Queer Person

by Ralph Hubbard

Relates the experiences of an outcast deaf-mute Indian boy as he grows to adulthood and eventually becomes a great leader.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Disability, Indigenous, Childrens, Juvenile

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came away with a very different take on this book than a previous reviewer. Yes, there are occasional unfortunate word choices according to today's standards of respect for people. HOWEVER. This is not a racist book, and if one is reading it without looking for places to blame as triggers, one can see clearly that the author deeply loved the people he wrote about. He spent his life with them and lived on reservations. His adulthood was dedicated to preserving tribal life and getting pale citizens to know them better and try to build respect for tribal people. Hubbard's words of choice for skin color are absolutely meant in a positive vein rather than derisive. If you want a Newbery book that really was despicably racist, read James Daugherty's Daniel Boone biography of 1939; Hubbard was no Daugherty!

As to the "child sacrifice" as part of the Sun Dance - this is another incident in the book that I saw differently. It was not presented as an official part of the Sun Dance - it was more like a sideline action to allow an enemy's child to expire, and let's abandon it by the food offerings, since we happen to have captured it during this time. Do I pretend to know whether this would have really happened? No. I do know that different nations were quite brutal to each other with raids and counter raids and kidnappings and killings (really, no different from the brutality of other peoples to each other), and so, yeah, this situation could have been a possibility.

The miraculous recovery is rather far-fetched, though it seems some very strange circumstances may allow for it. Myself, I take it as a suspension-of-belief point in a tale that celebrates an individual overcoming profound difficulties and social isolation, inter-relationships between outcasts (whom we come to understand well) and a village, using one's wits to outsmart situations and tests of feats, and the lesson that the least of those among us shouldn't be shunned. (The least being our protagonist, not a race.)

Considering the era of Cowboys-versus-Indians that this book comes from, it is a remarkably sensitive novel. Instead of inciting boys to go out and hunt Red Men, it let them immerse themselves in the world of the Pikuni (or Piegan, one of the Blackfoot tribes), free of white intrusion. They can pack up and move with a village, outwit beaver on a personal hunt, go on a spirit quest, ride with a raiding party - with a woman, even! - fall in love with a Chief's daughter, admire the gumption of enemy warriors as they prove their prowess in their Sun Dance, outsmart vindictive enemies who force you to go through seemingly impossible tests to regain your freedom and try to rescue your chief's child, overcome social ostracizing. . . and much more, all from the Pikuni perspective.

So, yeah, between the life and intentions of the author, the tone of his words, and the content of the book, I stand by this youth novel as a worthy choice to read. - And I enjoyed the story.

[Abigail · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of eight titles to be chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1931 - others include Floating Island , The Dark Star of Itza: The Story of a Pagan Princess , Mountains Are Free and Spice and the Devil's Cave - Ralph Hubbard's Queer Person (if ever there were a likely candidate for that humorous send-up of vintage book titles, Scouts in Bondage and Other Violations of Literary Propriety , this would be it!) follows the story of a little deaf-mute boy who turns up one snowy winter day, out of the blue, in a Pikuni (Peigan Blackfoot Indian) camp in Montana. Believed to be an idiot, and possessed of evil spirits, because of his disabilities, Queer Person, as he is soon named, makes his way from one teepee to another, moving on as he is rejected time after time, until he finally ends up in the ragged lodge of the camp outcast.

Granny (she is given no other name, in the tale) is old and alone, embittered by the loss of her husband and five sons, many years before, and (as the title of the second chapter informs us) loved by no one. Despite her general misanthropy, however, she takes Queer Person in and raises him, eventually coming to believe that he has a great destiny in store, and will become the inheritor of some powerful Medicine. When Chief Big Pipe's young son goes missing, and his lovely daughter Singing Moon is promised to any warrior who can bring him home, Queer Person, whose changing abilities had been kept a secret between himself and Granny this long while, departs on a lone mission to rescue the little boy, finding himself in enemy Crow territory in the process, and undergoing a terrifying trial, through which his true identity is revealed, and his heart's desire won...

I didn't think it was possible to top the offensiveness of titles like The Runaway Papoose (a Newbery Honor Book from 1929), with its condescendingly nonsensical speech patterns, its "fear thoughts" and "laugh things;" or The Great Quest (a Newbery Honor Book from 1922), with its "accidental" slave voyage to Africa, and its blame the victim mentality, but that just goes to show you that things can always be worse! Ralph Hubbard's Queer Person is an interesting case, in some ways, because it does present an engaging story, one in which the outcast makes good, overcoming his disability (a problematic concept, I know, but then, people are always being "cured" of various crippling ailments, in vintage children's fare) and the prejudice of others, to accomplish great things. I enjoy stories like that, and if this were set in some fantasy world, I'd have no problem. Unfortunately, it's set right here, in the USA, and when Hubbard describes the Pikuni children as "copper midgets," I wince. When he describes his hero as "every inch a savage," despite his instinctive recoiling from the murder of children (unlike all his cultural compatriots, obviously), I grit my teeth. But when he goes so far as to insert an inaccurate and offensive depiction of one of the most sacred aspects of native Plains life, one that is - to the best of my knowledge - completely untrue, then I've reached the end of my rope!

