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Waheenee: An Indian Girl's Story
"I was born in an earth lodge by the mouth of the Knife River, in what is now North Dakota, three years after the smallpox winter." So begins the story of Waheenee , a Hidatsa Indian woman, born in 1839 amid a devastated tribe. In 1906 Gilbert L. Wilson first visited the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and began to study the remnants of the Hidatsa tribe. He returned in 1908, sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, and for every summer of the next ten years he worked among the Hidatsas, making notes of all he saw. One of his chief informants was Waheenee-wea, or Buffalo-Bird Woman, who told him this, her life story.
189 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1981
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82 people want to read
About the author
Gilbert Livingstone Wilson
40 books6 followersGilbert Wilson was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1869. He earned a bachelors degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1899 after graduating from Wittenberg College, and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in Moorhead, Minnesota. He then returned to Wittenberg and earned a master’s degree. In 1902, he became a pastor in Mandan, North Dakota. Wilson was excited to live near Native Americans, as he enjoyed studying Indian life and folklore, and aspired to write sympathetic children’s books which accurately depicted Indian life and customs. Wilson married Ada Myers of Springfield in 1909 and had one child, who died suddenly in early adulthood. Later in life, Wilson was both a pastor in Stillwater, Minnesota, as well as a professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Saint Paul, where he also served as pastor.
Wilson’s career as an ethnographer began when he visited the Sioux at Standing Rock Reservation in 1905. Two books came out of this early work; The Iktomi Myth (1906) and Indian Hero Tales (1907). The next year, Gilbert and his brother Frederick would visit the elderly Hidatsa woman, Buffalo-Bird-Woman, at Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. This began in earnest Wilson’s careful documentation of Hidatsa life. In following years, he would include other family members of Buffalo-Bird-Woman in his scholarship, most prominently her brother Henry Wolf Chief and her son Edward Goodbird. Wilson was also adopted into the Prairie Chicken Clan as a son to Buffalo-Bird-Woman and a brother to Edward in 1909.
Among the many published works (some posthumously) that came out of this relationship, were the ethnographic works; Agriculture of the Hidatsa: An Indian Interpretation (1917), The Horse and Dog in Hidatsa Culture (1924), Hidatsa Eagle Trapping (1929), The Hidatsa Earthlodge (1934) and the children’s books; Myths of the Red Children (1907) and Indian Hero Tales (1916). He also published Buffalo-Bird-Woman’s and Goodbird’s autobiography in Waheene: an Indian Girl’s Story, Told by Herself and Goodbird, the Indian.
Early in Wilson’s work at Fort Berthold, he generated great controversy when he bought the Waterbuster clan medicine bundle from Wolf Chief, who converted to Christianity and was wary of shouldering the responsibility of bundle ownership. Wilson then sold the bundle to a wealthy New York collector, which angered many Hidatsa, especially those from the Waterbuster clan, as well as the curator of the State Historical Society of North Dakota who tried to bar Wilson from the reservation. However, Wilson’s adopted family supported him and allowed him to continue his research.
As a student of Alfred Jenks, Wilson became a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Minnesota in 1910. He received his degree in 1916 with his dissertation, Agriculture of the Hidatsa: An Indian Interpretation. This work is a classic of northern Plains ethnography, and is still used by scholars today to gain insights into traditional Hidatsa farming practices.
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_...
Wilson’s career as an ethnographer began when he visited the Sioux at Standing Rock Reservation in 1905. Two books came out of this early work; The Iktomi Myth (1906) and Indian Hero Tales (1907). The next year, Gilbert and his brother Frederick would visit the elderly Hidatsa woman, Buffalo-Bird-Woman, at Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. This began in earnest Wilson’s careful documentation of Hidatsa life. In following years, he would include other family members of Buffalo-Bird-Woman in his scholarship, most prominently her brother Henry Wolf Chief and her son Edward Goodbird. Wilson was also adopted into the Prairie Chicken Clan as a son to Buffalo-Bird-Woman and a brother to Edward in 1909.
