Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Old Indian Legends, Paperback / softback Book

Old Indian Legends Paperback / softback

Part of the Mint Editions series

Paperback / softback

Description

Old Indian Legends (1901) is a collection of traditional stories from Yankton Dakota writer Zitkála-Šá.

Published while Zitkála-Šá was just beginning her career as an artist and activist, Old Indian Legends collects fourteen traditional legends and stories passed down through Sioux oral tradition.

Intending to keep the stories or her people alive, Zitkála-Šá popularized and protected these cultural treasures for generations to come. In “Iktomi and the Ducks,” spider-trickster spirit Iktomi befriends a group of ducks by playing them music to dance to.

Gaining their trust, he sends them into a dancing frenzy causing them to break their necks, after which he takes them to his teepee to cook a meal.

When a tree branch snaps outside, distracting Iktomi, a pack of wolves moves in for a feast of their own.

In “Iktomi’s Blanket,” a starving Iktomi prays to Inyan for a blessing of food.

Stumbling across a deer carcass, he believes his prayers have been answered and prepares a fire to roast the deer meat over.

Feeling a chill, however, he goes to his teepee for a blanket, leaving the fire unattended.

Throughout her collection, Zitkála-Šá faithfully and respectfully retells the stories of her people.

Old Indian Legends is a charming compilation from one of the leading American Indian writers of her generation, a committed activist and true voice for change who saw through her own eyes the lives and experiences of countless others. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Zitkála-Šá’s Old Indian Legends is a classic of American Indian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Information

Other Formats

Information

Also in the Mint Editions series  |  View all