Did you know that non-native outsiders have been told not to attend many traditional Sun Dances, by Native American leaders, because they apparently don't know how to show respect for the religious customs of others? I didn't, until I went to investigate Hubbard's depiction of a Crow Sun Dance, which Queer Person interrupts, in his quest to rescue little Sun Pipe. I can't say it surprises me, sadly. What does surprise me, however, is that one of the only other online reviews I could find, of Queer Person (and that done by a librarian, in recent years!), praises Hubbard's clear understanding of "the world view of the Plains Indians," and his "brutal honesty" in depicting the same, but makes absolutely no mention of the historical inaccuracy of having human sacrifice (involving a child) appear in a Sun Dance ceremony! Brutal honesty? More like brutal delusions! This reviewer celebrates the fact that Hubbard was writing before the dreaded rise of political correctness. For my part, I deplore that Hubbard was writing in a period when there was no expectation that authors addressing native themes would take any pains to tell the truth.

As far as I am aware, and I have spent the better part of the last few days, since finishing this book, trying to find evidence to the contrary, the only native people north of the Rio Grande to practice human sacrifice was the Pawnee (although it's possible that the early pre-contact Iroquois did as well). Certainly, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that the Plains Indians (of any stripe) used child sacrifice as part their diverse Sun Dance rituals. That Hubbard includes such a practice, in his story, tells me that he is using the old "Noble Savage/Ignoble Savage" storyline, and my objections have nothing to do with political correctness, and everything to do with a) a belief in telling the truth, and b) a desire to show respect (as far as it is possible, without violating my own core beliefs) for the traditions of others. Bah! I cannot say that this story has no merit, as a story, but the inclusion of this falsehood - and it is a big one! - means that even if everything else about the story were unobjectionable (not the case), I couldn't recommend it. This one is for Newbery completists only! With my sympathies...

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. With exceptions, though: I didn't like Hubbard's descriptions of the "red" "brown" and "copper" "savages," and I also didn't like the depiction of nearly the entire camp as being so superstitious as not to care for a little child. That was all rather demeaning, and a very "white man" viewpoint. However, I did like Granny and her care of the boy, as well as the adoption of these two outsiders by Middle Rider, one of the favored young warriors of the tribe.

Second half of the book, though? Major complaints.

1. We only ever meet one girl in the tribe. Of course our hero is going to fall for her. Boring, but true. Good thing she happens to be beautiful and the chief's daughter and the apple of every young man's eye to make things more interesting.

2. After years of deafness, our hero has a miracle cure. Um, possible, I guess, but I liked him better before he became the tall, handsome, muscular, and invincible warrior. (Here, he was verging on becoming the hero - or at least the cover art! - of one of those paperback romances.)

3. Our hero goes to visit a gathering of the Crow to find his chief's young son and witnesses part of the Sun Dance. And here, all sorts of atrocities are perpetrated by the author. As the biggest offense, we get the idea that a child is going to be sacrificed. This (as a previous reviewer mentioned) has nothing to do with the Crow Sun Dance. Perhaps this occurred in another tribe or nation, but it leads the reader to wonder what else the author has combined. Possibly he picked aspects from a variety of tribe to support his plot, so we cannot guarantee an accurate portrayal of either the Blackfoot or Crow peoples throughout the book!

4. Also, all of the coincidences? ARGH. In particular, the one where our hero learns the truth about his father? Yep, the one he just killed. Oopsy. That was both atrocious and cliche.

So, despite the fact that the book got off to a decent start, and our hero was mostly likable, this is not a title that really needs to be reprinted. It will likely be read by Newbery completists and students of multicultural literature looking for examples of offensive literature.

[Archy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting (though dated) book. Queer Person is a boy who wanders into a Crow Indian camp as a 4 year old. He is named thus because he is deaf. The story follows him growing up into a young man. Along the way, "worms" fall out of his ears and he can hear. He eventually becomes a brave, wise, kind leader of his people.

The language is dated and comes across as racist now. However, Hubbard seems to have true affection for the subjects of his book. Compared to other depictions of Native Americans from the time (see Daniel Boon by Daughtery), this is a more balanced book than most. Now I think it would be difficult to read with kids (and impossible in a public school) because of the language used.

