Need a place to stay in Browning

[Reziac]

I've heard about the "lying to outsiders game" before ... as you say it throws into doubt anything you've not witnessed yourself. But I suppose if you hear the same story more than once, it may have some foundation.

All very interesting, regardless.

[MTSilvertip]

I ran into the same thing with the book "Hanta Yo" that was supposed to be written with the input and collaberation of one of the Sioux tribes so it was supposed to be the most "accurate" rendition of their beliefs and traditions.

I read the book and had some doubts because what I had read didn't coincide with other research I had previously done, and so I talked to a Sioux woman I know who came from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota where the sources from the book lived.

She said it was a big joke to them, that anything they said to the author was taken as gospel so they spun some good lies to pull one over on him.

I told her the joke was on them because there were folks reading that book that actually were interested in her people, but the tribe had thrown away its chance to get accurate information out there.

Too bad, it wasn't a bad book to read, just wish the information had been good.

[ScottyDM]

MT:

That is most definitely a danger. And there's a lot of junk written with native characters or in a historic setting. Some authors care and make an effort at research, and some don't seem to give a flip. And when we do the research it's too easy to miss important points or simply not understand.

James Welch's novel Fools Crow blew my mind. I wish more native people would write. Check out the "look inside" on Amazon and read the first chapter (2 1/2 pages). It has a completely different rhythm and feel than anything I've experienced. I've been to the reservation and walked the land and breathed that air, and I've tried to enter that world view. I can see that chapter in my mind's eye and feel it in my bones. Despite that, my understanding is still lacks.

[Reziac]

There you are! Been out trompin' through the prairies?

So how's the book coming along?