Customer Reviews

Scarlet Feather

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This book is easy reading and based on a true story. Remember the film "Dances with wolves"? Like the film, this book also gives a glimpse of how life was long ago in an Indian tribe.

The tribe that Piyanah, our main character, lives in, basically works as follows: it has a Chief; Elders(who give advice); Braves(who have to protect the tribe) and the women prepare food and make moccasins from animal-hides. The tribe has to move regularly to prevent attacks from other hostile tribes or to find new "places of the corn-growing". Men and women live in separate tipees, and only come together once a year at the "choosing" to do the ritual that ensures that babies will be born. Now I am not a member of the women's lib, but this sounds a bit ridiculous to me! And yet, that was perfectly normal to them. In addition, the liberal Piyanah is confronted with lots of superstitions. She has to go through a number of ordeals in order to conquer these superstitions and prove that women are not lesser souls than men.

The book describes her Piyanah's feelings and her accurate observations of nature and people. She is also in touch with her "inner voice", that guides her through difficult times.

Above all, this is a story of love. Piyanah has to learn love for herself (to be true to her heart and goals); love for the tribe and also love for Raki,the special one in her life. We can get comfort from the fact that we all experience similar feelings and go through similar ordeals. Because after all, aren't we all on this journey through life to learn about love?

I loved this story. It is not heavy duty, just a very sweet, poignant story about a girl and boy that made me feel sad it had to end. It's a very quick read, not the great work that "Winged Pharoah" is, but still worth reading. Joan Grant "remembered" this life and wrote it in the form of this novel. She is a very inspired human being and her goodness comes through in every sentence.

I am so glad a friend told me "you have to read this book".
The author weaves words like pearls in a necklace. It is written beautifully and the story pulled me in to that "far away time" to be a witness to each event. Brava!

Many Native American cultures were completely destroyed in the Manifest Destiny process of systematic genocide, but many were documented, and many others survived to this day. Miss Grant had plenty of opportunity to verify her mental impressions -- the product of hypnotic regression -- but instead decided that they were completely real and in no need of confirmation.

As a result, Scarlet Feather is a romantic fantasy at best. It has less to do with actual Indian people than even Leatherstocking Tales or Dances With Wolves. If this book had not been promoted with the rubric of "past life memory", endearing it to the New Age market, it would be seen clearly for what it was -- a piece of nonsense written by an Englishwoman who knew little or nothing about actual Native American cultures or spirituality.

Take the idea that Indian people "lost their true heritage". This did not happen until the Europeans came in. The cultures of pre-Columbian America were living, growing entities, and tradition and custom are bound to evolve over thousands of years. It was the Europeans who saw Indian traditions as the product of ignorant superstition. Miss Grant completely overlooks the deep spirituality which is an intrinsic part of traditional Indian life. One would think that if she had lived a past life among such people, she would at least remember the basics.

The idea that a group of Indians is a "tribe" is a result of government misunderstanding; a particular nation might have hundreds of subgroups, including tribes. Village is more like it, or band, or maybe clan. Groups which practiced agriculture (e.g., the Omaha) tended to stay in one place, not to move around as frequently as she describes.

Grant describes men and women living in separate tipis and coming together only once a year for a sex ritual for new babies. If someone can verify that any Indian people lived this way, I'd appreciate hearing about it. And let's not even get into her use of terms like "braves" for young men. That way lies racist nonsense like "My Heart Is On The Ground", which should never have been published.

She depicts the tribe or village as ruled by a "chief". The idea that Indians have one chief -- like electing a President -- is ludicrous even outside of Plains cultures. Such a position would not usually be hereditary. Leadership positions were based on reputation and merit, generally not through a series of formal tests but day-to-day accomplishment.

Here is what you are much more likely to find among traditionals: several men of varying ages, with different types of leadership qualities and experience (who often disagree with one another), and the people listen to whoever made the most sense in a particular situation. No woman would ever be allowed in such a position, particularly if she were of an age to have children. Ladies who have gone through menopause sometimes (rarely) become holy people. Under these traditions, there are separate gender roles but women are not inferior; they can decide who to marry, initiate a divorce, go on strike a la Lysistrata if the men displease them. In some traditions, the women own all the property. There are women's councils, and in many cases the "elders" making the final decisions are the Grandmothers. I would have been much more interested in this book had she decided to write about the berdache or cross-gender concept which existed in many cultures for centuries and still exists today.

Sufficiently researched, this could have been a much better book, although still sheer fantasy, perhaps on the order of "Clan of the Cave Bear". If you want to read a fascinating, romantic, spiritual and thoroughly true-to-life book about Indians, start with Mari Sandoz' "Crazy Horse".

dreammy
beautyfull
true
authentic
worthy
intense
deep
meaningfull

should give such books
to kids for school,
thats all i have to say!
;)

This, like Joan Grant's other books, is a fascinating study of the culture she writes of. No one, of course, can know for sure if these are really memories of past lives, but what does it matter if we can be a part of the adventure in the time and place she writes of? I love her books!