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Crazy Brave
Joy Harjo is the incumbent United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that post. She began her third term in September 2021. She has been a poet and musician for far longer and a member of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation since birth in 1951. She lives in Creek Nation in Oklahoma.
The stories of Harjo’s life told in this, her first memoir, are harrowing, painful, searching, deeply spiritual, and full of love. Her people and her family ended up in Oklahoma only because it was the end of President Andrew Jackson’s infamous “Trail of Tears” (1831 – 1877) — when Native Americans were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, in what became the southeastern United States, to places west of the Mississippi River.
But Harjo doesn’t take much time recounting historical matters in this book. Her writing is very personal. Her stepfather abused her. Her birth father abused her mother. Harjo’s husband would end up abusing her, before she finally left him. Her mother inspired her to sing.
Harjo was raised in a nominally Christian home, and this conflicted with the Native ways she would learn. She reflects: “In church I was taught that anything visionary on a personal level, especially in girls or women, was evil and most likely of the devil. I became fearful of those abilities. I closed the door.”
But by 13, she rejected the Christianity she’d been taught. Soon she asked to attend an Indian arts boarding school in Santa Fe.
When Harjo describes her visionary, songwriting, poetic calling it is reminiscent of other famous Native voices, with references to visions and inspirations that seem almost magical or supernatural. “I was entrusted with carrying voices, songs, and stories to grow and release into the world, to be of assistance and inspiration. These were my responsibility.” She then adds: “I am not special. It is this way for everyone.”
But not everyone has such clarity of vision. Reading about Harjo’s experiences might help the rest of us. Her message for every reader is this: “We each have our own individual soul story to tend.”
Earth is her great teacher, as are her grandfathers and grandmothers. She reflects that when she was born, “I was … puny and female and Indian in lands that were stolen. Many of the people were forgetting the songs and stories.”
She respects mystery and practices compassion. There are no accidents in her world. She listens for the spirit that inspires and gives breath to all things.
Even as we watch her move through sometimes ordinary events of a human life — graduating schools, playing the Monkees and Motown, acting in school theater, experimenting with alcohol, self-mutilating with a knife, finding and losing boyfriends, marrying, losing control of a car, sitting with a psychic while feeling desperate, and giving birth to a son — Joy Harjo is listening.
She describes becoming a poet, after all these experiences: “In a fast, narrow crack of perception, I knew this is what I was put here to do: I must become the poem, the music, and the dancer…. This was when I began to write poetry.”
A moving memoir of resilience and openness to spirit by the U.S. Poet Laureate.
A Peacemaker for Warring Nations
Joseph Bruchac, an enrolled member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, is a world-renowned author of more than 170 books and is featured in our Living Spiritual Teacher Project. His numerous awards include a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.
We are grateful that he writes for young people as well as adults. For this book, intended for 10 - 14 year olds, he worked together with illustrator David Kanietakeron Fadden, an Akwesasne Mohawk artist who runs the Six Nations Indian Museum in Onchiota, New York.
A Peacemaker for Warring Nations begins centuries ago when five of these nations — the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca — were at war with each other and with everyone around them. It tells of the miraculous birth of Two Currents, who came to be known as the Peacemaker.
Born with a strong sense of mission, the Peacemaker visited the war chiefs in each nation to speak about the need to end fighting and live righteously. In some cases, tribe members had had premonitions about him coming and helped him negotiate. In others, he navigated dangerous encounters by wisely and courageously understanding when to approach and when to wait.
He even invited one tribe to test him to see if his message was true, sitting on a tree branch that tribe members cut off so that he fell into a gorge and disappeared into the rapids! The war chief was sure that the Peacemaker would not return, but the next day, runners found him sitting at the edge of their territory, ready again to share his message.
The entire book carries such a strong sense of the Creator's message of peace that we frequently felt like we were reading Gospels from another culture. In the most moving passage, Ayenwatha — a follower of the Peacemaker who has recently lost three daughters he loved deeply — finds himself overwhelmed with such profound grief that he cannot carry out the instructions the Peacemaker had given him. When the two reunite, instead of chiding him for what he has not done, the Peacemaker says, "Ayenwatha, if anyone was as burdened by grief as you are, I would wipe the tears from their eyes with this fawn skin so that they could again see clearly." He does so, then deepens the ritual with further words of healing spoken while lifting, one after another, 14 strings of elderberries that Ayenwatha had made. From their meeting the Condolence Ceremony comes into being.
