What do you think?
Rate this book
Buffalo Dance: A Blackfoot Legend
A retelling of the Blackfoot legend about the ritual performed before the buffalo hunt.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1993
About the author
Nancy Van Laan
41 books20 followersNancy Van Laan was born in Baton Rouge, La. Her father was a colonel in the US Air Force, and the family moved frequently as Van Laan was growing up. She began making up stories to pass the time on long car trips. Although Van Laan had a learning disability, she loved to read. She began drawing and writing poetry as a child and enjoyed illustrating her own stories. Van Laan also loved ballet and began taking lessons at the age of nine. By age seventeen, she had her own ballet company in Birmingham that performed on a weekly program broadcast on Alabama Educational TV (now Alabama Public Television). Van Laan’s dancing career ended after an injury she sustained as a student at Sullins College in Bristol, Va. After completing her AA degree at Sullins, she enrolled at the University of Alabama, earning her BA in radio and television in 1961.
Van Laan moved to New York after college. She worked briefly at an advertising company and then joined ABC-TV where she worked as a network censor from 1962 to 1966. Van Laan began writing at this time and also studied art. After her first two children were born, she resigned from ABC and began painting professionally, creating murals for schools and private clients. She earned an MFA in theater from Rutgers University in 1979 and wrote two plays which were performed regionally. Van Laan moved to eastern Pennsylvania where she taught English at a private boarding school from 1984 to 1989. She also taught creative writing at Rutgers from 1986 to 1989. Van Laan published her first book, The Big Fat Worm, in 1987. Two years later, she left teaching to write full time. Since then, Van Laan has published over two dozen books. One of these, Rainbow Crow, was featured on the PBS television series Reading Rainbow. Van Laan lives and writes in Doylestown, Pa.
Van Laan moved to New York after college. She worked briefly at an advertising company and then joined ABC-TV where she worked as a network censor from 1962 to 1966. Van Laan began writing at this time and also studied art. After her first two children were born, she resigned from ABC and began painting professionally, creating murals for schools and private clients. She earned an MFA in theater from Rutgers University in 1979 and wrote two plays which were performed regionally. Van Laan moved to eastern Pennsylvania where she taught English at a private boarding school from 1984 to 1989. She also taught creative writing at Rutgers from 1986 to 1989. Van Laan published her first book, The Big Fat Worm, in 1987. Two years later, she left teaching to write full time. Since then, Van Laan has published over two dozen books. One of these, Rainbow Crow, was featured on the PBS television series Reading Rainbow. Van Laan lives and writes in Doylestown, Pa.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 9, 2019
Fitting to read today because I went to a powwow and am in the Native American spirit. I can't believe my library discarded this book and I was lucky enough to find it at my library's bookstore and purchase it for $1. When I saw the $16 price tag I realized what a steal it was. I love the cover. It's so colorful and eye-catching with all of the different body painting and colors and poses.
I like the glossary:
Wo-ka-hit!: listen!
Ah-sa-ke-wah!: I don't care!
Ni-tun!: my daughter!
Ma-me-at-si-kim-i: probably "bird of magical powers"
Ni-nah-ah!: my father!
The introduction shared that Blackfoot Indians used to live in Montana and created traps called piskuns to hunt buffalo. They would make an open V shape out of boulders and brush, leading to a cliff's edge. They would jump out when the buffalo came near, causing the animals to run off the cliff. Before and after a hunt, certain men were chosen to perform the buffalo dance. It was a way to thank the buffalo for sacrificing their lives to save the Blackfoot tribe.
I like the drawing at the bottom of the pages and also the words for what they mean.
I was surprised that she used words that weren't in the glossary. She said "Hai-yah" and I looked back to see what I meant but it wasn't there. The next sentence read please jump into the piskun so I assumed it meant please.
The woman tried to plead with them to jump into the trap but they wouldn't listen. She knew her people were hungry so she offered to marry one if they would jump. A light flashed and thunder rumbled and hundreds jumped. I was thinking that hundreds were way too much for one village.
A bird came to her. A few buffaloes survived the fall and the largest and fiercest jumped over the piskun walls and came to her. Seeing that buffalo standing up on two legs like a person was pretty dang creepy. He told her to come but she pulled away and started to run. He told her not to leave, that she had to keep her promise. She had to stay with him forever. He's their chief and the piskun is full and she has to honor her words. She realized her people would have plenty of meat and furs so she went with him.
When I saw the picture for prisoner, I started they were made up by the author or illustrator and not official. It showed a buffalo man holding a woman's wrist. Don't think that's how the Blackfoot saw prisoners.
It was nice that her dad said he didn't care about the food or furs. He went out to search for her, knowing she was with the buffalo. As he sat down the bird flew up to him and he told it of his daughter and told it to tell his daughter where he was. The woman told the bird to tell her dad to wait. She feared he would be killed. Strangely enough, she was with the buffalo herd. I thought they had all died and he was the only one left.
The buffalo calves were cute sleeping with their mothers.
He told her to get water so she went to the wallow where her dad waited. Oddly, she took a horn from the bull's head to give him water. How would he drink out of a horn from his head? How could he remove it himself? What did he do before she got there? Didn't he just drink with his mouth like a buffalo? The meeting with her dad was disappointing. She said he had to leave or he'd be killed. He said she's his daughter and he's taking her home and she said she promised to stay forever in exchange for her for their people. She told him he had to go back without her and she left him!
It's always the worst part of the story when sounds are made, or attempted. The bull smelled a man and got mad, said "BU-U-U! M-M-AH-OO!" How do you even say that?
The pictures at the bottom of the pages with text didn't even go with the story. They weren't words that were used or anything.
It was terrible that all of the buffalo ran to where her dad was and trampled him until there was nothing left of him. She despaired and the chief told her now she knew what it felt like because their fathers have been killed. He pitied her and told her if she could bring her dad back to life they could both go. She told the magpie to look for a piece of her dad and bring it back and I found that gruesome to imagine what part it would find.
It was a piece of backbone that was found. She covered it with her sang him awake and whole. She lifted the robe and revealed her dad's body. She covered him again and sang for the Great Spirit to bring the winds to awaken his soul. The caption said woman makes medicine.
The magpie sang "Tre-tre-lyah-li-li!"
The buffalo chief said her medicine was very strong, stronger than theirs. He touched her robe and she gave it to him. It was really cool and gave me chills that he was touched and in rerun offered to teach them his dance. He said when their people kill his kind, do this dance and sing their song and they'll come back to life like her father did.
They sang to an ancient song taught to them by the wind. It showed the buffalo dancing around them in a circle. He told her dad to have the men dress like a buffalo. They were to wear a buffalo head and skin robe. When the buffalo see them dancing and dressed like them, and hear the powerful song, they'll willingly die knowing that the ceremony will bring them back to life.
A council was held and from then on young men were chosen for the dance to dance the sacred buffalo dance and sing the sacred song. The brave act of the woman became legend and it's passed down through the elders of the Blackfoot tribe.
The peace symbol was an arrow broken in half.
When I read the author bio and that she'd also written The Legend of El Dorado, I couldn't believe it, because I also bought that book. I was more excited to read it having read this and enjoyed it. It's cool that this was printed in Italy.
This is my favorite children's book about a Native American legend. I liked this story more than any other I've read. It explains why the Blackfoot do the dance and had more of a story than the other ones I've read. It was a powerful idea and so moving to think about. The illustrations are really good. The pages are so colorful and capture your attention. The pages with text all have this designed border along the outer edge of different colors. My favorite page is of the village with the different colored tipis and designs. A hide is stretched out, meat is hung up, women are tanning a hide, a dog is laying on the ground, there's a papoose standing up against a tipi and a woman carrying a buffalo robe. There's so much to see. I liked the page with the entire tribe gathered in a circle around the buffalo dancers at night.
I like the glossary:
Wo-ka-hit!: listen!
Ah-sa-ke-wah!: I don't care!
