Synopses & Reviews
The imagined ghosts of Native Americans have been an important element of colonial fantasy in North America ever since European settlements were established in the seventeenth century. Native burial grounds and Native ghosts have long played a role in both regional and local folklore and in the national literature of the United States and Canada, as settlers struggled to create a new identity for themselves that melded their European heritage with their new, North American frontier surroundings. In this interdisciplinary volume, Colleen E. Boyd and Coll Thrush bring together scholars from a variety of fields to discuss this North American fascination with and#8220;the phantom Native American.and#8221;and#160;
and#160;Phantom Past, Indigenous Presence explores the importance of ancestral spirits and historic places in Indigenous and settler communities as they relate to territory and historyand#8212;in particular cultural, political, social, historical, and environmental contexts. From examinations of how individuals reacted to historical cases of and#8220;hauntings,and#8221; to how Native phantoms have functioned in the literature of North Americans, to interdisciplinary studies of how such beliefs and narratives allowed European settlers and Indigenous people to make sense of the legacies of colonialism and conquest, these essays show how the past and the present are intertwined through these stories.
Review
Praise for some of Brian Swannand#8217;s books on Native American literatures:
and#8220;Splendid. . . . Blending deep respect with critical acumenand#8221;and#8212;Chicago Tribune
and#8220;An extraordinary book.and#8221;and#8212;Los Angeles Times
and#8220;A rich compilation. . . . Educational and enlighteningand#8221;and#8212;Library Journal
and#8220;Would that all collections of Native American myths were this fine. . . . Highly recommended. All readers, all levels.and#8221;and#8212;Choice
Review
andquot;A lovely, readable, and fascinating collection.andquot;andmdash;G. D. Macdonald, CHOICE
Synopsis
Sky Loom offers a dazzling introduction to Native American myths, stories, and songs drawn from previous collections by acclaimed translator and poet Brian Swann. With a general introduction by Swann, Sky Loom is a stunning collection that provides a glimpse into the intricacies and beauties of story and myth, placing them in their cultural, historical, and linguistic contexts.
Each of the twenty-six selections is translated and introduced by a well-known expert on Native oral literatures and offers entry into the cultures and traditions of several different tribes and bands, including the Yupiit and the Tlingits of the polar North; the Coast Salish and the Kwakwakaandrsquo;wakw of the Pacific Northwest; the Navajos, the Pimas, and the Yaquis of the Southwest; the Lakota Sioux and the Plains Crees of the Great Plains; the Ojibwes of the Great Lakes; the Naskapis and the Eastern Crees of the Hudson Bay area in Canada; and the Munsees of the Northeast. Sky Loom takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey through literary traditions older than the andldquo;discoveryandrdquo; of the New World.
About the Author
Colleen E. Boyd is an associate professor of anthropology at Ball State University. Her articles have appeared in Ethnohistory, Journal of Northwest Anthropology, and in edited volumes. Coll Thrush is an associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place.and#160;Contributors: Colleen E. Boyd, Michelle Burnham, Victoria Freeman, Geneva M. Gano, C. Jill Grady, Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, Cynthia Landrum, Allan K. McDougall, Coll Thrush, Lisa Philips Valentine, and Adam John Waterman.