Mourning Dove: A Salishan Autobiography

by Mourning Dove, Jay Miller (Editor)

Mourning Dove was the pen name of Christine Quintasket, a member of the Colville Federated Tribes of eastern Washington State. She was the author of Cogewea, The Half-Blood (one of the first novels to be published by a Native American woman) and Coyote Stories, both reprinted as Bison Books.

Jay Miller, formerly assistant director and editor at the D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian, Newberry Library, Chicago, now is an independent scholar and writer in Seattle. He is the compiler of Earthmaker: Tribal Stories from Native North America.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Indigenous, Memoir, Native American

267 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Mourning Dove was the pen name of Christine Quintasket also known as Hum-Ishu-Ma.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a Pacific Northwest History course, although it was not a book that I likely would have found on my own, I enjoyed it immensely. Mourning Dove's story is amazing and intriguing. I absolutely loved learning about the culture and traditions of her people, and was saddened by the transitions that took place with the intrusion of white society. I loved learning about how they secretly kept some aspects of their culture and keeping it alive for future generations. A must read, not just for the history but also to know what so many tribes endured and were forced to adapt to.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

p. 3-69, 114-122, 157-187
So good!!
Getting to read about Native American culture and how their lives were impacted by white settlers was especially interesting because it was written by a native american woman.
I compared this text with Tocqueville's portrayal of the decline of Native American power in the eastern US for my paper and it was super interesting to see the differences in their depictions of the Native American attitude towards adopting agricultural practices. Also, the success of mission schools and the difference in roles between native men and women was also super interesting!
I definitely should have done a little background research before starting because it took me a minute to realize the Colville reservation is in washington state and not like the northeast US sldkfj
Overall, highly recommend!!!

[L.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing details of the experience of a Washington Colvile Indian, WRITTEN by her, too! Story of her life experiences and details of American Indian way of life. Very neat insight!

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This strikes me as an excellent Laura Ingalls Wilder alternative for those who want to learn about the ways of life outside the city, subsistence, family ties and traditions, and navigating rapidly a changing economy, without the side of casual racism that LIW serves up. Mourning Dove describes her life growing up as part of the Colville Tribes near the Columbia River at a pivotal historical moment, as white homesteaders and mining claims pushed in to their lands and just before the Grand Coulee Dam flooded the area and prevented the salmon from returning to its ancestral streams, all of which disrupted the seasonal rhythms that people in the area had engaged in for millennia.

[Meredith Links · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my history of women in the American West class. I definitely would not have read this on my own, but it was interesting. The writing wasn't fantastic and I feel like this book only really portrayed what it was like to be a Salish Native American from a child's perspective. None of the event that took place were when she was older. It wasn't the worst read, but I had to read it really fast for class, so it made it a little bit boring since I was rushing it.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't something I would have read just on my own. However, It actually turned out to be quite interesting!

[Sam Portelance]

Not giving as a review as this is a posthumous publishing of disparate journals only lightly touched up to avoid editorializing.

These accounts offer a remarkable perspective of the life, practices, and beliefs of assorted tribes in the northwestern plains in the early 20th century. Mourning Dove wanted to make her people and their practices better understood by the white people dictating their lives and I'm happy this book exists to serve those ends.

[foxfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really compelling and smooth reading, excellently captures the intricacies of Sinixt life at the turn of the 19th century. Absolutely recommend reading this along with Paula Pryce's "Keeping the Lakes' Way."

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, somewhat fictionalized, account of a life lived before and during times of great change. Excellent editorial notes clarify and give welcome context to someone not familiar with Salishan culture.

[Sarah James Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another assigned college book that I loved and have moved and stored and moved and stored for almost 20 years. Minimizing my collection.

[Dakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for class! no strong feelings

[Sabrina Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FAVORITE!!!!!!!!! Mourning Dove was a treasure to the American Indian community. She was one of the first female american indian writers and kept records of all traditional practices that she and her family did when they still lived the old way. Read all of her books.

[Nealey]

It's okay, I'm reading it for N.W. Literature.

[Steve J]

February 1, 1994