Dancing Teepees

by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

A selection of native American poems stemming from the oral tradition incorporates contemporary tribal poetry and poems of the elders--all of which focus on the theme of youth from birth through adolescence

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Art, Animals, Family, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1989

About the author

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve was born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. She was the daughter of an Episcopal priest and a Lakota Sioux mother. Sneve received her B.S. and M.Ed. in 1954 and 1969, respectively, from South Dakota State University. She has taught English in public school of South Dakota, and at the Flandreau Indian School in Flandreau. Her career also includes editor at the Brevet Press in Sioux Fall, S.D. Sneve is a member of the board of directors, Native American consortium, Corporation for Public Broadcasting ; member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe; member of board of directors of United Sioux Tribes Cultural Arts; and Historiographer of the Episcopal Church of South Dakota.

Reviews

[Meltha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetry from this book covers a wide number of tribes as well as some of the anthologist's own work based on poetry she remembers from her childhood. I like the idea of using poetry at the grade school level. The majority of the poems present here are free verse, though some make use of repeated refrains. As with most poetry, reading it aloud is the real breakthrough in being able to understand it. The illustrations have a quality somewhere between childlike and traditional with some examples of patterns found in textiles added in. The one problem I do have is this is a book that places the context of Native Americans predominantly in the past with imagery of teepees, warriors on horses, and hunting buffalo with bow and arrows. While these are certainly historically accurate, it would have been useful to have some modern imagery of current First Nations people as well to show that they are, after all, still here and not just relics from the past. The book would need some further explanation in class. I do wish that there had been some more background information provided. For example, in several instances, the poems are lullabies. Musical notation would have been really useful so that the students could understand what the songs sound like. There is no plot flowing through the book, but the individual poems, which should be read slowly and probably not all at one go (maybe one a day for a while), are good and have clear imagery.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems by Native American Youth, both newly written by them and derived from their cultural heritage, some are songs. The poems are interesting and moving but didn't strike me as profound. I would use this book in during a unit on Native American lives or when teaching poetry. The poems are easy reading and easy to follow.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book with great illustrations. It tells the Native American poems and what tried they are from.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like these verses a lot

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of poems many of which were passed down from the old to the young. Others are from contemporary tribal poets. They all speak of the Indian's reverence for the spoken word. "The Life of a Man is a Circle" by Black Elk says that a man's life is a circle from childhood to childhood. That the teepees are round like birds' nests and are always set in a circle, a nest of many nests where Indian children are hatched. "Coo...Ah...Coo" is a Paiute Cradle Song that song very similar to "Rock-a-Bye." Plenty-Coups, a Crow, wrote a poem entitled "We Chased Butterflies." He says that the young boys' first lesson is to chase butterflies to gain endurance. After they catch one they rub their hearts with its wings asking the butterfly to lend them its grace and swiftness. Another poem by the editor is based on the legend of why the trees lose their leaves. Called "Mother, We Are Cold," flowers are portrayed as children telling their mother that they are cold. Mother asks Grandfather if his grandchildren must perish beneath the winter's snow. Grandfather clothes the trees in beautifully colored leaves which fall as a blanket upon the flower nation covering them until spring.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Haileymurrayrocketmail.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an important book both for what it stands for and what it could be in a classroom. This book is a collection of nursery rhymes, stories, poems, and sayings that Native American adolescents have remembered from the oral culture passed down to them or have created in the likeness of this way of speaking and sharing stories. Having this created by adolescents and written down in a book communicates incredible power and pride in one's heritage. I would love to share this book in the classroom to talk about who even common things like daily life, sayings of our parents, and songs can look and sound differently in different groups of people. This is an authentic way for young students to access a culture that might be foreign to them and to honor those students in our classroom for whom this culture might be their way of understanding the world.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve presents a collection of poems taken from the oral traditions of North American Indians. Told through the voices of young children, these poems reflect traditions, beliefs and values of the tribes represented. These poems begged to be spoken aloud as each word leaps off the page. This text

[Molly Asp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of American Indian poetry is a reflection of native lifestyle, culture, and history. The short poems are easy-to-read, yet somewhat complex in their meanings and significance to the American Indian. The author, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve collected (and contributed) thirteen original and tribal poems. The focus is on childhood experiences for American Indians throughout the years.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 40316 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 4.2 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP