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Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows
Originally published in 1932 as Red Mother, this book was perhaps the first record of the women’s side of Indian life, and it has become a classic work in its field. Pretty-shield told her story to Frank Linderman through an interpreter and using the sign language. A medicine woman of the Crows, she was one of the few who remembered what it was like before the white man came and the buffalo went away. She tells about the simple games and dolls of an Indian childhood and the duties of the girls and women—setting up the lodges, dressing the skins, picking berries, digging roots, cooking. From her account we learn about courtship, marriage, childbirth and the care of babies, about medicine-dreams, the care of the sick, and the dangers and joys of womanhood among men whose lives were spent in hunting and fighting.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 5, 2022
Oct 5, 1130am ~~ Review asap.
1240pm ~~ This is the story of Pretty-shield, a Crow woman who is telling stories from her life to the author, Frank B. Linderman. The book was originally published in 1932 and this is a 1972 reproduction of that edition.
I really liked Pretty-shield. She reminded me of my own grandmother, who could also be both wise and funny, and always loved to laugh, maintaining her joy for life even in hard times. But she could also be angry, just as Pretty-shield became whenever she talked about the changes in her life that were due to the white man, and the loss of the buffalo, and the way the young people were so tempted by the white man's world.
Pretty-shield talked with the author through sign language and an interpreter. He did not speak the Crow language, but could follow sign fairly well, except for a time or two when Pretty-shield was excited about the story she was telling and moved her hands so fast Linderman could barely keep up.
The stories Pretty-shield tells shows the reader an older way of life that many of us these days have romanticized. Pretty-shield talks of many things, from girlhood pranks to the way spirit animals helped the people overcome danger.
She said they were always on the alert against enemies from other tribes, and it seemed to me that no one ever was as completely relaxed as we like to imagine them being. There were always guards posted to watch for attacks from the Lakota or the Cheyenne or even grizzly bears. There are some dramatic stories here, and the whole book is fascinating.
Pretty-shield was of the same clan as Plenty-coups, a Crow chief. In 1930 Linderman published a book about this man, using the chief's own words just as he did in this book. I plan to read that soon. I also have a book written about the granddaughter of Pretty-shield and I had intended to read that one immediately after this book. Pretty-shield had raised her, and indeed often interrupted her sessions with the author to go tend to her many grandchildren. I was looking forward to that book, but the TINY print defeated me and it will have to wait until I get stronger glasses.
1240pm ~~ This is the story of Pretty-shield, a Crow woman who is telling stories from her life to the author, Frank B. Linderman. The book was originally published in 1932 and this is a 1972 reproduction of that edition.
I really liked Pretty-shield. She reminded me of my own grandmother, who could also be both wise and funny, and always loved to laugh, maintaining her joy for life even in hard times. But she could also be angry, just as Pretty-shield became whenever she talked about the changes in her life that were due to the white man, and the loss of the buffalo, and the way the young people were so tempted by the white man's world.
Pretty-shield talked with the author through sign language and an interpreter. He did not speak the Crow language, but could follow sign fairly well, except for a time or two when Pretty-shield was excited about the story she was telling and moved her hands so fast Linderman could barely keep up.
The stories Pretty-shield tells shows the reader an older way of life that many of us these days have romanticized. Pretty-shield talks of many things, from girlhood pranks to the way spirit animals helped the people overcome danger.
She said they were always on the alert against enemies from other tribes, and it seemed to me that no one ever was as completely relaxed as we like to imagine them being. There were always guards posted to watch for attacks from the Lakota or the Cheyenne or even grizzly bears. There are some dramatic stories here, and the whole book is fascinating.
Pretty-shield was of the same clan as Plenty-coups, a Crow chief. In 1930 Linderman published a book about this man, using the chief's own words just as he did in this book. I plan to read that soon. I also have a book written about the granddaughter of Pretty-shield and I had intended to read that one immediately after this book. Pretty-shield had raised her, and indeed often interrupted her sessions with the author to go tend to her many grandchildren. I was looking forward to that book, but the TINY print defeated me and it will have to wait until I get stronger glasses.