Tension in the story builds as the uniting tribes prepare to reach the Onondaga war chief, an evil magician, with a message of peace. Along the way, the Peacemaker reminds them about how to make sure each voice is heard, the importance of women's wisdom and leadership, and the need for a common language. How they resolve the conflict with the Onondaga chief is a model of psychological and spiritual acumen, as they heal him from the pain that caused him to be murderous.
The story ends by telling how the "new people from across the sea" drew from the wisdom of the Great League, the Iroquois Confederacy, that formed. Benjamin Franklin attended their meetings and adopted many of their ideas into what became American democracy.
Bruchac explains that despite three centuries of turmoil, the Great League still keeps their system of governance and their longhouse in Onondaga. They still tell the Peacemaker's story all around the world, "in the hopes that the message of the Peacemaker may still be heard, bring hope, and one sunny day be followed not just by their nations but by all humankind." May it be so.
A centuries-old message of peace that's still alive with hope.
Shaped by Her Hands
Much has been written about Maria Martinez, the Pueblo artist who — together with her husband Julian and other family members — created internationally known black-ware pottery in the 20th century. Shaped by Her Hands is the first book to introduce her to a younger audience.
One of the authors, Barbara Gonzalez, is the eldest great-grandchild of Maria and Julian. The co-author, Anna Harber Freeman, grew up hearing stories about Maria's famous pottery from her grandmother, a collector of Native American Indian art. Freeman, an art teacher, had a hard time finding resources about Maria to use with children and was delighted to connect with Gonzalez to bring this woman's story to light for readers ages four to nine.
Surrounded by clay in the Pueblo lands of her childhood, Maria tried making bowls, but to her dismay they cracked and broke in the sun. She visited her aunt Nicolasa, a potter, for guidance, and the two worked together, making pots to store seeds and grain, allowing their Tewa traditions to live on.
As Maria's confidence grew and she continued making pots, she began to gain a reputation. But it was when an archaeologist, Edgar Lee Hewett, brought her a black pottery shard and asked whether she could recreate this special, fine polish, that her career took off.
The authors weave prayer and thanksgiving into story, for the Tewa people blend rituals of spirit with their lives and work. And illustrator Aphelandra, a descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, has done a magnificent job of bringing warmth to the story with the turquoise, ocher, and gold colors of the Southwest and the loving gazes of family members sharing this creative work.
Shaped by Her Hands concludes with special notes telling more about Maria, the Tewa people, and San Ildefonso Pueblo, where she lived. The authors also provide a selection of books for further exploration.
The story of an internationally renowned Tewa potter who perfected a firing technique for crafting shiny, black pots.
We Are Water Protectors
We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade, is the 2021 winner of the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children, awarded by the American Library Association. Goade, an enrolled member of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, is the first indigenous artist to win the award.
Young people often show considerably more environmental concern than adults do. We see this difference in nearby matters — a child who cries when she sees a wounded deer or who reminds us to turn off the faucet while we brush our teeth — and on a global scale, too, like the young climate-change activists who have rallied around Greta Thunberg's leadership.
We Are Water Protectors, written for 3 – 6 year olds, nurtures and strengthens this inclination to safeguard Mother Earth. Written by Carole Lindstrom, tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe and a fierce water protector herself, it starts with a grandmother telling the young narrator that "water is the first medicine." In the accompanying picture Michaela Goade, an award-winning designer and illustrator of Tlingit descent, shows water pouring in a waterfall through the elder's hand into the palm of a thoughtful young girl. Each of them is half immersed in pure waves of deep blue.
When we come from the water of our mother's womb and know water to be sacred, though, what do we do when confronted by the black snake which many Native Nations say will destroy the land? On the pages of this book, we witness it turning birds and fish to skeletons as they come too close to its body: an oil pipeline. Predicted long before it arrived, this snake is now here, making water unfit to drink.
Lindstrom does not leave us waiting long for an answer, as she writes large letters, "Take Courage!" While acknowledging it will not be easy — and here we see people hand-in-hand facing the snake's terrifying face — we hear the refrain which repeats every few pages:
We stand
With our songs
And our drums.
We are still here.
The book does not hide the tears which "like waterfalls stream down" in sorrow over the harm done to creatures who cannot fight for themselves. But even so, it offers a vision of people standing together with unbroken spirit.
A detailed and poignant afterword describes the efforts of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stand up against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The final page offers an Earth Steward and Water Protector Pledge, which could be the start of a child's lifelong commitment.