Among the many published works (some posthumously) that came out of this relationship, were the ethnographic works; Agriculture of the Hidatsa: An Indian Interpretation (1917), The Horse and Dog in Hidatsa Culture (1924), Hidatsa Eagle Trapping (1929), The Hidatsa Earthlodge (1934) and the children’s books; Myths of the Red Children (1907) and Indian Hero Tales (1916). He also published Buffalo-Bird-Woman’s and Goodbird’s autobiography in Waheene: an Indian Girl’s Story, Told by Herself and Goodbird, the Indian.
Early in Wilson’s work at Fort Berthold, he generated great controversy when he bought the Waterbuster clan medicine bundle from Wolf Chief, who converted to Christianity and was wary of shouldering the responsibility of bundle ownership. Wilson then sold the bundle to a wealthy New York collector, which angered many Hidatsa, especially those from the Waterbuster clan, as well as the curator of the State Historical Society of North Dakota who tried to bar Wilson from the reservation. However, Wilson’s adopted family supported him and allowed him to continue his research.
As a student of Alfred Jenks, Wilson became a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of Minnesota in 1910. He received his degree in 1916 with his dissertation, Agriculture of the Hidatsa: An Indian Interpretation. This work is a classic of northern Plains ethnography, and is still used by scholars today to gain insights into traditional Hidatsa farming practices.
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 2, 2016
I was very depressed after reading this book. The display of nature's beauty and wonder nudged to the fact that in this day and age the earth has become deformed. The appreciation of it's magnificence has been lost, just as Waheenee's spiritual way of life has been scraped off the face of the earth.
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December 19, 2025Today i finished reading Waheenee: An Indian Girl's Story, as told to Gilbert Livingstone Wilson, from the woman herself, Waheenee.
She was born in 1839, to a Hidatsa woman in what is now North Dakota. The tribe had been decimated three years earlier, by smallpox. Her own mother survived that but died not long after Waheenee was born. Her father married, as was tradition, all of her mother's sisters, so she had several mothers. Additionally, it appears that her grandmother, Turtle, did much of the childcare.
The benefit of this is that Waheenee was able to relate traditions from long before she was born, thanks to what Turtle shared. In 1906 Wilson began recording stories from the remnants of the tribe, with Waheenee and her phenomenal memory, being "stars", so to speak.
She shared myths from her tribe, as well as others, which was neat because she also talked about the reactions her tribe had to some of the myths. While she shared about buffalo hunts and the participation of women in the months on the trial for the hunt, she also shared about their home life.
Corn was their main grown product and, as an adult, Waheenee was instrumental in urging other tribal women to increase their crop, as the hunting was getting poorer each year. Some years this made the difference for many of the families.
The book is now well used for anthropological studies, as she was clear on many points. Additionally, she also told about how things were done--setting up teepees, making their round buffalo-hide boats, cooking items and festivals.
It's a small book, purchased when we were on the land where the tribe resided during Waheenee was active, in North Dakota. It was miles from anything, so peaceful, as she remembered it. The drawings throughout the book, which illustrated items and actions in the text, were from Frederick N Wilson. Well done, if not a wee bit too small for the trade paperback.
She was born in 1839, to a Hidatsa woman in what is now North Dakota. The tribe had been decimated three years earlier, by smallpox. Her own mother survived that but died not long after Waheenee was born. Her father married, as was tradition, all of her mother's sisters, so she had several mothers. Additionally, it appears that her grandmother, Turtle, did much of the childcare.
The benefit of this is that Waheenee was able to relate traditions from long before she was born, thanks to what Turtle shared. In 1906 Wilson began recording stories from the remnants of the tribe, with Waheenee and her phenomenal memory, being "stars", so to speak.
She shared myths from her tribe, as well as others, which was neat because she also talked about the reactions her tribe had to some of the myths. While she shared about buffalo hunts and the participation of women in the months on the trial for the hunt, she also shared about their home life.
Corn was their main grown product and, as an adult, Waheenee was instrumental in urging other tribal women to increase their crop, as the hunting was getting poorer each year. Some years this made the difference for many of the families.
