Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story [Paperback]

Mark St. Pierre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1994

In Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story, Mark St. Pierre skillfully weaves together his interviews with Madonna Swan-Abdulla to capture the indomitable spirit of a Lakota woman as she celebrates the joys and endures the sufferings of her remarkable life on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

Born in 1928, Madonna Swan was winona — the first-born daughter-of Lucy High Pine and James Swan. She held a special place in an extended family of grandparents, parents, and ten brothers and sisters.

For the Swans, as for other Lakota Sioux, life on the reservation in the first half of the twentieth century was appallingly difficult. In her narrative, Madonna details her life-her earliest childhood memories, the Lakota traditions taught by her grandparents, the daily struggle against poverty and prejudice, and her education at Stephan Mission, South Dakota.

Stricken with dreaded tuberculosis at age sixteen, she survived nearly seven years in Sioux Sanitorium, a place where most other Sioux victims of TB quickly expired. Madonna's strength of spirit and determination to live carried her through the chanhu sica bad lungs–and into a new life, free of disease. She survived to marry, have a family, go to college, and teach in the reservation's Head Start program.

A symbol of courage for all women, Indian and non-Indian alike, Madonna Swan-Abdulla was named North American Indian Woman of the Year in 1983. She still lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, where her Lakota people honor her as matriarch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This heartwarming account portrays a spirited, modern-day Lakota Sioux woman's triumph over debilitating illness and depressing conditions on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Madonna Swan-Abdulla, born in 1928, contracted tuberculosis as a teenager, lost a lung and spent a decade in sanatoriums. She speaks eloquently and without self-pity in these sometimes loosely connected sketches admirably edited by St. Pierre, sociology professor at Colorado Mountain College. Sustained by strong family ties, especially the love of her mother, Swan-Abdulla finds joy in simple ways and stands up to corrupt tribal leaders. Her life is fitting reminder that real heroes can be found in everyday life. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this poignant life history told to author St. Pierre through interviews, Lakota matriarch Madonna Swan-Abdulla recounts her upbringing within an extended family on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota in the early part of the 20th century. Her grandmother and mother told stories to her of "the Grandfathers" (ancestor spirits) designed to give her a moral education and courage, something she later drew upon through a nearly ten-year stay at two sanitoria after contracting tuberculosis. Swan survived, married, attended college, and taught in a Head Start program on the reservation, becoming an inspiration to her people--and to the reader. In comparison with Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes's Lakota Woman ( LJ 2/15/90), this book describes a more traditional life. Excellent cultural and other explanatory notes support the narrative. Particularly recommended for American Indian and women's studies collections.
-Christina Carter, California State Univ. Lib., Fresno
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806126760
• ISBN-13: 978-0806126760
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #981,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mark St. Pierre has put together a book deserving of fame!!!, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story (Paperback)

Being a fanatic of Native American writings and lore I find again Mark St. Pierre, top of the list. I understand he has lived in the Lokata nation for the last thirty years and writes from the heart. Follow this writer because he is destined for fame. No writer has captured this beautiful culture with more passion than he has. I look foward to his next work.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I found this book an inspiration and true-to-life., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story (Paperback)

If you are a "Little House on the Prairie" fan, this book, based on a true story, is for you. The story follows a Native American woman's life as she survives tragedy and ultimately triumphs. I'm not usually much of a reader, (in fact this was an assignment) but I just couldn't put it down! The author did an excellent job capturing the reality of the Native American way, and depicting the main character's struggle with TB; the isolation, loss of friends and her own illness. This book really makes you appreciate your health and everything you have.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad, August 23, 2010

By 

nikki - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story (Paperback)

This book is not a continuous story, rather a compilation of interviews between the author and Madonna Swan. However, the interviews flowed nicely and you almost forgot you weren't reading a story. It begins in the 1920s when Madonna is young, talks about half of her siblings passing away for various reasons, then when she's older she suffers from TB, and is placed in a sanitorium for about ten years with miinimal contact with family. Throughout these years in the sanitorium, she sees about 500 people come in and leave in body bags and is always believing she'll be next. Then finally she escapes and ends up at the "white sanitorium", because up untill now she was at the "indian saitorium". Here, she meets an okay white doctor who tries to help her by doing a surgery that is still new and has never been done on anyone. She agrees to have the surgery, which includes taking out a couple of ribs and parts of her bad lung. However, we learn in the book that the doctor accidentally cuts her arm nerve during surgery, but he apparently apologizes, so I guess it's okay. Now, she can't use her one arm, or control her head, so she has to be placed in a brace for support. Eventually she recovers, but it takes about a year. Anyway, she continues her life, but discovers she cannot have children because of all the TB medicine she had to take, she does get married, but they have issues later on with their cattle ranch. She tries to go to school and finish her degree but her health continues to stop her. The book ended with her being positive as usual. I was kind of disturbed by the whole thing, and I thought why would God put someone on this earth just to suffer like that? I reccomend the book for everyone, just to see what some people have gone through in their lives. You kind of come out of it appreciating what you have a bit more, especially, if you have your health.