March 30, 2009
The following statements are in order of how confident I am in them, from most to least: You will like this book. You will think about your own lifestyle as a result of this book. You will learn something from this book. You will believe every story told in this book. This is a successful way to write a review.
PS I've read Pretty-Shield before and am certain I will read it again many times.
PS I've read Pretty-Shield before and am certain I will read it again many times.
July 16, 2008
I am part Crow, so this book was of great personal interest to me. It is the story of a Crow woman who lived until her mid-30's before "white men" came into contact w/ her tribe. The story of life prior to that contact in central & eastern Montana is awesome. My grandfather told me some of these myths, I know all the places she references, I have lived in the cities where the tribe once camped . . . it was beautiful to read about all of it before "contact." The main thing I came away w/ was a greater desire to research that part of my family history & a giant interest in learning the Crow language.
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February 10, 2020
Pretty Shield della tribù Crow, di cui Linderman raccolse la preziosa e unica testimonianza in questa bella biografia, narra com’era la vita prima che l’uomo bianco arrivasse ad uccidere anche l’ultimo bisonte. Ci racconta, con grande malinconia, i suoi ricordi di quando era bambina, i suoi giochi (una palla fatta con la pellicola che ricopre il cuore del bisonte e riempita di lana di antilocapra, una bambola da accudire e portare legata sulla schiena, un tepee a misura di bambina...). E ancora, lo scandire della vita nell’accampamento, le erbe utilizzate per curare i malati, gli oggetti della quotidianità (come i pettini ottenuti dalla coda di porcospino, le scapole di bisonte usati come piatti) le rivalità con le altre tribù (i Lakota, soprattutto), il matrimonio, i lutti e le nascite. Quello che traspare dai suoi racconti è l‘enorme rispetto della Natura, in tutte le sue forme animate e inanimate, considerata dai nativi americani come la vera e unica divinità. La vita, prima dell’arrivo dei bianchi, era necessariamente nomade, per seguire l’avvicendarsi delle stagioni e, con esse, gli spostamenti delle mandrie dei bisonti. Il trascorrere del tempo si calcolava contando il numero delle nevicate o delle fioriture. Quello che accadde dopo, purtroppo, è Storia.
[…]il mio cuore si spezzò quando iniziai a vedere centinaia e centinaia di bisonti morti sparsi su tutto il nostro territorio meraviglioso, uccisi, scuoiati e lasciati a putrefarsi dagli uomini bianchi. La prima volta che vidi queste cose fu nel bacino del Judith. Tutto puzzava di carne marcia. Nemmeno i fiori riuscivano a smorzare il fetore. Avevamo il cuore impietrito, ma nessuno poteva ancora credere, nemmeno allora, che l'uomo bianco sarebbe riuscito a uccidere tutti i bisonti. Da sempre ce n'erano così tanti! Nemmeno i Lakota, così feroci, avrebbero fatto una cosa del genere, nemmeno i Cheyenne, gli Arapaho o i Pecunnie. Ma l'uomo bianco sì, anche se non voleva la carne.”
[…]“Poi i bianchi cominciarono a recintare le pianure e noi non potemmo più spostarci, ma in ogni caso non c'era più motivo per muoversi. Cominciammo a stare fermi in un unico posto e diventammo pigri e sempre più deboli.