The book is now well used for anthropological studies, as she was clear on many points. Additionally, she also told about how things were done--setting up teepees, making their round buffalo-hide boats, cooking items and festivals.
It's a small book, purchased when we were on the land where the tribe resided during Waheenee was active, in North Dakota. It was miles from anything, so peaceful, as she remembered it. The drawings throughout the book, which illustrated items and actions in the text, were from Frederick N Wilson. Well done, if not a wee bit too small for the trade paperback.
May 15, 2022
This was just a fascinating book. It is deemed culturally significant, being in the words that were spoken to Gilbert Livingstone Wilson in the early 1900s, by a Hidatsa woman, Waheenee (Buffalo-Bird Woman). It is entirely from her perspective, and I was pleased to find that there are no ignorant moralizations from the outside, as is often the case with describing how the peoples of the Americas lived prior to the Europeans' arrival.
She recounts her life along the Missouri with her Hidatsa family and tribe from her early girlhood until the time she became a mother. The book includes drawings done by the curator's brother, from his observations, and the descriptions of Waheenee, as told to Wilson.
There is an incredibly moving afterword from her, as she is an old woman and reflecting back over her lifetime and the great upheavals that occurred during her lifetime. I read this book aloud to my housemate, as we shared coffee in the mornings that allowed us time to spend a few minutes traveling back in time to hear this woman's words. We were both saddened to get to the end of her reminiscences.
She recounts her life along the Missouri with her Hidatsa family and tribe from her early girlhood until the time she became a mother. The book includes drawings done by the curator's brother, from his observations, and the descriptions of Waheenee, as told to Wilson.
There is an incredibly moving afterword from her, as she is an old woman and reflecting back over her lifetime and the great upheavals that occurred during her lifetime. I read this book aloud to my housemate, as we shared coffee in the mornings that allowed us time to spend a few minutes traveling back in time to hear this woman's words. We were both saddened to get to the end of her reminiscences.
September 6, 2019
This book was both informative and interesting. Although I've seen this placed in many different genres, I would clarify it as a memoir. The story was told from the perspective of a Hidatsa woman born in the 1800s. It was split up into chapters with each being a different component of her life. Some examples of these were how her family moves during different seasons, how stories are passed down, and family rituals. The chapters are short and relatively easy to read with pictures that help one understand what things looked like during that time. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone that wants to learn about the day to day life of the Hidatsa. Because it is told from the perspective of a Hidatsa woman it lets the reader understand their culture and daily life happenings. Lastly, if you live in North Dakota or plan to it references places in the state as well as teaches you the history behind some of the land.
December 2, 2021
In the Editor’s Note at the end of Waheenee Wilson disclosed that his ‘…aim has been not to give a biography but a series of stories illustrating the philosophy, the Indian thinking of her life.’ To his credit he accomplished this utilizing a direct, spare prose in which the voice of this member of the Hidatsa nation which lived near the Missouri River in the modern day state of North Dakota came through in an engaging and informative way.
Many aspects of the lives of these people were portrayed in the slightly less than 200 pages of text in this book. These included their daily activities and their relationships in an extended family and a small community, including how they farmed; their cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices such as their child rearing and their weddings; and their training of and reliance on dogs. The matrilineal nature of their society, the different roles played by the women and men, and kinship were explained via many examples. Three chapters on a buffalo hunt were particularly interesting to me. Illustrations by the author’s brother Frederick and old stories of the Hidatsa way of life underscored the points being made and enhanced the book’s worth.
In addition the the editor’s note there is a one page glossary of Indian terms, four pages of explanatory notes, and a four page supplement showing readers how to do various things in Hidatsa daily life. There is also a one page summary on Indian cooking.
All in all this is an excellent, relatively quick read for anyone interested in the Native American way of life in the Northern Plains from the 1850’s until the 1870’s. My only criticism is that the book was not longer. Wilson skipped from Waheenee being a young mother to her being ‘an old woman’ living with her adult son and daughter-in-law. Surely many more interesting things happened in her life between those two periods of time?!?
There is also a book about Waheenee’s son which I intend to read. One cannot recommend an author more highly than that!
