Anpao: A Newbery Honor Award Winner – A Timeless Native American Legend About Proving Worthiness for Children

by Jamake Highwater, Fritz Scholder (Illustrator)

Anpao is young and Handsome and Brave -- a man any maiden would be proud to call her husband. Any maiden but Ko-Ko-Mik-e-is, that is, who claims she belongs to the Sun alone. And so Anpao sets off for the house of the Sun to ask permission to marry the woman he loves. But Anpao's journey is not an easy one. Before he can reach the Sun, Anapao must travel back in time to the dawn of the world. He must relive his own creation, venture through The World Beneath the World, and battle the many magical mystical creatures of Native American legends. For only by doing so can Anpao discover who he really is, and prove to the Sun why he alone is worthy of the fair Ko-komik-e-is

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Native American, Childrens, Mythology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Jamake Highwater, born as Jackie Marks, and also known as Jay or J Marks (14 February 1931–June 3, 2001), was an American writer and journalist of eastern European Jewish ancestry.[1] From the late 1960s he claimed to be of Native American ancestry, specifically Cherokee. In that period, he published extensively under the name of Jamake Highwater. One version of his shifting story was that he had been adopted as a child and taken from his Indian home in Montana to grow up in a Greek or Armenian family in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

To tell the truth, the only reason I even considered reading Jamake Highwater's 1977 Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey is because it was awarded a Newbery Honour designation in 1978 (as the book title's choice of wording feels more than a trifle suspicious to me, and I am indeed left wondering whether Highwater is with Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey in fact taking Homer's Odyssey and transferring it into a Native American story, something that has turned out to indeed be pretty much the truth of the matter, something that I would probably also not have had any major reading problems with as a child, when Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey was originally published, but a scenario that as an older adult and as such also a much more critical reader I would today most definitely not at all consider culturally appropriate and would in fact label as appropriation and at best a trifle problematic).

But since we are reading Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey in the Newbery Club (for the 1978 accolades) and since I was able to download Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey from Open Library, I decided to at least skim through Jamake Highwater's presented text and to see if Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey would have appealed to me theme and content wise as an eleven year old, in 1977 (in the year that Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey was published). And yes, at least partially, the storyline Highwater presents is sufficiently readable and the allusions to Homer's Odyssey tolerable and even at times a bit interesting (and clear enough that I probably would have found this fun in 1977 since I had just read a children's version of Homer's Odyssey in German).

However, I was once I started reading also not all that majorly enjoying Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey, and yes, when I took a reading break to google Jamake Highwater's name online, not only was I (and remain) totally shocked and hugely hugely infuriated by the fact that Jamake Highwater seems to have pretended to be Native American, seems to have simply taken a Native American sounding name and written Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey as supposedly emanating from a Native American pen, I also (and in my opinion with total justification) decided to not bother finishing Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey and to without any feelings of contrition or guilt be ranking this culturally inappropriate pack of lies (and written by a make-believe Native American "author") with only one star. And really, since Jamake Highwater wrote Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey under false flags so to speak, not only using Homer's Odyssey to portray Native American life and culture, but even worse pretending to be Native American, in my humble opinion, I actually do kind of think that the Newbery Honour Jamake Highwater received for Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey should be stripped from this book, should be taken away from Highwater (or rather from his estate).

[Bob Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Native American Chopsuey

Let's start with the bottom line: this is an attempt at a collage of Native American stories united around a single, fictional hero (a hero who isn't found in any ACTUAL Native American myths or stories). I don't think it's all that successful, but it's a very interesting idea. The end, dealing with the coming of the Europeans, is the most original part of the book. I found it the most moving too, for I hope that the peoples of the Americas will live, will return. As an attempt to describe Indian thought, ways, and values, ANPAO has its moments, but I felt that a lot of European (white man) values had got mixed in, a lot of influence from that direction no doubt absorbed by the author over the course of his life.
On looking at the reviews on Amazon, I was surprised to find that it is being used as a text or reading assignment in schools. I think that this is a very valuable way to utilize the author's obvious ability, but being "slightly beyond" school, I had a different reaction on reading it. I bought the book to learn more about some specific Native American culture, but realized on reading it that it was more like a potpourri. Let's imagine a similar, potpourri-type effort to present European values and thought. Can you imagine a hero called "Justice" or "Señor Sacrifice" wandering through a mythical Europe on a quest, meeting Thor, Zeus, Don Quixote, King Arthur, and Beowulf ? I don't think such a concoction would do much for me. Should we then accept this book because it's about Native Americans and we want to support their efforts to preserve their cultures and garner more respect for who they are ? I think Native American literature should be judged by the same standard as the rest. No condescension. Momaday, Erlich, Alexie and Silko---top writers by any standard. I'm not sure about ANPAO; it's original, but it has an artificial flavor. As a magical mystery tour of American Indian culture, it could open kids' minds to new ways of thinking and so be very valuable. As purely literature for adults, I have my doubts.