[…]il mio cuore si spezzò quando iniziai a vedere centinaia e centinaia di bisonti morti sparsi su tutto il nostro territorio meraviglioso, uccisi, scuoiati e lasciati a putrefarsi dagli uomini bianchi. La prima volta che vidi queste cose fu nel bacino del Judith. Tutto puzzava di carne marcia. Nemmeno i fiori riuscivano a smorzare il fetore. Avevamo il cuore impietrito, ma nessuno poteva ancora credere, nemmeno allora, che l'uomo bianco sarebbe riuscito a uccidere tutti i bisonti. Da sempre ce n'erano così tanti! Nemmeno i Lakota, così feroci, avrebbero fatto una cosa del genere, nemmeno i Cheyenne, gli Arapaho o i Pecunnie. Ma l'uomo bianco sì, anche se non voleva la carne.”
[…]“Poi i bianchi cominciarono a recintare le pianure e noi non potemmo più spostarci, ma in ogni caso non c'era più motivo per muoversi. Cominciammo a stare fermi in un unico posto e diventammo pigri e sempre più deboli.
June 20, 2013
This book was very interesting but was hard to understand in some spots. However, this doesn't take away from the value of the information. I would read this book again and recommend it to anyone who is interested in this subject.
April 15, 2008
This biographical information about Pretty Shield, a Wise One of the Crow was originally compiled and published in the 1930's by Linderman. This book is the third reprint of the original story and contains a new preface by Alma Snell (Pretty Shield's granddaughter) and Becky Matthews. Linderman was called Sign-talker by the Crow due to his insistence that his interview subjects spoke in signs even when a translator was present. His earlier biography about Pretty Shield's clansmen, Plenty Coups, gained him unprecedented respect and admiration within this clan.
Due to this distinguished reputation, Pretty Shield was willing to tell Linderman stories about her seventy-four years and about the lives of women before and after the coming of the White men and the decline of the bison herds. Pretty Shield is uniquely candid describing daily activities of women that are rarely recorded. Moreover, she describes specific incidents illustrating traditional Crow behavior and conduct. Many of these sometimes humorous, sometimes heart breaking stories demonstrate both negative and positive examples of such customs, often with Pretty Shield herself being in the wrong.
In addition to narrating these stories about Pretty Shield's youth, family, marriage, and the raising of her children, Linderman also records his impressions of Pretty Shield and her life at the time of the interview. This information not only illustrates how traditional Crow ideals relate and are translated into the more modern lifestyles of Pretty Shield and her grandchildren but also allows a view into the personality of a very unique woman.
Pretty-shield is a touching biography that will be enjoyed as a recreational read. Nonetheless, this book also contains important rare incites into the lives of traditional and modern Crow women. Thus, the book is suitable for those interested in learning a little about traditional native life as well as those researchers looking for detailed information about the changing lifeways, traditions, and belief systems of the Crow during this transitional period. This book contains unprecedented candid information about this time from a viewpoint rarely recorded presented in an entertaining, easy to read, meaningful way. That the author also wrote a book on the male perspective from the same native group, simply adds to the potential importance of this resource.
Due to this distinguished reputation, Pretty Shield was willing to tell Linderman stories about her seventy-four years and about the lives of women before and after the coming of the White men and the decline of the bison herds. Pretty Shield is uniquely candid describing daily activities of women that are rarely recorded. Moreover, she describes specific incidents illustrating traditional Crow behavior and conduct. Many of these sometimes humorous, sometimes heart breaking stories demonstrate both negative and positive examples of such customs, often with Pretty Shield herself being in the wrong.
In addition to narrating these stories about Pretty Shield's youth, family, marriage, and the raising of her children, Linderman also records his impressions of Pretty Shield and her life at the time of the interview. This information not only illustrates how traditional Crow ideals relate and are translated into the more modern lifestyles of Pretty Shield and her grandchildren but also allows a view into the personality of a very unique woman.
Pretty-shield is a touching biography that will be enjoyed as a recreational read. Nonetheless, this book also contains important rare incites into the lives of traditional and modern Crow women. Thus, the book is suitable for those interested in learning a little about traditional native life as well as those researchers looking for detailed information about the changing lifeways, traditions, and belief systems of the Crow during this transitional period. This book contains unprecedented candid information about this time from a viewpoint rarely recorded presented in an entertaining, easy to read, meaningful way. That the author also wrote a book on the male perspective from the same native group, simply adds to the potential importance of this resource.
January 2, 2016
I'm amazed that there was a man around who was moved to take an interest in a Native American Woman's point of view. I have found Indian women diffident, and so self-effacing that acquaintance with them is next to impossible...I had nearly given up the idea of ever writing the life of an old Indian woman when Pretty-shield delighted me by consenting to tell me her story. (9) There are so many more questions that I wish he would have asked her. Especially, what was her role, her duties, as a medicine woman, a "Wise-one"? He never asks that. Oh well, at least we have some precious tidbits here, and from a woman's point of view; a treasure which won't be lost and buried with history.
I found one particular story fascinating, and I hung on her every word. I would have asked many more questions to draw this one out. Also, it seemed important to Pretty Shield that she tell this story and she explicitly asked that Frank Linderman include it in his book. "Did the men ever tell you anything about a woman who fought with Three-stars on the Rosebud?" "No," I replied, wondering. "Ahh, they do not like to tell of it," she chuckled. "But I will tell you about it. We Crows all know about it. I shall not be stealing anything from the men by telling the truth. Yes, a Crow woman fought with Three-stars on the Rosebud, two of them did, for that matter; but one of them was neither a man nor a woman. She looked like a man, and yet she wore woman's clothing; and she had the heart of a woman. Besides, she did a woman's work. Her name was Finds-them-and kills-them. She was not a man, and yet not a woman...She was not as strong as a man, and yet she was wiser than a woman...The other woman was a wild one who had no man of her own. She was both bad and brave, this one. Her name was The-other-magpie; and she was pretty. ...During the fight on the Rosebud both these women did brave deeds...The return of the Crow wolves and these two women to our village was one of the finest sights that I have ever seen...I felt proud of the two women, even of the wild one, because she was brave. And I saw that they were the ones who were taking care of Bullsnake, the wounded man, when they rode in." (excerpts from 227-231)
I found one particular story fascinating, and I hung on her every word. I would have asked many more questions to draw this one out. Also, it seemed important to Pretty Shield that she tell this story and she explicitly asked that Frank Linderman include it in his book. "Did the men ever tell you anything about a woman who fought with Three-stars on the Rosebud?" "No," I replied, wondering. "Ahh, they do not like to tell of it," she chuckled. "But I will tell you about it. We Crows all know about it. I shall not be stealing anything from the men by telling the truth. Yes, a Crow woman fought with Three-stars on the Rosebud, two of them did, for that matter; but one of them was neither a man nor a woman. She looked like a man, and yet she wore woman's clothing; and she had the heart of a woman. Besides, she did a woman's work. Her name was Finds-them-and kills-them. She was not a man, and yet not a woman...She was not as strong as a man, and yet she was wiser than a woman...The other woman was a wild one who had no man of her own. She was both bad and brave, this one. Her name was The-other-magpie; and she was pretty. ...During the fight on the Rosebud both these women did brave deeds...The return of the Crow wolves and these two women to our village was one of the finest sights that I have ever seen...I felt proud of the two women, even of the wild one, because she was brave. And I saw that they were the ones who were taking care of Bullsnake, the wounded man, when they rode in." (excerpts from 227-231)
September 11, 2024
This book is so important! Pretty-Shield’s stories gave me a lot to think about. I giggled at some of the silly childhood stories and tears came to my eyes during the more serious ones. I learned a lot about Crow culture (before the Buffalo were driven to near extinction by white men), and I gained an appreciation of Crow values and beliefs. These perspectives made me question my own ways of thinking about the world (especially the natural world). The deliberate destruction of Crow culture and life Pretty-Shield witnessed during her lifetime was horrifying, and this book was an important reminder of how important Buffalo were to many Great Plains tribes and how catastrophic their disappearance was.
April 17, 2015
Avete presente quando una storia vi colpisce talmente tanto da farvi "vedere" - con l'occhio della mente - i luoghi in cui essa si svolge e assaporare qualcosa che, pur essendo lontana nel tempo e dalla concezione culturale con cui siete cresciuti, sembra quasi a portata della vostra mano? Ebbene, è proprio così che mi ha fatto sentire questa piccola, ma allo stesso tempo grande, biografia.
Spesso quando sentiamo parlare degli Indiani d'America la nostra mente tende a correre alle reminiscenze date da qualche vecchio film western o lezione di storia; tutti noi, insomma, ricordiamo - per la maggiore - il capo dei Siux Toro Seduto, la caccia ai bisonti, i totem e il generale Custer. Eppure, la cultura dei nativi americani, come la storia delle varie tribù, è densa di fascino e semplicità che il mondo moderno non comprende e, a dirla tutta, non potrà mai comprendere fino in fondo.
"Sono nata dall'altra parte del Grande Fiume [il Missouri], alla foce del Plum creek, durante la luna in cui i ghiacci fuoriescono dai fiumi innevati [marzo], quando Yellow-calf [Vitello giallo] e i suoi guerrieri vennero annientati dai Lakota [Sioux]".
Nel mondo della carta stampata ritroviamo le storie dei grandi uomini, guerrieri e sciamani, delle varie tribù, ma ben poche testimonianze delle donne di questi popoli, ritenute tuttavia molto importanti all'interno della loro società. Pretty Shield [Bello Scudo], abbandonando il manto della riservatezza caratterizzante le native, porge al lettore la chiave per aprire lo scrigno delle sue memorie, permettendogli così di "vivere", attraverso descrizioni semplici ed evocative, le sue avventure. Grazie a questa sorta di intervista, riportata da Linderman, è possibile addentrarsi nella vita della tribù dei Crow conoscendo in che modo giocavano i bambini, l'usanza del matrimonio, la concezione della morte e degli spiriti guida, il rapporto coi loro nemici. Una particolare attenzione viene portata sul ruolo delle figure femminili all'interno della società, attraverso le storie di alcune donne conosciute dalla stessa narratrice o dalle sue ave.
"Mi piace ridere, mi è sempre piaciuto. I nostri cuori restano giovani se glielo permettiamo".
Pretty Shield è una donna forte, determinata e capace di suscitare una dolcezza che, davvero, non mi sarei aspettata di provare durante la lettura di una biografia. Ho amato il suo modo di parlare schiettamente, la sua infanzia avventurosa e ogni sua storia; attraverso un linguaggio fatto di frasi semplici, permeate da immagini evocative (basti pensare, facendo un esempio, a come vengono definiti i mesi), sono stata condotta lungo un sentiero che mi ha fatto emozionare. Esattamente come Linderman, mi sono seduta davanti a questa donna straordinaria per ascoltarla, osservandola scattare in piedi per seguire i propri nipoti e ritornare a narrare aneddoti divertenti e dolorosi.
Giungendo alla conclusione del mio commento, eccovi cosa posso dirvi. Consiglio a tutti di leggere questa piccola opera perché ci può insegnare molto, permettendoci di ritrovare quei valori che la frenesia della vita moderna, individualista e materialista, ha allontanato.
Spesso quando sentiamo parlare degli Indiani d'America la nostra mente tende a correre alle reminiscenze date da qualche vecchio film western o lezione di storia; tutti noi, insomma, ricordiamo - per la maggiore - il capo dei Siux Toro Seduto, la caccia ai bisonti, i totem e il generale Custer. Eppure, la cultura dei nativi americani, come la storia delle varie tribù, è densa di fascino e semplicità che il mondo moderno non comprende e, a dirla tutta, non potrà mai comprendere fino in fondo.
