and their actions.

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It's not history, but it is an impressive (and I believe honest) attempt to make accessible a culture about which many of us have admittedly shallow or misinformed understandings.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mind, Heart, Soul Experience, August 27, 2004

By 

Gary Samer (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hanta Yo (Hardcover)

There is no ambiguity with this book. It either touches you at the core of your Being or not. The Spirit-That-Moves-Through-All-Things weaves itself through every page and permeates your heart and soul. You are drawn into an experience of the most profound depths; a rendition of a way of life where a person's connection to the Earth and Creator permeated every aspect of life. Where Truth, Honesty & Generosity were held as the highest values. This was my third reading and I found myself slowing down to prolong the experience. When I read this, I am immersed totally in the experience. This is story-telling at its finest, in a way that is mostly lost to us today. The use of idiom and syntax is stunning in its effect. It is also an honest depiction without glamorizing the characters in a Rousseau "Noble Savage" way. There are an abundance of spiritual teachings in this text to totally transform the reader who has the pre-conditions to identify, understand then live them. "Hanta Yo"- "Clear The Way!" "In a proud manner I live!"