Luther Standing Bear, a Lakota Sioux born in the 1860s, heard these legends in his youth, when his people were being moved to reservations. In haunting mood and imagery, they celebrate the old nomadic life of the Sioux, when buffalo were plentiful and all nature fed the spirit. The twenty stories honor not only the buffalo but also the dog, the horse, the eagle, and the wolf as workaday helpers and agents of divine intervention; the wisdom of the medicine man; and the heroism and resourcefulness of individual men and women.

Luther Standing Bear is the author of Land of the Spotted Eagle, My People the Sioux, and My Indian Boyhood (all available in Bison Books editions).

 

Frances Washburn is an assistant professor of American Indian studies and English at the University of Arizona and the author of Elsie’s Business (Nebraska 2006).

"These short pieces will serve to . . . acquaint [readers] with the distinct charm and the almost classical simplicity with which the Indian story-tellers expressed themselves."—Boston Transcript

"All of the stories are filled with the Indian's mysticism, with his magic lore and his sense of friendly alliance with the kindred animal spirits and of his ultimate faith in the 'Great Mystery.' They are retold . . . in a forthright graphic style well adapted to their vigorous material and tradition."—New York Times