[Lisa Houlihan]

A 1920s children's book about American Indians can only sound wrong to a 2010s adult. Amusingly Dickensian.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Ralph Hubbard, had a thing for "Indians" after seeing Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and visiting the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn as a child. As an adult he moved to North Dakota and spent his life promoting "Indian tribal culture". As a white man writing about Native Americans in 1930, he exhibits some of the racist attitudes of his time, but his writing leaves no doubt that he admired them greatly. His story is of a deaf-mute Pikuni/Piikani/Peigan orphan boy who is adopted by an old woman one winter when he is about 4 yrs old. He is called Queer Person because of his disability -he communicates in sign language - and is the least person in his tribe. As he grows to adulthood, he passes all the milestones of his people except for joining a war band. Some readers have remarked that the book is slow paced, and it is, but intentionally so in order for the reader to actually feel the passage of time. Everything happens apace as it were. I found the story pleasantly enjoyable and respectful of the First Peoples - I would own a copy if it were possible to get one. I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1931).

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a part of my quest to read all the Newbery Award and Newbery Honor books. This book was one of the Newbery Honor winners in 1931. To be honest, I found the book to be a bit confusing at times and it took me a while to get into it. I never really did find a place where I related to any of the characters. I will say that I don't necessarily agree with some of the other reviews stating that it is a "racist" and "offensive" book. The text does exhibit some of the prejudices of the time it was written, but I would not say that the book goes out of its way to be hateful or disrespectful toward Native Americans.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's book with a Native American story arc written in 1930 by a white man has all the issues you think it would. And yet I couldn't help but get sucked into the story and fall in love with the characters, despite feeling uncomfortable with Hubbard's tropes. I'm glad I read it as part of my challenge to read through all of the Newbery Honor Books, but I'm afraid I can't really recommend it. Just go read some Louise Erdrich instead.

[Desiree']

1931 Newbery honor book

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queer Person is actually a fun and exciting book, though at times it's pretty slow. Queer Person was so-named because everyone thought he was stupid, but old Granny knew he wasn't. He was deaf and dumb, and in a tribe of Pikuni Indians (A Blackfoot tribe) this was considered by most either idiocy or some sort of curse, so he wasn't treated very well. He did have a few very good friends among the leaders of the tribe as well as a couple close to his own age. Queer Person (and Singing Moon as well actually) goes on a quest to prove that he has good medicine and to provide help to the tribe.

I have been debating about whether to give this book 3 stars or 4 stars. The book was quite exciting when it wasn't slow, and the ending wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, but I have to admit that although I had guessed a little bit of it, I was quite taken by surprise in the revelation the young chief gave to Queer Person on their ride back to the Pikuni. How sad. Anyways, the slowness that came into the reading every now and then, as well as the ending, led me to 3 stars instead of 4.

I must mention that this book could be taken as very racist. I believe that it is not, though prevailing opinions are prevalent if you look for them. "It must be noted that Queer Person was very much a savage" which meant very clearly in the test that since he was raised among the American Indians then he was used to seeing death dealt out so readily that it was part of his life. However, the author also tries to clear these people of common stereotypes he thought they had, like when he mentions that contrary to popular belief, Indians can be as fully emotional as those from any race, but that they just hide it better sometimes. Anyway, it is clear from reading the book that the author had great respect for these people, and though he lacked some understanding, he did seem to understand their way of life pretty well.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A four-year-old boy who cannot speak or talk wanders into a Pukuni tribe, going from tepee to tepee before he winds up with an old woman called Granny. Granny keeps saying she will turn him out, but she keeps him. Granny gets an arrow out of Middle Rider's hip, and the tribe hunts lots of meat. Granny and Queer Person survive a snowstorm inside a buffalo carcass. Queer Person grows up in the tribe, and Big Pipe, the chief, gives him his knife. Queer Person and Granny befriend another woman and her son who fell in a fire, now called Twisted Person. Queer Person has a hallucination of a sandhill crane talking to him. Singing Moon rides a buffalo, and Big Pipe and Goes-before have a son, Sun Pipe. Queer Person goes off by himself and gets a bad headache. Stuff comes out of his ears, and he is able to hear. Middle Rider dies in battle. Crane Talk convinces Singing Moon to avenge Middle RIder's death, and she defeats her enemy and takes his horse. Sun Pipe goes missing. Big Pipe says whoever finds Sun Pipe can marry Singing Moon. Queer Person reveals to Singing Moon that he can hear and talk. Queer Person goes to search for Sun Pipe in an enemy camp. He finds Sun Pipe, but gets captured. He survives a trial and kills an old chief to gain freedom, and later a man tells Queer Person who he is and where he came from, and also that the old chief he killed was his father. Queer Person returns to the Pikuni with Sun Pipe, and he and Singing Moon get married.

This was another book where I enjoyed the first half and found it interesting, but the last hundred pages I felt dragged on.

[Monica Fastenau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-r...

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another dominant culture attempt to write about minorities with all the misunderstandings and usurpations about life, culture, religion, etc. And at a time when 'indians' were persons non-gratis.

The story is itself is troubled and bails out with a miracle cure half way through to keep moving the story forward. Lots of better stuff out there.

[Scott Williams]

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