One Bead at a Time

by Beverly Little Thunder

One Bead at a Time is the oral memoir of Beverly Little Thunder, a two-spirit Lakota Elder from Standing Rock, who has lived most of her life in service to Indigenous and non-Indigenous women in vast areas of both the United States and Canada. Transcribed and edited by two-spirit Metis writer Sharron Proulx-Turner, Little Thunder's narrative is told verbatim, her melodious voice and keen sense of humour almost audible overtop of the text on the page. Early in her story, Little Thunder recounts a dream from her early adulthood, "I stared at these lily pads for the longest time and I decided that there was one part of the pond that had lots of lily pads and no frogs. I said, 'I want to go there because there's lots of lily pads but no frogs and I like creating community.'" And create community she does. Little Thunder established the first and today, the only all-women's Sundance in the world, securing a land base in the Green Mountains of Vermont for future generations of Indigenous women's ceremony. She was active in the A.I.M. movement and she continues to practice and promote political and spiritual awareness for Indigenous women around the world. A truly remarkable visionary.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Indigenous, LGBT, Audiobook, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2016

Reviews

[Prairie Fire Review of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

From prairiefire.ca. Review by E.D. Woodford

In a time of truth and reconciliation, One Bead at a Time: A Memoir by Beverly Little Thunder, is a book that should be read. This memoir is an oral account of her life stories that have been transcribed by Sharron Proulx-Turner. Beverly’s story originates with her Indigenous family roots of North Dakota and stories of her grandmother and great grandmother, followed by her own mother. Between attempts to raise chickens, learning Lakota and experiences of poverty, cherished memories connect the collection of stories throughout.

We were very poor, but I didn’t see myself as poor. I thought that everybody lived the way we lived. We never had a matching set of dishes; we had broken, chipped, mismatched plates. My mother used to buy oatmeal in a box where you got a free dish, so we had various dishes from different boxes of oatmeal. We also had jelly jars and pickle jars—my mother liked pickles, so we had lots of pickle jars— which we drank out of. (5)

Beverly’s own parents met in the army. Her mother, a spirited women dropped out of university as Indigenous women at the time were only permitted to be nurses or teachers and she wasn’t a fan of children or blood. Joining the Women’s Army Corps, she met Beverly’s father. The book is a gem of family secrets, some hard and unfathomable, others utterly joyous. However, during the decades of stories we learn of the shadow looming: Beverly’s sense of abandonment and disassociation.

The memoir does not hold back and her humour threads amongst the stories. Two-spirited, Beverly’s first date with a woman, comically, happens during the 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana. Who remembers what they were doing at the time of this royal wedding? How many others were glued to the TV eating toasted tomato tea sandwiches, watching the ceremony with my great-grandmother as I was? Meanwhile, in another part of North America, Beverly is watching the ceremony on TV with her first female date.

“Placing one bead at a time, planting one seed at a time, and taking one step at a time—like the young girl with the star fish—I know I can make a difference in each life I touch: one person at a time,” Beverly reveals (212). The significance of beading in Beverly Little Thunder’s life meaningfully links stories throughout One Bead at a Time: A Memoir. From the Indian Movement to Sundancing, an enormous reward to readers is learning not only about Beverly’s life, but of her accomplishments serving both Indigenous and non-indigenous women in North America in her own words.

[Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Placing one bead at a time, planting one seed at a time, and taking one step at a time... I know I can make a difference in each life I touch: one person at a time.”

A riveting memoir about the inspiring Lakota elder, Beverly Little Thunder.

One Bead at a Time, vividly illustrates the extremely full life of Native American Activist, Beverly Little Thunder. A woman who has endured so much pain and hardship, Beverly doesn’t shy away from sharing all of her story, both the good and the bad.

While a lot of the book’s content is heavy, the material is also extremely enlightening. From dealing with addiction and various forms of abuse, to shedding light on the taboo nature of queerness in Native American communities and the toxic gender dynamics that are prevalent in Indian Country, Beverly shares the many struggles that both she and so many other Native Americans continue to face.

What I Loved:
✨Glimpses into Lakota beliefs and practices.
✨The memoir’s emphasis on the importance of storytelling.
✨How actively Beverly seeks to empower women through her work.
✨ The power of resiliency being so beautifully depicted.

I personally enjoyed listening to Beverly’s story and would highly recommend the audiobook. Not only does Jules Koostachin do a fabulous job at narrating, but there’s something to be said about being able to hear Beverly’s story out loud. One Bead at a Time, was an orally relayed memoir that was ultimately transcribed verbatim. To be able to hear Beverly’s words spoken as they were originally uttered is just so special.

I truly found so much to love about this moving memoir. However, at times I did find the book hard to follow due to the constant jumping back and forth in time. So much happens within the text of this book and Beverly introduces so many important people, that it was oftentimes hard to keep the timeline and names straight. Due to this book also being an orally dictated memoir, the book felt long at certain moments because of some wandering narratives.

Overall, I’m so incredibly grateful to have been able to listen to Beverly’s story. As a Pueblo woman, I found so much of Beverly’s story to resonate with me and the experience of many of my family members. I strongly believe that Beverly’s story is one that everyone would benefit from hearing.

A big thank you to ECW Press Audio and NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook!

[Raychel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an eye-opening memoir that was equal parts beautiful and gut-wrenching. I wanted to read it because I have very little experience with Indigenous American people and even less with the two-spirit identity. I feel that overall I have come out of this with more knowledge and understanding. The introduction is, in my opinion, vital to the understand of this memoir. We are told that this was an oral memoir told by Beverly Little Thunder and then transcribed verbatim by Sharron Proulx-Turner. This is also Sharron Proulx-Turner's last work after a cancer diagnosis. This information changes the way I experienced the book and I think this is likely for others as well.

I think audiobook was the best format of this for me. My only comment is that I wish Beverly Little Thunder could have read it herself, I think that would have created a more intimate experience. That being said, I think the narrator--Jules Koostachin--did a wonderful job and I was very enamored by her storytelling style.

As a trigger warning, there is quite a bit molestation, sexual abuse, and physical abuse mentioned. It is never *super* detailed but it is quite frequent. Additionally, there is some animal death. So..just some things to be aware of.

**I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beverly Little Thunder explores her life in a very thoughtful, reflective way. She examines the happenings of her life and connects themes throughout to tell the story of her experiences. She reflects on the impact trauma has had on her behavior and the behaviors of others, discusses her struggles with following cultural practices that men tried to bar her from, and elaborates on how the experiences she has had with other people impacted her. I enjoyed reading her memoir. I learned more about her cultural traditions and values, and liked getting familiar with her personal philosophy. If you have trauma in your life, approach this book knowing that it may be a difficult read because there is a lot of trauma retold in this memoir.

I also highly recommend reading the audio book. The narrator does a wonderful job.

Content warnings for abuse (sexual, domestic, emotional), misogyny, terminal illness, death of a baby, forced institutionalization and deculturization of Native American people, rape, and other content.

[Annalise · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The most important thing I have learned is that I don't have the right to judge anyone, even the people who violated me," (212).

Beverley Little Thunder's memoir ends on a note of radical compassion and forgiveness, a theme that runs throughout the book and weaves into every story she narrates. I feel honored to have read the words written on these pages and that Beverley was willing to share her pain and wisdom as a 2S Native woman fighting for womyn's empowerment.

TW: SA, domestic abuse, child abuse, misogyny, homophobia

[Deborah]

Loved it. She has been a great teacher to me.
Deep Gratitude.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this is one sitting. Lots of compelling parts of this memoir.

[Mai-lis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8

[Drew Osburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was empowering

[Jude (NovelReader13) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Littlebookterror · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting life but I wanted more reflection. There are so many profound things happening in her life and/or to her yet we never truly linger and examine it further.

[ReadinIt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd title to read. Most notable was that the first ~1/3 was perhaps 2 stars but the latter part once it got into her actual work was 4/5. Lots of very annoying jumping around in the early parts as well. It definitely got better later in the book though.

[Josh Hedgepeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for this audio arc.

This is the oral memoir of a queer two spirit indigenous woman. This book made me uncomfortable. It made me uncomfortable not because it was bad, but because it was different. This look into her life gave a unique view into her culture and the way she see's the world. I felt weird about certain points because I have a different way of approaching certain things in life. However, this book wasn't really for me. This book was her story. It is about her, and for me, it is a window into her life. It's that window that made this book so valuable to me despite it being a bit challenging at times.

[Maggie Chatterton · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Bead at a Time by Beverly Little Thunder is an oral memoir following the life of Beverly Little Thunder. This memoir is powerful, insightful and at times heartbreaking as you see through Beverly Little Thunder's eyes what she had experienced. It is also a gift because this memoir gives you a small look into one part of a world that colonization is trying to destroy.

[Nathan Saylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only giving this 3 stars because the first two chapters go over some extremely traumatic material (child and sexual abuse) that made me want to stop reading a few times. Chapter 3 and on (so far) have been easier to get through and have been insightful to the challenges she's faced being Lakota in the US, and a self-advocating woman among her own.

[Carola · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Bead at a Time, a memoir about Beverly Little Thunder, was the project of Sharron Proulx-Turner, who realized that this woman had made an important contribution to the world, particularly to Native Americans. Proulx-Turner edited 900 pages of text, obtained through extended interviews, into a portrait that makes you feel like you are sitting across the table from Beverly over a cup of coffee.

Beverly is an honest story-teller, not afraid to allow her frailties to show. Her life challenges include an unstable family of origin, childhood sexual abuse, poverty, discrimination based on her status (woman, Native American, lesbian), and abusive relationships. Despite (and likely because of) those challenges, she has dedicated her life to helping others. Recognition of her own failings is central to who Beverly is, and she has turned this into an amazing capacity accept the failings of those around her.

[Liane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and could not put it down. Although, I found it had many typos and should probably have been looked over better before printing. I also found parts confusing because she didn't always follow a timeline and jumped around in time. Considering those downsides, I'd stilll highly recommend this book. Beverly speaks from the heart in a very honest way. I found this story to be very meaningful, sad and beautiful all at once.