Customer Reviews

My Life as an Indian (Native American)

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I have an 87 year old uncle in the north central area of Montana. He remembers listening to old timers talking of Mr. Schultz's adventures,then following some of the trails talked about. He also knows where the massacre occurred, he knows where the teepee circles can still be seen today where the Indians camped. It is spell binding to listen to his stories. My Father and Mother are buried at Fort Benton, MT. The area is still much like it was then, except for the wheat fields and highways. Whoever reads this book and visits the area described by Mr. Schultz can almost live out the adventure.

This is a terrific story of a young white man's time with the Piegan Blackfeet. James Willard Schultz came west for adventure and joined an Indian trading post 45 miles north of Fort Benton, Montana.

He not only traded furs, gold, liquor, and dressmakers goods to the Indians, but became fluent in the language of the Blackfeet, sharing in their hunts and wars and even taking a young Indian wife.

It's a somewhat self-conscious story from a masculine vantagepoint during a time when warrior bravado was in vogue and the buffalo were still thriving. This book portrays a segment of Native American life and culture just before the buffalo were diminished and the people were forced to reservations.

Given that _Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian History of the American West_ by Dee Brown contains only 2 or 3 pages in reference to the Blackfeet, a book such as _My Life As an Indian_ is a superb addition to one's bookshelf. Recommended.

I just came online to see if it was in print. I have had a copy of this book from the 1935 paperback that my Grandfather gave me when I was a boy. Not that I was a boy in 1935, it was actually in the early 70s. . .I was captivated by the stories JW Schultz lived! Helping his friend steal his wife from under the nose of the ever watchful father. It still grips me even today. Alas, my old copy is just that, old. That is how I came to write these words. Ordering a fresh paperback.

I cannot recommend this book more highly!

I absolutely loved this book, I couldn't put it down! I have been to the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier Park many times, and while reading this book I could just imagine how it was back then. It gave me a new perspective on Indian life. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story about the old west and the Indians.

This is one of the most exciting and well written narratives of the old west. It imparts the spirit of life with the nomadic tribes during the last days of the buffalo as only someone who lived the life could relate it. People smile when they hear the title and then the author, but I guarantee that if you start reading you won't want to put it down.

This is an excellent first hand account of the major transformation of Plains Indian culture that occured during the nearly complete extermination of the buffalo which was so central to their life. It starts with the buffalo in plenty and ends with reservation life. This is a bittersweet book. Schultz marries into a band of the Piegan branch of the Blackfoot confederacy. But although he lives among them, and loves them and their lifestyle, he never completes his assimilation. This is evident when he writes with almost distant amusement of some of their religious beliefs. Adding to this is the problem that while he loves the life of the buffalo days and deeply laments their end, his occupation as a trader in buffalo robes is hastening the end of the very thing he loves. His description of the post-buffalo, early reservation life is the most distressing, complete with corrupt reservation Agents, and sometimes rascist newcomers.
His stories are not all downers though. His writing is a very detailed, intimate, and at times amusing description of his life and those around him. I've loaned my book to a number of people and they all have liked it. If you read this and like it too, you'll be glad to know he wrote a whole series of books of his life in early Montana, and of the lives of prominent people he knew. I've read many, but not all of them, and I prize every one.

This is a eye opening I can't put it down book! Seeing how the Blackfeet lived, their culture, social structure, horse raids, war, etc., through the author's eyes is fascinating. As he joins their society, marries into the tribe and lives as the tribe did you will find it informative and insightful. As the old ways pass away you feel his sadness and the end will break your heart. A beautiful, lively, fun book that takes you into another time and place as you ride with Schultz and the tribe. A must have!

James Willard Schultz was one of America's most popular writers in the early part of this century. The reasons included vivid readable text and an exciting vision of exotic realities. This core semi-autobiographical text takes the reader into the wild west in the final days of the buffalo, when Schultz, an eighteen year old New England hardware store owner's son journeyed to Montana and lived with the dreaded Blackfeet for over ten years!

This is a first hand account of his life in Montana after getting off the boat in Ft. Benton and going into the trading business with a friend. It is a well written account of their life with the Blackfeet Indians, hunting buffalo, daily life, traveling, his marriage to a Blackfoot, the demise of the buffalo, and the arrival of hordes of whites. He also gives us an insight into local politics and business of the times. It held my interest of this period and place of time. I found it to be a delightful book and recommend it for its entertaining and historic value.

What a great story! We went to the Butterfly museum in Greer and was told the story of his life. It was very interesting.