"Sono nata dall'altra parte del Grande Fiume [il Missouri], alla foce del Plum creek, durante la luna in cui i ghiacci fuoriescono dai fiumi innevati [marzo], quando Yellow-calf [Vitello giallo] e i suoi guerrieri vennero annientati dai Lakota [Sioux]".
Nel mondo della carta stampata ritroviamo le storie dei grandi uomini, guerrieri e sciamani, delle varie tribù, ma ben poche testimonianze delle donne di questi popoli, ritenute tuttavia molto importanti all'interno della loro società. Pretty Shield [Bello Scudo], abbandonando il manto della riservatezza caratterizzante le native, porge al lettore la chiave per aprire lo scrigno delle sue memorie, permettendogli così di "vivere", attraverso descrizioni semplici ed evocative, le sue avventure. Grazie a questa sorta di intervista, riportata da Linderman, è possibile addentrarsi nella vita della tribù dei Crow conoscendo in che modo giocavano i bambini, l'usanza del matrimonio, la concezione della morte e degli spiriti guida, il rapporto coi loro nemici. Una particolare attenzione viene portata sul ruolo delle figure femminili all'interno della società, attraverso le storie di alcune donne conosciute dalla stessa narratrice o dalle sue ave.
"Mi piace ridere, mi è sempre piaciuto. I nostri cuori restano giovani se glielo permettiamo".
Pretty Shield è una donna forte, determinata e capace di suscitare una dolcezza che, davvero, non mi sarei aspettata di provare durante la lettura di una biografia. Ho amato il suo modo di parlare schiettamente, la sua infanzia avventurosa e ogni sua storia; attraverso un linguaggio fatto di frasi semplici, permeate da immagini evocative (basti pensare, facendo un esempio, a come vengono definiti i mesi), sono stata condotta lungo un sentiero che mi ha fatto emozionare. Esattamente come Linderman, mi sono seduta davanti a questa donna straordinaria per ascoltarla, osservandola scattare in piedi per seguire i propri nipoti e ritornare a narrare aneddoti divertenti e dolorosi.
Giungendo alla conclusione del mio commento, eccovi cosa posso dirvi. Consiglio a tutti di leggere questa piccola opera perché ci può insegnare molto, permettendoci di ritrovare quei valori che la frenesia della vita moderna, individualista e materialista, ha allontanato.
March 21, 2024
I love her
Read
November 11, 2024Didn’t finish bc HST prof had a stroke and the class was cancelled (not the paper tho)
September 5, 2023
Pretty Shield is completely captivating and I just couldn’t put this book down. She gives so much insight into the daily life of the Crow tribe from her childhood to adulthood. As soon as I got to the last page, I was devastated that it was over.
September 9, 2016
Through Frank Linderman's writing and questions, I went on a journey through Pretty-shield's life, from before the white man came to when Pretty-shield was an aged grandmother tending to her orphaned grandchildren. She was privy to the end of the buffalo and thus a lifestyle. Her perspective of spirit-guides (which are animals sent to help) was interesting and touching. Most important of all was the joy that she was able to convey through her story telling.
Occasionally, I wished Linderman would have asked more and different questions; yet I'm grateful for the work he did with Pretty-shield and believe it to be important.
Occasionally, I wished Linderman would have asked more and different questions; yet I'm grateful for the work he did with Pretty-shield and believe it to be important.
May 25, 2022
A re-reading of this historical text reveals to me an entirely different interpretation. When I read this book in my twenties, I was a hopeless romantic. I'd read A Light in the Forest and every article and book available in our school and community library. Reading it again today, I feel the same strength of love for Pretty-shield and her culture. I feel an even greater sadness and its loss.
September 15, 2010
Loved her stories a lot. Who wouldn't give anything for a grandmother like her? Even my great-grandparents didn't tell stories to my grandparents.
However I was dissapointed to read that her people collaborated with those who took away their land and left them no choice how they want to live.
However I was dissapointed to read that her people collaborated with those who took away their land and left them no choice how they want to live.
