Indian Why Stories (Dover Children's Classics) [Paperback]

Frank B. Linderman (Author), Charles M. Russell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Dover Children's Classics

Delightful fables, collected by a devotee of Indian lore, recounts many of the legends told to him by tribal members, among them intriguing explanations of "Why the Chipmunk's Back is Striped," "How the Otter Skin Became Great Medicine," "How the Man Found His Mate," and "Why Blackfeet Never Kill Mice." 32 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Old-man, or Napa, as he was called by the Blackfeet, is an extraordinary character in Indian stories. Both powerful and fallible, he appears in different guises: god or creator, fool, thief, clown. The world he made is marvelous but filled with mistakes. As a result, tensions between the haves and have-nots explode with cosmic consequences in Indian Why Stories.

Elders of the Blackfeet, Cree, and Chippewa (Ojibwa) people shared these wonderful tales with Frank B. Linderman in the late nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. War Eagle (the fictional name of Linderman’s friend and Chippewa medicine man Pah-nah-to, or Full-of-dew), tells these stories to attentive youngsters after the first frost in the fall. He speaks of animal people, including a deer and an antelope in a footrace, a dancing fox who convulses a buffalo with laughter, a white beaver and ghost people, a huge snake in love with the moon, a sparrow hawk of conscience, and many others. These sparkling tales reveal a reverence for life, honesty, and the unity of creation.

This expanded edition features thirteen previously unpublished verse stories along with an introduction to those stories by Sarah Waller Hatfield, granddaughter of Linderman.

Frank B. Linderman (1869–1938) spent his adult life in Montana, first as a trapper and then as an author, politician, and businessman. He lived closely with the Salish, Blackfeet, Crows, and other Native peoples in the region and is the author of Plenty-coups: Chief of the Crows and Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, both available in Bison Books edition. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Frank B. Linderman (1869–1938) spent his adult life in Montana, first as a trapper and then as an author, politician, and businessman. He lived closely with the Salish, Blackfeet, Crows, and other Native peoples in the region and is the author of Plenty-coups: Chief of the Crows and Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, both available in Bison Books editions.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486288005
• ISBN-13: 978-0486288000
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,773,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Native American Lore, July 2, 2006

By 

D. A. Herndon "Seeker of Truth" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Indian Why Stories (Dover Children's Classics) (Paperback)

Our local newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, published excerpts from this book in both English and Spanish as part of a summer reading program. After reading the excerpt, I had to have the book. Unfortunately, the day it arrived, my friend picked it up and browsed through it, borrowed it and has yet to return it. I WILL track him down and retrieve it.