Library Journal
Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket) spent her adult years justifying the ways of Native Americans to whites. Born into Colville Confederated Tribes in 1885 or 1888, she became an ethnographer, orator, pamphleteer, teacher, and novelist, believing that her description and analysis of Native American ways would ensure better treatment for her people. In the scholarly introduction to her unfinished autobiography, editor Miller describes his work with the Colvilles and his acquisition of Mourning Dove's manuscripts and notes, which he arranges according to important customs and cyclical/seasonal activities. Mourning Dove's evocation of the complexities of tribal life is irresistible, full of acutely remembered conversations, ceremonies, and events. ``What kept us going,'' she says, ``was the knowledge that everything on earth has its purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. That is the Indian theory of existence.'' Notes, references, and photographs provide additional perspectives. Recommended for academic libraries and Native American collections.-- Rhoda Carroll, Vermont Coll., Montpelier
Mourning Dove: A Salishan Autobiography
by Mourning DoveView All Available Formats & Editions
"An exciting story that transports the reader to another time and place. . . . Anyone interested in American Indian history, culture, religion, and literature should read this informative volume that was produced at such great cost. Mourning Dove literally gave her life to do this work, and Jay Miller has painstakingly edited it to share the words and wisdom of… See more details below
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Overview
"An exciting story that transports the reader to another time and place. . . . Anyone interested in American Indian history, culture, religion, and literature should read this informative volume that was produced at such great cost. Mourning Dove literally gave her life to do this work, and Jay Miller has painstakingly edited it to share the words and wisdom of Humishuma with the non-Salish world."—American Indian Culture and Research Journal
Editorial Reviews
American Indian Culture and Research Journal
"An exciting story that transports the reader to another time and place. . . . Anyone interested in American Indian history, culture, religion, and literature should read this informative volume that was produced at such great cost. Mourning Dove literally gave her life to do this work, and Jay Miller has painstakingly edited it to share the words and wisdom of Humishuma with the non-Salish world."—American Indian Culture and Research Journal
Canadian Journal of Native Studies
"Mourning Dove’s evocation of the complexities of tribal life is irresistible, full of acutely remembered conversations, ceremonies, and events."—Library Journal. "The accounts of guardian spirit quest, of seeking medicinal power, of winter dancing, seancind rite, and the sweatlodge unite cultural knowledge and personal experience in a compelling way. The perspective on history through the experience of her family is immensely valuable as well."—Dell Hymes, Canadian Journal of Native Studies
— Dell Hymes
Western Historical Quarterly
"[This] autobiography artfully weaves tribal history, Salishan traditions, and a wealth of information of the female life cycle with the story of [Christine] Quintasket’s own childhood and coming of age on the Colville Reservation in Washington. Mourning Dove is a rare and important study of the Interior Salish people during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Miller, by providing thoughtful editing and constructive footnotes, have given new life to Mourning Dove’s narrative."—Western Historical Quarterly
Canadian Journal of Native Studies - Dell Hymes
"Mourning Dove’s evocation of the complexities of tribal life is irresistible, full of acutely remembered conversations, ceremonies, and events."—Library Journal. "The accounts of guardian spirit quest, of seeking medicinal power, of winter dancing, seancind rite, and the sweatlodge unite cultural knowledge and personal experience in a compelling way. The perspective on history through the experience of her family is immensely valuable as well."—Dell Hymes, Canadian Journal of Native Studies
Product Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780803284081
- Publisher:
- UNP - Nebraska
- Publication date:
- 09/01/2014
- Series:
- American Indian Lives
- Sold by:
- Barnes & Noble
- Format:
- NOOK Book
- Pages:
- 267
- Sales rank:
- 489,143
- File size:
- 3 MB
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