Touching the Fire: Buffalo Dancers, the Sky Bundle, and Other Tales

by Roger Welsch

The Turtle Creek band of the fictional Nehawka Indians wages a battle for the return of their sacred Sky Bundle, a medicine pouch containing artifacts. It reposes under glass in an eastern museum at the beginning of Touching the Fire . Seven interlinked stories, beginning with a court battle in the year 2001 and going far back in time to the origin of the Bundle and the first Nehawka village on the Great Plains, reveal the richness and depth of Indian cultural heritage. Touching the Fire is multilayered—sad, humorous, and always informative.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Roger Lee Welsch (November 6, 1936 – September 30, 2022) was an American news reporter who was a senior correspondent on the CBS News Sunday Morning program, and was featured in a segment called "Postcards from Nebraska." An author, humorist and folklorist, Welsch was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the only son of Christian Welsch, who worked in a Goodyear tire factory and Bertha (Flach) Welsch, a homemaker.[1] He lived outside of Dannebrog, Nebraska.

Welsch earned a bachelor's degree in 1958 and a master's degree in 1960, both in German and both at the University of Nebraska. He also studied folklore at the University of Colorado and Indiana University.[1]

Welsch was the 2005 winner of the Henry Fonda Award from the State of Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories drawn from the Nehawka sky bundle, a sacred artifact whose origins are lost to the midst of time. These stories are in the spirits of the planes, Native American nations, and their spiritual items. This is not a factual history but a reimaging by Roger Welsch.
Among the Native people of the northern plains, a common name for the creator is the Great Mysterious. No nouns, just adjectives. That spirit pervades these tales.

[Taylor S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelieveable. I'm scared to write after reading this. Historical, anthropological and creative storytelling!