Many aspects of the lives of these people were portrayed in the slightly less than 200 pages of text in this book. These included their daily activities and their relationships in an extended family and a small community, including how they farmed; their cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices such as their child rearing and their weddings; and their training of and reliance on dogs. The matrilineal nature of their society, the different roles played by the women and men, and kinship were explained via many examples. Three chapters on a buffalo hunt were particularly interesting to me. Illustrations by the author’s brother Frederick and old stories of the Hidatsa way of life underscored the points being made and enhanced the book’s worth.
In addition the the editor’s note there is a one page glossary of Indian terms, four pages of explanatory notes, and a four page supplement showing readers how to do various things in Hidatsa daily life. There is also a one page summary on Indian cooking.
All in all this is an excellent, relatively quick read for anyone interested in the Native American way of life in the Northern Plains from the 1850’s until the 1870’s. My only criticism is that the book was not longer. Wilson skipped from Waheenee being a young mother to her being ‘an old woman’ living with her adult son and daughter-in-law. Surely many more interesting things happened in her life between those two periods of time?!?
There is also a book about Waheenee’s son which I intend to read. One cannot recommend an author more highly than that!
August 3, 2017
This is a young readers' narrative non-fiction book about a Hidatsa girl's childhood. I enjoyed the book much more than I expected. I say that because I knew there would be very little action to propel the story; after all, this is not a story filled with mystery or fierce battles. While I thought the book might seem dull without a lot of action, I was wrong. I found that her story and childhood was captivating enough to move the story forward. It was educational, funny, heartwarming, and eye opening. It was a beautiful and tragic story told by a woman who had lived the traditional Native American life only to see it taken away from her. This is a great book and well worth the read.
November 12, 2021
Stayed up a little later to finish this little gem. I was excited to read a casual book about a girl but instead found a wealth of knowledge about the Hidatsa people in the 1850s. Not to mention a pocket full of survival notes for the Northern Plains. Things I learned include how extensively plains tribes used dog, how to cut wood without an ax, and how the Hidatsa sang to their corn fields like mothers sing to children. This book gave a look into pre-European life, but also a look into white perspectives of Native people during the 1920s. It’s a great primary source!
September 28, 2017
Such a good and simple autobiography. Perfect for *almost* any age. I'm a sucker for Native American and otherwise-cultural personal histories of ancient peoples. It's very intriguing to me for some reason. This was simply put but beautifully descriptive of Waheenee's growing up and traditions. The final chapter almost got me in tears because of the culture being lost. Times must change, and I get that, but don't you sometimes want a time-machine?
October 14, 2017
I picked this up at the store at Mount Rushmore over 20 years ago. It remains one of my favorite books.
May 16, 2018
A really fascinating look into Hidatsa life before the reservation.
February 23, 2019
I found this book interesting and factual. Easy to read and understand - I would have liked to know more about Waheenee's personal feelings and experiences. But nonetheless an enjoyable read.
April 14, 2019
Read for a class. Easy read and you learn a lot!
June 5, 2023
A first person account of a Native American woman’s childhood and young adult years, quite a treasure.
August 21, 2011
What a delightful book, first published in 1927. Told from the perspective of an old Hidatsa woman born in 1829, sharing memories of her tribal life. Discovered the book, at a National Park and later ordered it through interlibrary loan. Would enjoy reading it again someday. Gave the feeling of living a very different life than my own, similar to the feeling when reading Laura Ingals Wilder series. Waheenee would have been 38 years old when Laura was born.
January 6, 2008
I learned how to cook puppies.
June 7, 2013
Really liked. I did a project involving the Hidatsa in school.
January 25, 2022
What struck me when I first read this book, was how much her life resembled my own. She describes a 'tamer' life than fits the oft repeated stereotypes.
January 3, 2018
This is a terrific book that give amazing insight into Hidatsa Indian culture. It details life on the edge of the Missouri river for the Hidatsa and Mandan. Had the privilege of visiting the sights in ND detailed in this book - amazing history and beautiful details of a culture that are now extinct and a time in history that is gone. This book is a treasure.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews