Voice of the Turtle: American Indian Literature, 1900-1970

by Paula Gunn Allen

Gathers Native American writings

Genres: Native American, Short Stories, Indigenous, Nonfiction, Race, Literature

321 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Paula Gunn Allen was a Native American poet, literary critic, lesbian activist, and novelist.

Born Paula Marie Francis in Albuquerque, Allen grew up in Cubero, New Mexico, a Spanish-Mexican land grant village bordering the Laguna Pueblo reservation. Of mixed Laguna, Sioux, Scottish, and Lebanese-American descent, Allen always identified most closely with the people among whom she spent her childhood and upbringing.

Having obtained a BA and MFA from the University of Oregon, Allen gained her PhD at the University of New Mexico, where she taught and where she began her research into various tribal religions.

Reviews

[Kevin Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always a fan of books that challenge misguided perception of others or long-standing misconceptions of history perpetuated by the ruling society.
Voice of the Turtle is a pleasant break from the monotony of a white, European narrative and point of view. The book is a well curated collection of short stories written from the Native American consciousness. Readers from a European mindset should relax their ingrained cultural concepts and open themselves to accepting what is written as the reality in order to get the most from the stories. These are stories written from the deep well of beliefs held by a non-European culture and presents a window through which to broaden one’s understanding of humanity and realize one’s culture’s position amongst other cultures.
Written from the perspective of a government agent overseeing Native Americans on a reservation, ‘Snowfall’ is a story that reveals how a Native American understands how white, European culture perceives the Native Americans. It’s a good transition perspective for the Euro-centric reader to begin to lower their cultural perceptions and accept others.
‘Feast Day’, ‘School Off the Reservation’, and ‘The Angry Truck’ are other favorite stories from this collection.

[Ronald Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of a two-volume collection of works by Native American authors, which editor Paula Gunn Allen refers to as the "reservation" era in Native American thought. Though this era began with the arrival of white men in America, published materials from this period are not available until around he beginning of the 20th century.

The primary theme of this period is the noble attempt by a people to stay true to their teachings as their culture is systematically dismantled by religious and government policy, and haphazardly attacked by individual invaders. There is scant reference to the gruesome actions or the politics and policies of the time, but instead the focus is on individuals struggling to survive both physically and emotionally as the world they knew changed drastically.

The most poignant stories in this collection address the impossible dilemma imposed on these individuals - that they would not be accepted as legitimate members of American society unless they gave up their old ways, but even if they did that they could only be, at best, recognized as second-class citizens. This is most evident in the stories regarding the children hauled off to boarding schools who later returned to find themselves alienated from their own homes and people, and thereby left with nothing.

I read the more hopeful second volume, Song of the Turtle, first and would recommend that they be read in the proper order. The second volume is a good antidote to the first.

[Marilyn Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 3-4 stories are excellent, giving a good feel for the people and the culture. A few are hard to understand the point of, or don't even qualify as a story in my opinion.

[Susan Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times, I found this slow reading. I had expected more of the Native folklore, rather than stories of more modern times.

[Flower]

found on my bookshelf