[Greta Marlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the author's note at the end of the book, Highwater says he doesn't want to call the stories in Anpao "myths" or "legends," because that term has come to "express the dominant society's disregard for the beliefs of other peoples." I would disagree with him on that point; myths are the most important stories of a culture. That's how I read Anpao - as a compilation into a single narrative of the foundational worldview of many (though not all) Native American tribes. Once I understood that what I was reading was not a novel about a romantic quest, I really enjoyed exploring the mythology.

Why did I have to have that transition to figure out what I was actually reading? Because the back blurb led me astray! This is what it says:

"Anpao is in love with the beautiful Ko-Ko-mik-e-is, and has asked her to marry him. But Anpao is poor, dressed in rags, and the Sun himself has claimed Ko-Ko-mik-e-is for his own....Thus starts an amazing voyage as Anpao searches for the home of the Sun, across the world...Can Anpao, mighty as he is, fight such immeasurable odds and win the hand of Ko-Ko-mik-e-is?"

I didn't want to put the entire blurb, but trust me, it makes this book out to be a typical "poor boy overcomes great obstacles to win girl" story. That's not at all what the book is.

But that's not the author's fault, and I'm not holding it against the book.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First thing I did when I finished this book was google the author. I wanted to know if he was Native American. (I do think people can write about cultures different from their own, I was just curious.)

Turns out there was a huge controversy over the author’s ethnicity. First he was Greek and then he started claiming he was actually Cheyenne and changed his name to Jamake Highwater. Next thing you know he’s helping make documentaries and getting all these NA grants.

In the 80s some people set out to expose him as a fraud, claiming he was only pretending to be NA and he kind of admitted, kind of defended against that. He later died in 2000 and his lawyer was told to wait fifty years to release his papers. Come back in 2050 to hear the truth!

The point of this, you just can’t trust anybody these days and if he really is not NA, which is what I believe, that’s cultural appropriation at its very worse and dims my view of this book.