Ni-tun!: my daughter!
Ma-me-at-si-kim-i: probably "bird of magical powers"
Ni-nah-ah!: my father!
The introduction shared that Blackfoot Indians used to live in Montana and created traps called piskuns to hunt buffalo. They would make an open V shape out of boulders and brush, leading to a cliff's edge. They would jump out when the buffalo came near, causing the animals to run off the cliff. Before and after a hunt, certain men were chosen to perform the buffalo dance. It was a way to thank the buffalo for sacrificing their lives to save the Blackfoot tribe.
I like the drawing at the bottom of the pages and also the words for what they mean.
I was surprised that she used words that weren't in the glossary. She said "Hai-yah" and I looked back to see what I meant but it wasn't there. The next sentence read please jump into the piskun so I assumed it meant please.
The woman tried to plead with them to jump into the trap but they wouldn't listen. She knew her people were hungry so she offered to marry one if they would jump. A light flashed and thunder rumbled and hundreds jumped. I was thinking that hundreds were way too much for one village.
A bird came to her. A few buffaloes survived the fall and the largest and fiercest jumped over the piskun walls and came to her. Seeing that buffalo standing up on two legs like a person was pretty dang creepy. He told her to come but she pulled away and started to run. He told her not to leave, that she had to keep her promise. She had to stay with him forever. He's their chief and the piskun is full and she has to honor her words. She realized her people would have plenty of meat and furs so she went with him.
When I saw the picture for prisoner, I started they were made up by the author or illustrator and not official. It showed a buffalo man holding a woman's wrist. Don't think that's how the Blackfoot saw prisoners.
It was nice that her dad said he didn't care about the food or furs. He went out to search for her, knowing she was with the buffalo. As he sat down the bird flew up to him and he told it of his daughter and told it to tell his daughter where he was. The woman told the bird to tell her dad to wait. She feared he would be killed. Strangely enough, she was with the buffalo herd. I thought they had all died and he was the only one left.
The buffalo calves were cute sleeping with their mothers.
He told her to get water so she went to the wallow where her dad waited. Oddly, she took a horn from the bull's head to give him water. How would he drink out of a horn from his head? How could he remove it himself? What did he do before she got there? Didn't he just drink with his mouth like a buffalo? The meeting with her dad was disappointing. She said he had to leave or he'd be killed. He said she's his daughter and he's taking her home and she said she promised to stay forever in exchange for her for their people. She told him he had to go back without her and she left him!
It's always the worst part of the story when sounds are made, or attempted. The bull smelled a man and got mad, said "BU-U-U! M-M-AH-OO!" How do you even say that?
The pictures at the bottom of the pages with text didn't even go with the story. They weren't words that were used or anything.
It was terrible that all of the buffalo ran to where her dad was and trampled him until there was nothing left of him. She despaired and the chief told her now she knew what it felt like because their fathers have been killed. He pitied her and told her if she could bring her dad back to life they could both go. She told the magpie to look for a piece of her dad and bring it back and I found that gruesome to imagine what part it would find.
It was a piece of backbone that was found. She covered it with her sang him awake and whole. She lifted the robe and revealed her dad's body. She covered him again and sang for the Great Spirit to bring the winds to awaken his soul. The caption said woman makes medicine.
The magpie sang "Tre-tre-lyah-li-li!"
The buffalo chief said her medicine was very strong, stronger than theirs. He touched her robe and she gave it to him. It was really cool and gave me chills that he was touched and in rerun offered to teach them his dance. He said when their people kill his kind, do this dance and sing their song and they'll come back to life like her father did.
They sang to an ancient song taught to them by the wind. It showed the buffalo dancing around them in a circle. He told her dad to have the men dress like a buffalo. They were to wear a buffalo head and skin robe. When the buffalo see them dancing and dressed like them, and hear the powerful song, they'll willingly die knowing that the ceremony will bring them back to life.
A council was held and from then on young men were chosen for the dance to dance the sacred buffalo dance and sing the sacred song. The brave act of the woman became legend and it's passed down through the elders of the Blackfoot tribe.
