American Indian Book Finds

When I joined the Davao Readers Circle last June, I found out a college friend was also interested in American Indians. She's an artist and a writer, which explains her love for culture and the arts. The Readers Circle started out with only five members. It's almost four months now, but we're still a small group of less than ten. The good thing about it though is it's easier to contact and get to know everyone.

To date, I've borrowed a total of seven books. The first book was from my college friend. I particularly asked for her copy of "Lakota Woman" by Mary Crow Dog. At that time, I was also reading "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. For those who are not familiar or interested with American Indians, reading these two books at the same time may be too much. Bury was all about American Indian history from the 1860s to the 1890s. In Lakota Woman, Mary Crow Dog talked about what happened to her at the time of the Wounded Knee Siege (1973). The events at Bury pretty much precipitated the Siege. My friend's book looked a little beat-up. "I got mad," she explained. After I finished Bury, she borrowed and, surprisingly, returned it in good condition. hehehe

After that, we were literally scrounging for more related books at Book Shops everywhere. Not only that, I gave myself the privilege of introducing her to films featuring American Indians, the obvious choices being Into the West and Dreamkeeper. I'm glad she liked these two films, which led her to discover a co-worker who also shared the same interest. Then, she found a copy of a Poetry Anthology, which includes traditional songs and chants translated to English. I finished reading it this week. There were a lot of good ones in the book. Their poetry was simple. Some were a bit frank to the point of being funny. The Hako Ceremony of the Pawnee tribe almost felt like I was reading a Greek play (very interesting!). The only downside was the fact that I didn't know anything about their symbolisms, so I couldn't understand parts that were more spiritual in a sense. I think I'll need more research =)... but have to rest for now and move on to other genres before it turns into a bad obsession.