Neither wolf nor dog : on forgotten roads with an Indian elder

Book

Neither wolf nor dog : on forgotten roads with an Indian elder / Kent Nerburn.

Nerburn, Kent, 1946- (author.).

Summary:

Acclaimed author Kent Nerburn creates an incisive character study of a Native American elder, against the unflinching backdrop of contemporary reservation life and the majestic spaces of the western Dakotas. Nerburn draws us deep into the world of this elder, identified only as Dan, as we journey to where the vast Dakota skies overtake us and the whisperings of the wind speak of ancestral voices. As this spellbinding story unfolds, Dan speaks eloquently on the power of silence, the difference between land and property, white people's urge to claim an Indian heritage, and the selling of sacred ceremonies. This is a story of fathers and sons, of the struggle for redemption after the loss of innocence, of distinct cultures on a common land. An unlikely cross between Jack Kerouac and Black Elk Speaks, Neither Wolf nor Dog is full of humor, pathos, and insight. It takes us past the myths and stereotypes to the heart of the Native American experience and in doing so reveals America in a way few of us ever see. After reading this book, you will never look at America or the American Indian in the same way again.

Record details

ISBN: 1577312333
ISBN: 9781577312338
Physical Description: xiii, 336 pages : illustration ; 22 cm
Edition: First revised printing.
Publisher: Novato, California : New World Library, 2002, c1994
Copyright: �2002

Content descriptions

General Note:: "First printing, August 1994; First revised printing, September 2002"-- Title page verso.
Formatted Contents Note:: Introduction -- An old man's request -- Burnt offerings -- Talking of the grandfathers -- One wily old Indian -- A land of dreams and phantasms -- Junk cars and buffalo carcasses -- Rooting for the cowboys -- Taking maize from Squanto -- Jumbo -- Ponytails and jewelry -- The selling of the sacred -- Welcome to our land -- Tatanka -- Seeing with both eyes -- Shiny soup -- The stranger -- Leaders and rulers -- Drunk on Jesus -- Pushing -- Revelations -- Half-breed -- The song of history -- Storm -- Paha Sapa -- Wounded Knee -- The promise.
Awards Note:: Minnesota Book Award, 1995