Synopses & Reviews
For Ages 8 and up
Imagine having to argue in court that you are a person. Yet this is just what Standing Bear, of the Ponca Indian tribe, did in Omaha in 1879. And because of this trial, the law finally said that an Indian was indeed a person, with rights just like any other American.
Standing Bear of the Ponca tells the story of this historic leader, from his childhood education in the ways and traditions of his people to his trials and triumphs as chief of the Bear Clan of the Ponca tribe. Most harrowing is the winter trek on which Standing Bear led his displaced people, starving and sick with malaria, back to their homelandand#8212;only to be arrested by the U.S. government, which set the stage for his famous trial. Standing Bearand#8217;s story is also the story of a changing America, when the Ponca, like so many Indian tribes, felt the pressure of pioneers looking to settle the West. Standing Bear died in 1908, but his legacy and influence continue even up to the present.and#160;
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Review
and#8220;Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve has told a terribly important, complex story of what it means to be humanand#8212;to be a father, a leader, a civil rights heroand#8212;in simple, powerful, unadorned language accessible to one and all, but especially to children.and#8221;and#8212;Joe Starita, author of and#8220;I Am a Manand#8221;: Chief Standing Bearand#8217;s Journey for Justice
Review
and#8220;Finally we have a childrenand#8217;s book that tells the story of the Ponca people who were for so long a forgotten tribe and presents an Indian hero for teachers to use in the classroom. Sneve captures the unique richness of being Indian and the challenges faced in a changing America as Standing Bearand#8217;s life evolves. Students will be inspired to find their own heroes through the universal themes of the love of family and home as we celebrate Standing Bearand#8217;s journey home.and#8221;and#8212;Judi M. gaiashkibos, an enrolled member of the Ponca tribe of Nebraska andand#160;executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs
Synopsis
Just before starting second grade, Jim Kristofic moved from Pittsburgh across the country to Ganado, Arizona, when his mother took a job at a hospital on the Navajo Reservation.
Navajos Wear Nikes reveals the complexity of modern life on the Navajo Reservation, a world where Anglo and Navajo coexisted in a tenuous truce. After the births of his Navajo half-siblings, Jim and his family moved off the Reservation to an Arizona border town where they struggled to readapt to an Anglo world that no longer felt like home.
With tales of gangs and skinwalkers, an Indian Boy Scout troop, a fanatical Sunday school teacher, and the author's own experience of sincere friendships that lead to ho?zho? (beautiful harmony), Kristofic's memoir is an honest portrait of growing up on--and growing to love--the Reservation.
Synopsis
With tales of gangs and skinwalkers, an Indian Boy Scout troop, a fanatical Sunday school teacher, and the author's own experience of sincere friendships that lead to ho?zho? (beautiful harmony), Kristofic's memoir is an honest portrait of growing up on--and growing to love--the Reservation.
About the Author
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is of Ponca and Sioux descent and the recipient of the National Humanities Medal. Her many books include
The Trickster and the Troll,
When Thunders Spoke, and
Lanaand#8217;s Lakota Moons, all available in Bison Books editions. Thomas Floyd is an artist working in a variety of media from painting to illustration to comic strips and is a graphic designer at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.