Reviews

Father Peter J. Powell's work with the Cheyenne is in a class by itself. His telling of stories in the mythic past of the Cheyenne have a depth of understanding worthy of Campbell, Zimmer and Eliade. So many books on the Native Americans are not satisfying because the authors do not know enough to ask the right questions and they merely repeat what other authors have written. Father Powell lived among the Cheyenne, became a very trusted informant and tells the stories with an uncommon grasp of the subject. His list of primary sources is impressive, more so as we learn who many of these people are and who their fathers, mothers and grandparents were. The way he moves from present to near past to distant past to mythic past and back to present reinforces Cheyenne belief that the distance between them is much shorter than our culture thinks. A wonderful source book, it fills in so many gaps between Grinnell, Hyde, Bent and Lavender--and takes us deeper than any of them.

One way of regarding what Father Powell accomplished in his epic treatise on Northern Cheyenne history is look at Vine Deloria's appraisal in "God Is Red." Deloria states: "Powell's work, particularly his style of exposition, was based primarily on conversations with reservation people and reflected their language. An Anglican priest who operated St. Augustine's Indian Center in Chicago, Powell viewed all religious expressions as sacred and consequently treated the Cheyenne tradition with respect. His book did not take the superficial approach of listing the quaint beliefs of the Cheyennes as if the reader and the author were beyond such superstitions. 'Sweet Medicine' impressed Indians with the validity of their own traditions." Deloria's comments on Powell's work deserve serious consideration. After all, Deloria set the tone in Chpt. 4 of "Custer Died For Your Sins" for criticizing the historical relationship between anthropology (be it of the professional or self-taught variety) and American Indian communities. The fact that Deloria points to "Sweet Medicine" as an exceptional work is an indication that the study of American Indian culture and history is possible--even by non-Indians--when the resulting discourse is driven by indigenous sources of knowledge, as opposed to forcing research to fit the expectations of a largely non-Indian Academy.

Some people don't like the idea of a priest writing a book about Cheyenne myth and ritual. Too bad for them. Who better to understand it than one who is completely accepted by the Cheyenne people and, indeed, one of the holders of the sacred regalia of the Arrows and Medicine Hat? Peter Powell has done the world an undying favor by meticulously recording, with the utmost exactitude, in both words and pictures the sacred rites (and their meaning!) of the Cheyenne people? Ignore the reviews of those who just don't -or can't- get the point of this magistral work and instead buy it and enter into a magical world.

when I saw it's non-authenticity, I returned it for full credit. Fr. Powell has been duped!

Father Peter J. Powell (who, contrary to the misinformation passed in another reader's review, is an Episcopalian priest) is the premium scholar of Cheyenne culture and religion. A Sun Dance priest himself, adopted by the Cheyenne, Father Powell renders the beautiful story of Sweet Medicine in evocative prose. After reading his work, I was privileged to meet Father Powell on a sad, but touching occasion, when he presided over the funeral of the great Cheyenne educator Bill Tall Bull in Lame Deer, Montana several years ago. Father Powell is held in great reverence by the Northern Cheyenne people, and on that day was sought out after the service by countless members of the tribe with greetings, hugs, and thanks. I can recommend SWEET MEDICINE without reservation to anyone with interest in Plains Indian culture.

Reviews

Very good autobiography about the daily life and culture of the Navaho people. Provides good insight into the seemly simplistic life of these native people. However, upon detailed reading and examination it becomes clear that certain customs and tribal values existed and that a rigid hierarchy prevailed. RLM

This book is certainly a quick read, but I found it to be quite entertaining. If you want to get some sense of the Navajo lifestyle from the time in history after the Long Walk, this book would be for you. There were similarities for me to the The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. The instructions Left Hand's father gave him prior to his death were practical to any society. The struggles that this wealthy (by living standards of the time) family endured due to crop failures and grazing really gave me a sense of how they lived. Left Hand talks about it however in a very matter of fact way. The culture and family is not explained, but one does learn about it as you read the book. I would love to read more first hand accounts like this.

This book remains solidly in my memory though I read it over 30 years ago. As a child I spent some years on the Navajo Nation - my parents were teachers. This book brought back all my memories of the cadence of the language, of the passing of the seasons, of the herding of sheep, of sustaining a quintessentially "American" way of life.

This book of a man's life has a rhythm that is set to a sheep's cadence. I had to read it twice to get the chronological aspect of it. The clues to how a nomad's life was led are sometimes plain and sometimes hidden. I found the ending to be abrupt.

I had to read this book for my intro to Anthropology class in college. I thought that was ok for additional anthropology reading, but I would never read this book for fun. It's the story of a Navajo from his childhood to adulthood and all of the experience and things you must go through when living in a culture that moves around a lot. It was interesting in the fact that while studying various cultures, it was an autobiography of what another culture was actually like and how in Left Handed's culture, everyone is related. It a good book for understanding other cultures, especially for a class like anthropology.

Reviews

As Keeper of the Arrows, William Wayne Red Hat Jr. protect one of the sacred relics of the Cheyenne people and is also a cultural authority to his tribe, overseeing its spiritual connections to the land. Editor Sibylle M. Schlesier, whose father was a close associate of Red Hat's family, recorded and transcribed this memoir of William Wayne Red Hat Jr's life. Collections strong in Native American history and biography will find this key to understanding Southern Cheyenne culture and tribal life.