A vibrant reminder of water's sacredness and our responsibility to safeguard it from harm.
Wisdom Sits in Places
"Place is the first of all beings, since everything that exists is in a place and cannot exist without a place."
— Archytas, Commentary on Aristotle's Categories
Keith H. Basso is a rancher and professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico. He contends that a place appeals to ordinary people as familiar ground and as having a bearing on prior events. A basic creative process he calls "place-making" is "a universal tool of the historical imagination" and a form of cultural activity.
Basso decides to visit a Western Apache Tribe and learn more about how they connected place-names in the Cibecue region with geographical referents. The author listens as Apaches speak of their love and reverence for a place called "Juniper Tree Stands Alone," telling stories about how the corn grew well there, giving them enough to eat and helping them survive. In gratitude, they call themselves "Juniper Tree Stands Alone People." Charles, one of the Apaches, explains: "Their names for themselves are really the names of their places. . . . That is how they are still known, even though they have scattered and live now in many different states."
"American Indians hold their lands-places — as having the highest possible meaning, and all their statements are made with this reference point in mind."
— Vine DeLoria, Jr. in God Is Red
The link between land and humans is made by Annie Peaches, a 77 year old who says of Apache tribal members: "The land is always stalking people. The land makes people live right. The land looks after us." Since the land is a repository of distilled wisdom, it is a catastrophe when it is taken over by others and lost forever.
"What we call the landscape is generally considered to be something 'out there.' But, while some aspects of the landscape are clearly external to both our bodies and our minds, what each of us actually experiences is selected, shaped, and colored by what we know."
— Barrie Greenbie in Spaces: Dimensions of the Human Landscape
Basso hits high stride when he praises the versatility of Western Apache place-names. Over the years they have helped people to survive, to live with versatility, and to cope. The author concludes: "And because helping people to cope is regarded by Apaches as a gesture of compassion. the use of place-names for this purpose serves as well to communicate solitude, reassurance, and personal solidarity."
A thoughtful reflection on the interconnected nature of humankind and land from a Native American perspective.
First Laugh — Welcome, Baby!
In Navaho (Diné) culture, clans hold a First Laugh Celebration that honors this vital sign of a new baby's spiritual health. As the mother and child are presented, relatives chant "the mother is alive and the baby is alive!"
This loving, communal story leads up to that moment. Family members of one Navajo baby surround him, watching, tickling, and smiling while they await his first laugh. Will he laugh when his tummy is filled? When raven teases by swooping low, then high?
Baby starts in the city, where his Papa welds steel buildings and his mama teaches schoolchildren. We travel with him to the Navajo Nation and watch with him while his mama weaves bluebirds and thrushes into her tree-of-life rug and his grandmother takes him on horseback across the red mesa to see her sheep. Details like these, along with bits of Navajo language like cheii for grandfather, make the book a rich resource for early learning.
Jonathan Nelson's tenderly expectant illustrations help us feel part of both worlds, the family's city home and the Navajo Nation. Nelson is Diné, as was Rose Ann Tahe, who contracted a sudden illness and, sadly, died only weeks after the manuscript for this book was completed. Nancy Bo Flood — a research psychologist who lived on the Navajo Nation for fifteen years — asked Tahe's family what they wanted to do, and their wish was for this book to become real.
The final three pages of the book teach caregivers and older children not only more about the First Laugh Celebration, but also about other baby welcomes around the world. Among other things we learn that ancient Greeks offered to Artemis, the moon goddess, round cakes like full moons, lit with candles — the forerunners of our birthday cakes!
A tale about a Navajo family’s wait for their baby’s first laugh before a welcoming celebration.
Indian Boyhood
Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) was the first great Native American spokesperson, publishing eleven books from 1902 – 1918. He was born in a buffalo hide tipi in western Minnesota and lived until age 15 in the traditional Dakota Sioux way. Then he was transplanted into the white world where he became a medical doctor, caring for his own people after the Battle of Wounded Knee. He also was the co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America.
In this book, Eastman tells the story of his early life, which he describes as "fragmentary recollections of my thrilling wild life." First published in 1902, the book is a classic in literature about Native Americans. It has now been edited for children by Michael Oren Fitzgerald who previously published Living in Two Worlds: The American Indian Experience, an impressive and soul-stirring presentation of Eastman's writings for adults. llustrations by Heidi M. Rasch capture the colors, the natural life, and the atmosphere of Indian life on the plains.
