Indian lives : essays on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Native American leaders

Summary: It's often assumed that Native Americans live in two distinct worlds: one Indian and the other white. In this collection of biographical studies of eight American Indians, though, we see that in fact they live in just one world of great complexity that has challenged, sustained, and sometimes destroyed them. Each of the leaders profiled here struck different balances between their Indian identity and their work within the dominant white cultures. Yet each attained a cultural and ethnic identity, and in describing that process these essays combine history and biography to reveal people struggling to preserve their heritage while making their own mark in life. These life stories of Maris Bryant Pierce, Nampeyo, Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Henry Chee Dodge, Charles Curtis, Luther Standing Bear, Minnie Kellogg, and Peterson Zah provide insights into defining cultural identity and success.