The peace symbol was an arrow broken in half.
When I read the author bio and that she'd also written The Legend of El Dorado, I couldn't believe it, because I also bought that book. I was more excited to read it having read this and enjoyed it. It's cool that this was printed in Italy.
This is my favorite children's book about a Native American legend. I liked this story more than any other I've read. It explains why the Blackfoot do the dance and had more of a story than the other ones I've read. It was a powerful idea and so moving to think about. The illustrations are really good. The pages are so colorful and capture your attention. The pages with text all have this designed border along the outer edge of different colors. My favorite page is of the village with the different colored tipis and designs. A hide is stretched out, meat is hung up, women are tanning a hide, a dog is laying on the ground, there's a papoose standing up against a tipi and a woman carrying a buffalo robe. There's so much to see. I liked the page with the entire tribe gathered in a circle around the buffalo dancers at night.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2020
Blackfoot Indians used to roam the hills in the Great Plains of Montana, and depended on the buffalo meat and fur for survival.
Buffalo can weigh a tom and grow to six feet tall. Because they weren't easy to hunt, they created traps called piskuns to corral them into going off a cliff. Boulders and brush were lined up in a V at the edge of a cliff. Hunters would then jump out from behind at the buffalo, and surprise them into stampeding off the cliff into the trap below.
Before and after each hunt, certain men of the tribe were chosen to perform the ritualistic buffalo dance. It was a ceremony to thank the buffalo for sacrificing themselves so the Blackfoot can survive. It also showed them respect.
I was shocked when she suddenly said she promised to marry one of them if they jumped from the cliff.
It was very surprising the buffalo stomped her dad to death; I'm glad that was fixed, because I couldn't believe he stayed there when his daughter warned him away.
I expected her to turn into a buffalo, once she was going to marry the buffalo chief, the biggest and strongest buffalo. So I was surprised when she didn't and also when he said if she made her dad come back to life, he would let them both go.
She covered the area where her dad had been stomped into the ground, had the magpie, a magical bird, find a piece of him which turned out to be his backbone--pretty gruesome--and placed her robe around it. She sang a song to the Great Spirit and her dad came back to life.
The buffalo chief was blown away by it. She offered him her robe out to gratitude, and he was so touched he taught them their dance. I thought it was just a way to respect them after they kill the buffalo, but he said once they dance and sing they will come back to life like her dad did. The buffalo learned the dance from the wind.
It was cool how the chief told them to have their men dress like the buffalo for the dance; to wear a bull's head and buffalo-skin robe. When the buffalo see them dressed like that, and hear them sing, they will willingly die; and know that the ceremony will bring them back to life.
Once they went back to their village, the chiefs held a council, and decided that young men would perform the sacred buffalo dance and sing the sacred song. So that's how it came to be that they danced before and after they killed buffalo.
I love that her legend passed down from generations of elders in the Blackfoot tribe.
I loved the illustrations in here; especially on the title page with the circle of buffalo dancers. And the little illustrations on the bottom of the introduction page.
Buffalo can weigh a tom and grow to six feet tall. Because they weren't easy to hunt, they created traps called piskuns to corral them into going off a cliff. Boulders and brush were lined up in a V at the edge of a cliff. Hunters would then jump out from behind at the buffalo, and surprise them into stampeding off the cliff into the trap below.
Before and after each hunt, certain men of the tribe were chosen to perform the ritualistic buffalo dance. It was a ceremony to thank the buffalo for sacrificing themselves so the Blackfoot can survive. It also showed them respect.
I was shocked when she suddenly said she promised to marry one of them if they jumped from the cliff.
It was very surprising the buffalo stomped her dad to death; I'm glad that was fixed, because I couldn't believe he stayed there when his daughter warned him away.
I expected her to turn into a buffalo, once she was going to marry the buffalo chief, the biggest and strongest buffalo. So I was surprised when she didn't and also when he said if she made her dad come back to life, he would let them both go.
