Review by Choice Review
The late Severt Young Bear was leader of the Porcupine Singers, an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) "drum" popular at powwows for the past 30 years. Collaborating with Ronald Theisz (Black Hills State Univ.), a Euramerican professor and a performing member of the Singers, Young Bear describes his view of traditional Lakota society, explains its vicissitudes over the century following conquest, and expounds on the art of the hoka wicasa, or master singer, in Lakota. The book is a unique, in-depth presentation on Lakota music and the profession of singer, a useful contemporary Oglala representation of the core of their culture, and a version of the involvement of AIM (American Indian Movement) on Pine Ridge Reservation, told by a man who was affiliated but not a principal leader. Young Bear's prereservation Lakota were all slim, strong, selfless warriors and virtuous women; contemporary problems stem from the loss of commitment to traditional virtues as well as from BIA policies. This is a subjective statement, well and persuasively written, and useful for multicultural courses especially in preference to such reworked chestnuts as Black Elk Speaks (1932). A cassette of Porcupine Singers music would enrich the book. All levels. A. B. Kehoe; Marquette University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Young Bear, a Lakota elder who died as this book went to press, was a prominent teacher and traditional singer; educator Theisz, his white adoptive brother, was a member of Young Bear's Porcupine Singers. They collaborated in an unusual way. To be in keeping with his people's oral traditions, Young Bear, though highly literate, chose to record his ideas on tape; Theisz then organized the comments and edited the transcripts into conversational prose. Young Bear related the myths and history of his people and reflected on the spiritual meanings inherent to their traditions. He also vividly described events in which he had participated--notably, the 1972 occupation of Wounded Knee. He especially hoped that his words would reach those who stood in the farthest circle at powwows, beyond the reach of the light surrounding the inner circle of drummers and singers, for they, connected but distant from their heritage, were most in need of the information he remembered and recorded. Still, non-Native American readers will find much to inspire and delight them here, too. ~--Pat Monaghan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Young Bear's family history encompasses not only his own ancestry but a whole rich world of Lakota oral tradition, etymology, singing and dancing, and identity. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