Told in first person, here are wonderful details about Ohiyesa's childhood and his preparation for life as a warrior and hunter. He writes: "It was common for birds to land on my cradle in the woods." He and the other boys "sled down hills on the ribs of animals during the winter." At one point, he had a grizzly bear for a pet. He was taught to observe nature:
"Every boy was trained to find new and strange things in the woods. If a bird had scratched the leaves off the ground, we stopped to speculate on the time it was done. An old deer-track brought a discussion as to whether it was a buck or a doe. Every hunt combined the study of animal life. We often marveled at the many beauties and forces of nature."
He describes telling stories, participating in dances, searching for medicinal roots in the woods with his grandmother, and hunting with his uncle. The book ends as Ohiyesa's father, who had disappeared when the boy was six, returns to the village and takes him to the white man's town for school.
This book introduces children of all backgrounds to a great Native American leader through the lens of childhood. It will appeal to any child who wonders what it would be like to grow up in a different culture.
An appealing autobiography that introduces children to a great Native American leader.
House of Shattering Light
Joseph Rael, an Ute healer and mystic, grew up on the Southern Ute lands in Colorado and the Picuris Pueblo in New Mexico. He was a listener even before his mother gave birth to him. The author of Being & Vibration remembers experiencing while in her womb pleasurable sensations and positive energy coming from the plants in the garden she lavished so much of her love upon. By the time he was five, Rael was having visionary moments and often during his childhood, he could not distinguish when he was in a spiritual state or in ordinary reality. As a teenager, he went to Santa Fe Indian school, then on to college and work for the Office of Indian Affairs. Rael eventually brought a heath center to Picuris. He has spoke before the United Nations and has dedicated over 80 oval-shaped peace chambers all over the world.
This spiritual memoir reveals how important vision is to this healer and mystic. Rael has led sun/moon dances in many countries and believes that "a ceremony is like a child that belongs to the tribe. Now they have to share that ceremony because the time has come for the child to go out into the world." This, of course, goes against the opinions of other Native Americans who are convinced that they must not dilute tribal rituals by allowing outsiders to participate in them.
It is Rael's understanding of vision that makes his Native American spirituality so hospitable and relevant. For example, he writes:
"I have learned over the years that I should always follow whatever happens from the place of the unexpected. From the place of the unexpected, Spirit talks to me. I cannot ignore the thing that comes through from left field. When it happens, I know it's right on, even though logically it shouldn't be happening. Sometimes I want to ignore it because my plan does not include this unexpected thing.
"All of a sudden something happens and I'm going off in an unexpected direction, but I know there's a reason for it. I know there's blessing there. The blessing will unfold as the week goes by, or within the next month, because that's the way it always is with the unexpected."
Rael is perfectly comfortable living with mystery — it permeates his experiences with mind reading, communication with the dead, an encounter with the Virgin Mary, and healing those who are sick. His comments on the limitations of technology and the rising significance of the supernatural in the present era are fascinating. The book is a fine primer on Native American mysticism.
A spiritual memoir revealing the importance of vision and saluting mystery as a way of life.
Being & Vibration
Joseph Rael grew up in a Southern Ute pueblo in Colorado gathering the secrets of the natural world and the ancient wisdom of his grandfather, a medicine man. Through visionary experiences, he came to understand the world as "the House of Shattering Light" where vibrations are a key element of life.
Rael honors listening as a holy act: "To become a true human, one must become conscious of listening and hearing the voice of the Great Mystery speaking through everything, through the sound of a tree, or the bird flying overhead, or in the wind in the room, or someone breathing, or someone talking, or a moment of silence. The activity of sound is what made the people. It is, therefore, simply through listening, and using that listening and paying attention, that one finds the guidance of the Great Mystery along the path of life." This is a compelling work of Native American spirituality.
Honors listening and holds the door open to the many mysteries of life.
Totems
Brad Steiger's book is a handy and helpful resource for individuals seeking additional input and information from the world of Spirit. The bestselling author has been adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Seneca and is very knowledgeable about Native American spirituality. One of his animal totems is wolf, and he explains how this creature has guided and directed him in times of trouble. Steiger suggests ways to choose one's animal totem and to dialogue with this spirit helper in one's dreams.
Throughout the book, Steiger shares stories of individuals who have tapped into the transformative power of their animal totems. In the last chapter, he includes a succinct and enlightening totem animal dictionary beginning with alligator and ending with wolf.
A handy and helpful resource.
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