Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative (Native Voices) [Paperback]

Ignatia Broker (Author), Steven Premo (Illustrator), Paulette Fairbanks Molin (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Native Voices

With the art of a practiced storyteller, Ignatia Broker recounts the life of her great-great-grandmother, Night Flying Woman, who was born in the mid-19th century and lived during a chaotic time of enormous change, uprootings, and loss for the Minnesota Ojibway. But this story also tells of her people's great strength and continuity. This popular book is also available on audiotape read by Debra Smith. An enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, she has performed her own poetry on a syndicated radio series on Native writers. 

Ignatia Broker, who died in 1987, was a story-teller and teacher in the Ojibway tradition. In 1984 she received a Wonder Woman Foundation award honoring her as a woman striving for peace and equality.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ignatia Broker, who died in 1987, was a member of the Ojibway tribe, the Ottertail Pillager Band, and the A-wa-sa-si Clan. She was born in 1919 on the White Earth Indian Reservation and attended an Indian boarding school in North Dakota. Her higher education included the Minnesota School of Business. Following this, she faced fierce discrimination when seeking employment. In 1966, she began a career with the Minneapolis Public Schools, where she became a member of the Minority Task Force, aiding in the development of the Title IV Indian Studies Curriculum. As a staff writer for the Audio Visual Based Indian Resource Unit of the Minneapolis Public Schools, she authored many stories, filmstrips, and booklets that are a part of the curriculum today. Broker was also a member of many Indian organizations and founded the Minnesota American Indian Historical Society. In 1984, she received a Wonder Woman Foundation award honoring her extraordinary accomplishments as a woman striving for peace and equality.

Product Details

• Paperback: 135 pages
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press; 1 edition (March 15, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873511670
• ISBN-13: 978-0873511674
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Native American
  • #18 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > Midwest

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Circle Continues, December 27, 2001

By 

Tama J. Westman (Chaska, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative (Native Voices) (Paperback)

In "Night Flying Woman, An Ojibway Narrative," Ignatia Broker tells the story of the forest people, the Ojibway. She shows how the white man's ways desecrated the rituals, laws and beliefs of the Native People, all but erasing their long culture. Classed as caricatures in a land that once honord them, Brokers shows how the Native People "faced bias, prejudice and active discrimination." The Ojibway philosophy for living, that of keeping in balance the purity of man and nature, is revived through Broker's telling of Oona's story, the story of many as seen through the "eyes cast down" of one. An insightful story that continues the Ojibway circle and gives us all the hope of the past for the future.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, November 1, 2001

By 

Beth Bennett (Burnsville, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative (Native Voices) (Paperback)

I sat and read this in one sitting. It was that good. An excellent lesson in not needing all the gadgetry this world offers in order to be happy. A great reminder for all of us that we need to care for each other in order we all can survive.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and Family, March 4, 2001

By 

Graciela Vega (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative (Native Voices) (Paperback)

Ignatia Broker through the eyes of Oona engages the reader in a world of change. Oona learns to adapt to her environment and listens to her elders voices. This story engages the reader from the first page to the last. With beautiful drawings and a tale of survival the reader gains an indepth perspective into Oona's reality. It touched me on an emotional level and reminded me of a past which must be remembered.