She covered the area where her dad had been stomped into the ground, had the magpie, a magical bird, find a piece of him which turned out to be his backbone--pretty gruesome--and placed her robe around it. She sang a song to the Great Spirit and her dad came back to life.
The buffalo chief was blown away by it. She offered him her robe out to gratitude, and he was so touched he taught them their dance. I thought it was just a way to respect them after they kill the buffalo, but he said once they dance and sing they will come back to life like her dad did. The buffalo learned the dance from the wind.
It was cool how the chief told them to have their men dress like the buffalo for the dance; to wear a bull's head and buffalo-skin robe. When the buffalo see them dressed like that, and hear them sing, they will willingly die; and know that the ceremony will bring them back to life.
Once they went back to their village, the chiefs held a council, and decided that young men would perform the sacred buffalo dance and sing the sacred song. So that's how it came to be that they danced before and after they killed buffalo.
I love that her legend passed down from generations of elders in the Blackfoot tribe.
I loved the illustrations in here; especially on the title page with the circle of buffalo dancers. And the little illustrations on the bottom of the introduction page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2024
With winter approaching and little food stored away due to a season of unsuccessful buffalo hunts, the Blackfoot are in serious trouble in this picture retelling of a traditional tale. A young woman of the tribe, up early one morning to fetch water, sees the buffalo herd just near the piskun (buffalo jump) her people had created, and determined to help, offers to marry one of the buffalo and stay with him if some of them will jump to their death, thereby providing food for the Blackfoot. When the buffalo agree, and the girl must honor her word and marry their chief, her father cannot accept this state of affairs, and follows after her, only to be slain in turn. Taking pity on the girl, the buffalo chief gives the girl the opportunity to win her freedom, if she can bring her father back to life. Her ability to do this, thereby demonstrating strong medicine, lead to a happy ending for her and her father, and to the introduction of the buffalo dance amongst her people. This sacred ceremony gives thanks to the buffalo that are soon to die, and assures them that they too will live again...
Buffalo Dance: A Blackfoot Legend is the third picture book folktale retelling I have read from author Nancy Van Laan and illustrator Beatriz Vidal, following upon The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina and Rainbow Crow . Apparently they also have a fourth, The Legend of El Dorado , which I have yet to track down. In any case, I found this one quite engaging, appreciating both the story and the artwork. The tale itself is fascinating, offering an explanation of how an important custom of the Blackfoot people came to be. The themes of self sacrifice, honoring one's word, having pity on a traditional enemy (as the buffalo chief does with the girl), and understanding the parallel experiences of others (the girl loses her father, just as the buffalo lose their own in the hunt), are all worth considering. The artwork was lovely, and I appreciated the inclusion of traditional Blackfoot decorative motifs and patterns, as well as pictographs. I would have liked to know about the latter, and what Beatriz Vidal's source was for them, but leaving that aside, I thought this was an enjoyable foray into the folk traditions of the Blackfoot people and would recommend it to readers interested in the same, or in folklore and mythology in general.
Buffalo Dance: A Blackfoot Legend is the third picture book folktale retelling I have read from author Nancy Van Laan and illustrator Beatriz Vidal, following upon The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina and Rainbow Crow . Apparently they also have a fourth, The Legend of El Dorado , which I have yet to track down. In any case, I found this one quite engaging, appreciating both the story and the artwork. The tale itself is fascinating, offering an explanation of how an important custom of the Blackfoot people came to be. The themes of self sacrifice, honoring one's word, having pity on a traditional enemy (as the buffalo chief does with the girl), and understanding the parallel experiences of others (the girl loses her father, just as the buffalo lose their own in the hunt), are all worth considering. The artwork was lovely, and I appreciated the inclusion of traditional Blackfoot decorative motifs and patterns, as well as pictographs. I would have liked to know about the latter, and what Beatriz Vidal's source was for them, but leaving that aside, I thought this was an enjoyable foray into the folk traditions of the Blackfoot people and would recommend it to readers interested in the same, or in folklore and mythology in general.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews