Keeper of the Female Medicine Bundle: Biography of Wihopa

by Allen C. Ross-Ehanamani

June 1999 Wiconi Waste' trade paperback, Allen Ross, Wihopa, Agnes Ross. The life and work of medicine woman Wihopa.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Indigenous

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

Reviews

[Madeline Puckett]

A few days ago I was wandering the small town of Mullumbimby, off the east coast of Australia. Passing a co-op, I couldn't resist browsing the shelves of its free library. That's where I came across a copy of this book. Keeper of the Female Medicine Bundle is the biography of Wihopa, a Native American woman of the D/Lakota tribe.
The book is in several parts: an interview of Wihopa, an analysis of her astrological chart, and a conclusion written by her son, Allen Ross, about his mother's role in the feminist liberation movement through her life's deeds.
Wihopa tells us of her education, how time and time again she had to "prove herself" as a student and a teacher because she was a Native American woman.

She recounts the history of her family. There is an excerpt about the Minnesota War, which resulted in the largest mass hanging in United States history: "Thirty-eight Santee men were hung on December 26, 1862 in a mass hanging at Mankato, Minnesota." Close to 2,000 Santees were held prisoners at Fort Snelling, "and 300 died at Fort Snelling that winter from the cold and sickness."

She tells us the story of Little Crow's remains. Little Crow was the Chief of the Mdewakanton Santee during the war in Minnesota. After he was killed in 1863, his body was put on display in the Minnesota State Capital, St. Paul. His ancestors had to fight the Minnesota Historical Society to get his remains returned. Finally, after planning to expose the MN Historical Society in a documentary about Little Crow, they released his remains to the family.
Little Crow was finally buried in 1972, 109 years after his death.

I was in a state of shock as I read this book. For the first time in my life, I was learning this history of the state in which I was born and raised by stumbling upon a book halfway across the world. I had never heard of this war, these executions, or much at all about the Native American people who had lived in what became Minnesota.

In part of the interview Wihopa recounts her trip to Europe in 1938 with a Christian delegation, and her experience traveling in Germany amidst the Nazis. At a station in Hamburg, a German officer tore up her tickets to leave the country. Wihopa recounts that two Norwegian girls helped her in that horrifying moment:

Just down the hallway was the American Consulate; they told them what happened to me. As I stood there, it was no time at all that a man from the American Consulate came down the street and made that man pick up the pieces and make new tickets for me. You know why they did that? Because he thought I was Jewish. That was just the time that they were gathering all the Jews. I must have been mistaken as one of them; so these girls saved my life.

It was haunting to read that she came so close to being interned in a concentration camp as a Native American woman visiting Europe.

Wihopa worked all her life to share her gifts with others. She was an educator and a mother, a figure who had so many achievements, both as a woman and a Native American.

The reason I couldn't rate this book is because its content is so vital, but the outlay of the interview is disjointed and difficult to follow at times. The section about astrological charts veers from the historical content and may only be interesting to those who study or follow astrology.

In the conclusion, Allen Ross explains the Matriarchal structure and customs of Native American society, and how the white settlers disrupted and destroyed its harmonious existence.

According to Rayna Green, author of Women in American Indian Society, information about American Indian women was first documented by the European white male chauvinist, who possessed religious bigotry. Therefore, a clear picture of early American Indian women did not emerge. The truth is that upon the arrival of the European, native women enjoyed suffrage, sexual liberation, social status of matriarchy, and economic independence (since they did the work, they owned the produce/products).

I think this is a book that is vital to Minnesotan history, and excerpts should be included in any Minnesota history taught (especially to elementary and middle school students). I am still reeling from the fact that I never learned anything about the foundation of the place in which I was raised. I recall a school field trip to Fort Snelling, when I was in elementary school. I don't recall learning anything about the Santee who were kept as prisoners and died of neglect there.

We must learn and acknowledge this history to have insight into why the world exists as it does today. I am so glad this book exists. Wihopa's life is a truly heroic one.

Mitakuye Oyasin. We are all related.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wihopa is one of the names that Agnes Ross, the author's mother, goes by. The first half of this book tells of her life growing up in the early 1900s in Flandreau, South Dakota. She was a member of the Mdewakontan (Santee Sioux) tribe. They were speakers of the Dakota language rather than the Lakota language spoken by several other Sioux Tribes. She was born in 1910. Her family felt it was important for her to be educated and she went to several schools before becoming a teacher. Most of the book is a transcription of an interview with Wihopa when she was in her 90s. She goes into detail about her life on the reservation. She also became the keeper of the Female Medicine Bundle due to being the eldest daughter of the former keeper. Unfortunately, the book doesn't explain much about what that means or how it affected Agnes's life.
The second half of the book deals with feminism and the traditional role of women in the Sioux tribes. It also talks about matriarchy and then slips into astrology.

[Katie Frooman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing, its basically a transcript of an interview. I learned so much. This should be required reading for young people learning about how the US Government has treated indigenous people.

[Sarah Alawami · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an OK book. I think the interview could have been a bit longer. I wanted to know a lot more about culture, the sun dance, etc.

[Dona · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother gave this to me a couple of years ago after he returned from vacation. He'd visited the Crazy Horse Monument and purchased this at a gift shop nearby. All in all, the book was pretty interesting. The first half of the book is an intriguing interview with Wihopa (aka Pretty Woman or Agnes Ross), an 88 year old member of the Spirit Water Dweller tribe, one of the seven tribes of the Sioux. Wihopa achieved many firsts as a Native American woman. She was one of the first American Indian women to graduate from college. She was the first Dakota woman to receive South Dakota teacher of the year. She was the first Educational Specialist to supervise the Kindergarten teachers reservation-wide on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The list goes on and is documented in the book. Now, the second part of the book? It delves into astrology and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. The book was written by Wihopa's son, who believes in Edgar Cayce and astrology. He has included her chart--accompanied by commentary from husband and sons as to whether the characteristics outlined ring true. Almost all of the comments are positive, which is a welcome change from all of the my-childhood-fucked-me-up memoirs currently on the shelves today. The last part of the book is about how the world is changing--how feminine energy is becoming stronger, helping to balance the world.

[Louann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, REALLY enjoyed the interview with Wihopa and sharing in her memories. I did not like the astrological look at her life. To me, it would have been a lot more meaningful to interview more people that knew her and capture their memories. Also to have more information on her tribe, old beliefs, those that she held dear and those that are still around today. Maybe I need to read more of Dr. Ross' books to get the information I felt was lacking in this one.......

[Dale Stonehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing in comparison to the author's other works, but still an important story of life before media bombardment. Those interested in the history of conflict between Indians and whites may like this.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective of a Lakota Sioux Indian women who lived a full life and saw many interesting things during her lifetime. Very relaxed interview style in this book.