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Showing posts with label native americans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label native americans. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan

Short Nights: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Edward Curtis.

Even though this is non-fiction, because of Curtis' superb writing, it reads like an impossible-to-put-down novel.

Almost immediately readers are drawn into Curtis' world and are fascinated by the odds of a subsistence farmer rising to ranks of super celebrity: all due to Curtis' skill with a camera and business acumen.


After a fall out with his younger brother, Curtis befriends Bird Grinell and launches the "big idea." His idea is to record the vanishing Native American tribes on film and wax recorder, an early recording device.

Curtis gained the trust of Native Americans and given some access to their world. He was not permitted to participate or photograph the Sundance or snake ceremonies (until late in life).
Nonetheless, Curtis was well-liked and given a variety of Indian names and nicknames, including "The Man Who Sleeps on His Breath" because he slept on an air mattress.

Egan offers a fascinating portrait of an ambitious, energetic man who tried to improve perceptions of Native Americans with his camera. 

A digital library of Curtis' life's work, The North American Indian, may be found at, http://curtis.library.northwestern.edu/


Friday, January 21, 2011

Lisa Jones' Broken: A Love Story

Wanting to learn more about Stan Addison's methods of gentling wild horses and his healing abilities, Lisa Jones, a freelance journalist, comes to Wind River Indian Reservation. Jones had originally featured the quadriplegic Native American horse gentler in a Smithsonian magazine article. Broken does more than chronicle his Addison's life, which is amazing in itself. Broken aslo reveals Lisa's emotional life--the psychological hangups that have precluded her from committing to anything or anyone. Lisa bravely reveals all her vulnerabilities and honestly explores her deepening spirituality. If you liked Eat, Pray, Love, you will definitely like this memoir that takes a sometimes bohemian woman into one of the most broken places in America. Broken explores the notion of God, race, healing, and redemption. All in all, it would make an excellent book discussion book.
Review by Chantal Walvoord

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