Landscape Traveled by Coyote and Crane: The World of the Schitsu'umsh (Coeur D'Alene Indians) (McLellan Books) [Paperback]

Rodney Frey (Author), Schitsu'umsh (Author), Ernie Stensgar (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: McLellan Books | Publication Date: June 2003

Anthropologist Rodney Frey culminates a decade of work with the Schitsu'umsh (the Coeur d'Alene Indians of Idaho) in this portrait of the unique bonds between a people and the landscape of their traditional homeland. The result of an intensive collaboration between investigator and Native people, the book includes many traditional stories that invite the reader's participation in the world of the Schitsu'umsh. The Schitsu'umsh landscape of lake and mountains is described with a richness that emphasises its essential material and spiritual qualities. The historical trauma of the Schitsu'umsh, stemming from their nineteenth-century contacts with Euro-American culture, is given dramatic weight. Nonetheless, examples of adaptation and continuity in traditional cultural expression, rather than destruction and discontinuity, are the most conspicuous features of this vivid ethnographic portrait. Drawing on pivotal oral traditions, Frey mirrors the Schitsu'umsh world view in his organisation and presentation of ethnographic material. He uses first-person accounts by his Native consultants to convey crucial cultural perspectives and practices. Because of its unusual methodology, Landscape Traveled by Coyote and Crane is likely to become a model for future work with Native American peoples, within the Plateau region and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The history and culture of Coeur d'Alene Indians is also explored in Landscape Traveled by Coyote and Crane: The World of the Schitsu'umsh. University of Idaho anthropologist Rodney Frey quotes extensively from the first-person testimonies of contemporary Schitsu'umsh as he describes the landscape, precontact society, interactions with European colonists and the present-day culture of the people. He emphasizes the oral traditions by which myths and tribal histories are still passed on to younger generations.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295981628
• ISBN-13: 978-0295981628
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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