Customer Reviews

The Walking People: A Native American Oral History

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Most of our historical evidence about the lives of our ancestors is in the form of tools, bones, fragments of pottery and cloth, and rock paintings. What was daily life really like before even these artifacts were tools? Perhaps something else did survive . . . In "The Walking People", Paula Underwood presents stories of real events lived by real people from the oral tradition of her people. Not a collection of mythological tales, they cover a span of history, geographical locations and events that is intellectuallly staggering and nearly impossible to put down. These are the stories of the Oneida people "from the beginning" which trace their intentional wanderings over three continents including how they crossed what is probably the Bering Strait, explore the events and decisions that made them who they are, and record some of their tantalizing encounters with other people. These are also teaching stories and can be understood on many levels intellectually and emotionally, individually and collectively. They can be seen as a straighforward historical account; an absolute literary delight; the unfolding of a people's culture and society; a presentation of the development of individuality (ego); a process of learning how to learn; an anthropological exlposion of possibilities; the evolution of scientific experimentation and evaluation; a description of ordinary living in various times; stories of individual lives and commitments - and so much more. I have read "The Walking People" cover to cover at least a dozen times, each immersion bringing fresh and expanding comprehension. The language used and the physical presentation on the page combine to make reading this book a nearly "auditory" experience. It invites the reader to walk with these people through time, participating in their experiences, sharing the tears of their misjudgments, the joy in their masterful accomplishments, and the relief that the laughter at their predicaments brings. It is a most extraordinary glimpse into the perceptions and thinking of real people in ancient and historical times. It is very difficult to describe the deep psychological effect of perceiving the actual voices and syntax of people who lived thousands and thousands of years ago - suddenly, "history" becomes an intimate, personal reality. Almost understated in terms of today's world of extremism, rampant emotionalism and dramatic egotistical conflicts, these stories carry a haunting impact quietly hidden in the simple, direct telling that spares nothing. I have no doubt that these stories have been kept accurately for millenia. This is the first presentation I have found that is a sharing of one Native American people's heritage; it has been my experience that such depth has either been lost altogether or is usually carefully preserved as part of the private, heartfelt identity of the Original People of America. Paula Underwood's generous recounting of the Oneida oral tradition is a stunning and manumental achievement in language and scope of material, a very special and unique gift to whoever cares to explore its pages. "The Walking People" blows the western world's catalog of knowledge to the winds, tatters our self-imposed limits regarding what is possible and how the possible may be accomplished, and rebuilds hope in a positive way - provided we can perceive the possibilities contained inthis true epic saga. It is a sharing of the soul for the soul, touching the essence of us all.

This is a great story, compellingly told with simplicity and beauty. It also happens to be the best single book I've ever read on "organizational learning."

The "Walking People" left central Asia and walked across an ocean, over to another ocean and back to the great lakes. On their way, they had to learn to deal with an ever changing circumstance, both physical and social. In order to survive, they learned how to learn as a people more and more effectively.

This story deals with issues such as the balance between diversity and unity, how to honor individual styles of learning and use these to help the community, ageism, sexism, racism, cooperation and competition, the balance of long term goals and short term necessities, planning and improvisation, war and peace.

Are you beginning to get the picture? This should be read by everyone, but at least by anyone who teaches or manages people. If a CEO or Senator reads one book in this millennium to prepare for the next, this should be it.

This is the book that has been on my nightstand for the past several months. I read several pages each night. It is a big book, over 800 pages, written like a poem, and almost impossibly precious. The wisdom between its covers is astounding. For what this book teaches is something we, at this time in history, desperately need to know: how to start anew after devastation. How to be a whole people after we've been reduced to fragments. It teaches that the wisdom is within us, to survive, to begin again, to thrive. Hallelujah.

This book tells the life of Natives in the same way they would tell it--with stories. You feel dropped into another world than our fast paced life in the so-called urban landscape. You have to slow yourself down to step in and then it greets you and pulls you deeper. It fills you up with images that heal and restore you. An deeper view of Reality.

The book is very good condition as mentioned and arrived on time. Only one thing I didn't like was the tracking number was incorrect. I couldn't track it. And I couldn't find a contact info of the shipper either. Otherwise my experience was very good.

Sad, beautiful, wonderful, wise, haunting, and totally relevant to our global issues of change. Destructive paths happen easily. Creative paths are contingent.