Customer Reviews

These Were the Sioux (Bison Book)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mari Sandoz, the daughter of German-Swiss parents, was born in 1896 on the Great Plains of Nebraska, and spent much of her young life amid the Sioux tribes there at that time. This book, which is only 118 pages long, briefly depicts much of what she learned first-hand of Sioux customs and rituals. She writes with great intimacy, love, and a depth of knowledge that few could match. Her prose sometimes meanders, and often gives the sense of being unstructured, without a coherent thread. This might bother some and not others. Admittedly, it bothered me at times, as I prefer my facts and history presented in a more cohesive context. That said, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in Native American history.

This is a clarification of the review below by:
natasha trotskygrad from moscow, Ussr.

Mari Sandoz was a FEMALE author from northern Nebraska. :)

And this is a great Sioux book, but even more highly recommended is Sandoz' CRAZY HORSE biography. Sandoz was quite respected by the native population and did extensive research for all of her books. Her book on Crazy Horse even used first hand oral accounts with those who knew Crazy Horse.

Mari Sandoz' use of language and personal experience resulted in a beautiful description of a wonderful people. At times heart warming and at other times quite sad, it is one of the most engaging accounts of Indian life I ever read. If you want a glimpse of the heart of a people, buy this book!

Being a native person, I'm always pleased to read a wonderful book about First Nation Peoples. Can't recommend it highly enough though it is brief. HOWEVER--be very cautious when ordering a used copy of this book. I received, for $5.00 plus shipping, a $.50 Dell version with a horrible cover--inappropriate for today's readers. Type was small and it just left me with alot of disappointment since I'd seen the the beautifully published newer edition. BUYER BEWARE!!

I can reccomend any book on the great tribes of the plains and the mid-west that is written by Mari Sandoz . I should have said that he tells the story as though it were his story .His style and prose trancend the mist of the past and put the reader in ground zero to understand mind and soul of the historical events ,legends and bit players of North american indian history and heritage. That's enough of my fillabuster;read his books on the Great Tribes and Peoples .

Very nice set of reminiscences of a young white girl, growing up on the Prairie Frontier in Sioux Country in remote Nebraska. Especially interesting is the fact that in the home her family didn't speak English, so they were almost as isolated from the neighboring Whites as they were from the Sioux by language.

Aimed at young adults and adults, the book gives a good view of life styles in the early "West" of the growing United States.

This gives me some sense of what it would be like to live with the Sioux. Simple enough for a child to read. No magic, but worth reading.