All that said, I didn’t mind this book. I like reading myths and creation stories and the author mashed together a journey of many NA myths, or so it claims. Googling more info, I couldn’t find how accurate that statement was. I would definitely never use this book to teach any NA history because of the fake author and because I would rather take get legends from the source and not a fake.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can one always trust what one hears? How much verification is needed to guarantee a fact’s indubitable reliability? Jamake Highwater’s Anpao: An Indian American Odyssey, although restrained by the binds of a questionable past, presents itself as a piece of indigenous literature. The claim is due to uncertainty of Highwater’s origins and background, and is often viewed skeptically by those who do their research. However, after further analysis and evaluation of the text, Anpao can be justified through its accuracy and loyalty to many traditional themes of Native American literature.
For one, the plot line of Anpao is clearly cyclical, unlike the majority of mainstream literature, which moves without sense of both forwards and backwards through time. There are countless side stories, stories within stories. So many, in fact, that it becomes difficult to clearly distinguish each sub plot’s role and path in the book. One minute Anpao is on his journey, longing for the beautiful Ko-ko-mi-ke-is, and the next, a recount of the birth of the world is just picking up speed. Why, the entire novel is simply an extensive myth narrated by the old and wise Wasicong, a myth pulling together different stories from different times, weaving them all together into one thick, knotted web of a tale.
Another characteristic to which Anpao is loyal is the ability in indigenous literature to laugh at oneself, to play with one’s traits in a lightheartedly comical fashion. A perfect example of this aspect being tied into the novel is a giggle-inducing tale by the name of Farting Boy. In this chapter, Anpao comes across a shy young man who, rather unfortunately, emits a loud squelching noise at every motion. This seemingly insignificant side-story is used as a pleasant release from the overall solemn atmosphere of the novel, an opportunity to ease up and let loose by good naturedly singling out and exaggerating a humorous characteristic of one’s own people. This act of playfully making fun of an aspect of one’s culture is often seen in Native American texts, very much in contrary to a European sense of humor. Possibly the largest difference, however, has to do with the collision and horrendous clashing of these two cultures, and the gruesome ongoing battle rooted centuries ago between them.
A huge topic raised throughout indigenous culture and literature is the critique of colonialism. Countless tales voice their opinions of colonization in the age of exploration through recounts of the Europeans’ mad savagery and sadistic treatment of natives, whom they murdered or otherwise forced into slavery. In Anpao, the presence of the white man is only just beginning to come into the light, and these mysterious creatures and their mystical possessions are a source of great confusion and fascination among informed natives. This undetermined group of beings is nicknamed simply the Big Knives, due to their gargantuan, lethal-tipped swords of iron. They are described in the book to possess fireboats and great powers beyond the knowledge of Indians, and use these powers to destroy all that falls into their path. The Big Knives, fantastical as they may be, are viewed as destructive demons sent to terrorize the native peoples.
Provided the evidence above, it can be seen that the overlap of typical indigenous literature and the text Anpao is great in many regions. No matter the origins of its creator, the novel is loyal to the traditional aspects of Native American culture, including sense of time, humor, and society. In order to understand and infer the reliability of a person, fact, or source, you must thoroughly examine and analyze every speck of information, every hint that could be used as a clue to your answer. We need to stop seeing everything as skin-deep, and realize that the key to trusting and understanding is simply delving deeper into the hidden meanings lurking beneath the surface. As we travel further and further down, the world becomes richer, and we must learn to grasp this richness behind everyday life. It is a great gift to live, and since we have only got one shot at life, we must love much and worry little, and embrace every moment like it is our last.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a try, since it's a Newbery Honor book, but I looked into the author first to put it into perspective. This book is the epitome of cultural appropriation. But I started it anyway, and I can't continue with the pretentious tone, especially knowing that the stories represented are a mish mash and not genuinely connected to a particular tribe.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like it as much as I liked it when I was 10, but it's still a great story and a good book, that weaves together a number of native american tales.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highwater collected stories of Anpao from many different Native American tribes and edited them into a flowing narrative. It's a fun and fascinating read, with all of the qualities of a good myth story. Recommended.

[Mariama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story “Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey” is about a boy named Anpao who didn’t know his past, he was poor and wanted to marry the beautiful girl named Ko-ko-mik-e-is. She accepted his request and sent him an a journey to ask the Sun as a sign to her, that she can get married to him. So Anpao and his twin brother Oapna, went on the path until they came upon a lake. A swan helped them across and the went into an old woman’s lodge for help. She tells him about his history and how Anpao was born. He figured out he was the son of the Sun. So he had to keep his secret from the moon, who hated him and his mother. He traveled really far and met many new people. He was introduced to corn and potatoes. When he finally reached the Sun’s lodge, he becomes friends with Morning Star, the son of the moon. He saves his life and gets the scar removed from his face. He goes back to find that everyone was dying from smallpox and are greedy and mean to people. He goes to Ko-ko-mik-e-is’ village and she gets married to him. Anpao warns them that a disease called smallpox is coming out get them. The didn’t listen, so Ko-ko-mik-e-is had to leave so that they and their children could be safe. They walked into the lake and live in the water where they could be safe from smallpox.

One of the things I really like about this book is that the characters are all equal. Every character has a significant part of the story It made the story somewhat a riddle to figure out “how does this character change an aspect of the story?”. The characters are always changing, which can be confusing. In a part of the book, it seemed as if Ko-ko-mik-e-is, the woman Anpao wanted to marry, was dead since she was sacrificed to the two sorcerers. Though she wasn’t dead, it was just magic. This is called magical realism and you’ll experience a whole lot of these situations during this book.

One thing I didn’t like about this book is that it was really confusing in some of the chapters. I read mostly western literature which is very distinct and clear. In this book, everything is jumbled together. There is no distinct beginning, middle, or end. All the events were in different orders and there is no one way to write this story. Native American literature is so weird!

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy Native American literature. I would prefer if people who are young adults because these stories teaches lessons about life in a magical way. Even though this book wasn’t made for entertainment, it is really entertaining. This is a really good book in general.

- Mariama

[Challice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok.... would recommend you reading first before handing it off to your kids.
The author takes the idea of The Odyssey, and recreates a character, Anpao, to combine all the Native American stories. The author refuses to call them myths or legends, but a reality... even though Anpao is declared to be a fictional character in the authors notes.

Seriously, could have dealt with "b#^$*#d," references and other language, but when Deereyes seduces a man, drags him into the desert for the rest of the natives to find him naked and murdered and special parts trampled upon, detailed, I confess I skimmed much of the rest of the book.

For the young? I think not. Surely we have better sources to use to teach about those first to our land.

[Ankith]

This book Anpao was one of the best books I have ever read. Anpao is an American Indian story that may have been passed down by generation. The book gives many hints that the sun god was the father of Anpao. It was like a mystery every chapter a new member would appear to help anpao in a mission in order to get his loved one. My favorite part in this book was when Anpao met the moon godess. After many days, anpao made a great relation shape with the moon godess. This led to Anpao getting extra powers from the moon. This book had a lot more meaning to it. I would recommend reading this book. If you don't you will regret it!

[Poodle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot made 0 sense. It was just a whole bunch of native American myths that were really glued together by the Anpao guy. At first, it was logical enough that I could understand. Then, it seemed like the author was going through pretty much all of the possible myths and cramming them into an already meh story.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the Newbery Honor sticker on the cover of this book and figured that I'd give it a try. It is a combination of several American Indian earth creation stories. I really didn't enjoy it. It wasn't terribly long so I forced myself to finish it, but I really wish I had just not started it.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a child, and found it awesome.

[Sariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this odyssey mixed with real native stories tribes told.

[Brittney Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Rating: 5 stars

As stated in previous reviews, I really like to read literature that originated or featured cultures and peoples different than me so that I can be a more world-aware and open-minded individual, and I recently picked up Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater to further my goal. This book, on the surface, tells the story of Anpao, a young Native American boy, as he goes on an epic journey to find the Sun to ask for the hand of the beautiful Ko-Ko-mik-e-is. However, if you look deeper, you will also see that this book tells the history of the Native Americans in the years leading up to the appearance of the “white man” in the 1400’s.

It is this picture of an America unspoiled by the touch of the “white man” that makes this book as important as it is a perspective we don’t normally get to see, especially from an own-voices author (Highwater is of Blackfeet/Cherokee descent.) Although I found this book hard to understand or wrap my mind around at times, I did thoroughly enjoy getting a perspective of my country that was vastly different than mine, especially when it came to the Storyteller’s Farwell, Notes on Sources, and Bibliography information in the back of the book, as these sections greatly helped with my comprehension of the text.

Although I do think this book is one that everybody should read, especially non-Native Americans, I do think it is recommended to the wrong audience. This book is classified as a middle-grade story, and I do think that some middle-graders would be able to comprehend it fine (Reading comprehension varies as does everything.), however most children probably would not get the full scope of the story without assistance. This is why I feel that this book should be read either in a classroom discussion setting or withheld until a child shows the emotional maturity that the content/scope of this book requires. All in all, a great, insightful read!!! 5 stars!!!!

[..... · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey,was an ok book. But I wouldn't recommend the book to people who likes exciting books. The book was ok, the blurb on the back of the book gave a little bit away of the book. But the storyline was not bad, the storyline made me interested in the book. The storyline encouraged myself to read more, but I got bored while I was reading the book a few times. I liked how the author used strong words to describe the characters feelings to let the readers know more about the characters feelings throughout the book.
I lost track of the book sometimes, because while I was reading, sometimes I didn't understand what the author was trying to say throughout the book. Overall, I gave this book 3 stars because the storyline was good, and I likes the authors structure, but I took the 2 stars off because the blurb at the back of the book gave too much away, and that I got bored and lost track throughout the book.

[Jacqueline Boleyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yesterday my boy asked me after waking up, "mama, are we really dreaming now?" and it is this dawning realization that he is absolutely correct, also that I don't know how to explain it to him. Then after some cannabis I'm thinking well, "I suppose next time he asks this question; you could just say yes." And that is as cleared up as I've gotten to some weird maybe new moon anxiety serious existential angst. Then your book pops up. I mean, thank you tech fairies! Always there when I need them, or, better stated. Always there. LOL. Anyway, this has been some new moon weekend such that. Yeah. It's Monday and the weekend, both. Thank you for existing, my heart was feeling weary and really perked up because of you cannot wait to get hold of and read this book to my child.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fantastic concept: a hero on a magical roadtrip across Native America, encountering various mythological figures and taking part in classic stories as he begins to discover his own origins and a world so much bigger than he ever imagined. Unfortunately, I felt that Anpao (the protagonist and the author's own creation), felt a bit shoe-horned into some of these ancient narratives. For instance, in the beautiful tale of Snake-Boy, Anpao could have easily been removed from the plot and nothing would have changed. "So the boy bade the giant serpent a tearful goodbye...and Anpao was there too."

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this novel to younger readers, but as a teacher, I find that mature 5th grade and up students do not resonate with this book. I felt like the plot was messy, and the morals of the story were haphazard. It felt like there wasn't a clear moral to the story, besides Anpao getting the girl of his dreams, which is to me, pretty immature for a 21st century novel.

If you are looking for a different perspective on Native American life, this may be the book for you. But if you are looking for an adventure, something exciting,or something that teaches a lesson, this is not the book for you.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was interesting for its American Indian myths and legends. It showed and mentioned many Native American cultures and beliefs through the people that Anpao met and had to defeat. I also liked Anpao's brother who was contrary, which means to say the opposite of what you mean, which was a unique part of the story. I would recommend this book to people who like stories about interesting cultures.
But it was also kind of dull to read because the style of writing wasn't exciting to read at all. The characters seemed to not have many personalities and the plot was confusing. But it was a fascinating and unique book and I overall liked this book.

[E. Mikel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book.

I fell in love with this book early on and kept waiting for it to let me down. Fortunately, it did not. Multiple Native American tales are fused together to create a unique mythos that celebrates an honorable culture that still exists at the fringe of our dreadful Western society. I look forward to reading this with my nieces and nephews. The lessons of patience, tolerance, humility, ambition, and loyalty presented in Anpao are universal and important to pass on to future generations.

[Joshua Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not honestly like this book, because it was very long for a book. Also, This book was not that good of a book, because It was creative, but lacked good characters. I also am not a big fan of books like these anyway. In addition, It has some positive things to it. Like having an underwater village was very creative, and same with the snake boy. I liked the dialogue, and some of the character. One problem is that Anpao was taking up most of the story.

[Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books's plot was good because it tells of a culture that I don't know much about. But, I am confused about the whole Anpao character. They don't tell us his age, which is very weird. Also, the plot was messy. Why write about Native American legends if you're not going to explain them very well? And this thing about a Contrary, what IS that? Also, Anpao backwards is Oapna, so I don't think the author was trying very hard when he came up with the names. To sum it up, I was confused.

[Becky S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really had s hard time reading this nonsense. And a little to violent for young readers. A witch women dragging people from the village to rape and stomp on their genitals till they are bloody and dead isn’t something I necessarily want my children reading about. Interesting throughout the book trying to find parallels with the stories passed down and the creation of the world I learned about.

[Alyssa Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book. There wasn't really much of a story going on. This "story" is about a man who loves a woman, but she doesn't love him because she claims she belongs to the sun alone. He goes a mission to ask the sun if he can marry her. That's really all the book is about. I read it for my college course, and if I were to go back, I would've picked a different book. Very boring.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read the American Indian Newburys, so I checked this out. The story is actually quite good; then I discovered that "Jamake Highwater" aka Jackie Marks, was not actually Indian, but pretended to be for years, and is thus wrongfully considered the first "Indian" Newbury winner. He also took a Jane Addams award too, for another book. Yikes.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has its ups and downs. I was fascinated and intrigued at times, bored to tears at others, but mostly just discombobulated. It’s a random string of Native American legends that are kind of all over the place. It was a cool idea, but I don’t think it really worked.

[Katielin317 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great YA coming of age story. Often, I feel as if old folk talkes feature a protagonist who is dumb and makes many poor choices, but with Anpao (ahn-PAY-oh) you instead see his growth and maturation throughout the story. And really, this book almost reads as a collection of stories that are told in a chrological way.

[Corrin Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time. I discovered it when I was in 6th grade and I still love this book to this day. I recommend it to everyone. You'll love it if you like adventure and Native American folklore. A must read!