January 23, 2018
This is the female equivalent of Black Elk Speaks. It is an honor and a privilege to read about what life was like for women in the Crow Nation. Pretty-shield has a wonderful sense of humor and a healthy outlook on life that Linderman recorded beautifully.
March 8, 2024
Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows (Paperback)
by Frank Bird Linderman
this book is a required text for the native American history class
by Frank Bird Linderman
this book is a required text for the native American history class
April 20, 2023
Una leggendaria donna-medicina dei Crow, tribù di Nativi Americani, ci racconta com'era la vita nelle Grandi Pianure.
Questo è il resoconto di un incontro speciale, quello tra Frank Bird Linderman (1869-1938), scrittore del Montana che si era guadagnato piena fiducia degli Indiani e Pretty Shield (Scudo Grazioso, 1856-1944).
Un libro che si veste da saggio, ma che ha in realtà un cuore da cantastorie, un'essenza da letteratura di viaggio.
La narrazione ti trasporta in quei luoghi e soprattutto in quelle storie, sembra di stare accanto ad un fuoco crepitante in mezzo ad una pianura sterminata, sotto un cielo colmo di stelle.
Con piglio e curiosità da antropologo, l'autore ci racconta questo incontro e ci riporta le parole di Pretty Shield, e così la conosciamo questa saggia guaritrice, energica nonostante l'età (all'epoca dell'intervista aveva 74 anni ed era vedova), visse un periodo di enormi cambiamenti quando la sua gente, originariamente nomade, viene obbligata a vivere nelle riserve alla fine del XIX secolo.
Pubblicato nel 1932 e divenuto subito un classico, "Pretty Shield" è stato il primo libro che ha descritto la vita e le aspirazioni delle donne crow; l'infanzia, i giochi e le bambole, i lavori delle ragazze e delle donne. E noi siamo partecipi di questo incanto che si accende davanti ai nostri occhi.
Le pagine si bevono tanto sono coivolgenti e interessanti, specie per chi come me nutre un amore sconfinato per questo popolo e la loro preziosa cultura.
Attraverso gli occhi di Pretty Shield apprendiamo le loro abitudini, ad esempio vediamo il corteggiamento, il matrimonio, il parto, i sogni di guarigione, la cura dei malati, lo strettissimo legame con la Natura e altre sfaccettature della femminilità crow.
Un viaggio meraviglioso che è uno scrigno di storie.
Recensione a cura di Lena Ceglia in data 18/09/2021 sul blog lalocandadeilibri.com©
Tutti i diritti riservati ©
Questo è il resoconto di un incontro speciale, quello tra Frank Bird Linderman (1869-1938), scrittore del Montana che si era guadagnato piena fiducia degli Indiani e Pretty Shield (Scudo Grazioso, 1856-1944).
Un libro che si veste da saggio, ma che ha in realtà un cuore da cantastorie, un'essenza da letteratura di viaggio.
La narrazione ti trasporta in quei luoghi e soprattutto in quelle storie, sembra di stare accanto ad un fuoco crepitante in mezzo ad una pianura sterminata, sotto un cielo colmo di stelle.
Con piglio e curiosità da antropologo, l'autore ci racconta questo incontro e ci riporta le parole di Pretty Shield, e così la conosciamo questa saggia guaritrice, energica nonostante l'età (all'epoca dell'intervista aveva 74 anni ed era vedova), visse un periodo di enormi cambiamenti quando la sua gente, originariamente nomade, viene obbligata a vivere nelle riserve alla fine del XIX secolo.
Pubblicato nel 1932 e divenuto subito un classico, "Pretty Shield" è stato il primo libro che ha descritto la vita e le aspirazioni delle donne crow; l'infanzia, i giochi e le bambole, i lavori delle ragazze e delle donne. E noi siamo partecipi di questo incanto che si accende davanti ai nostri occhi.
Le pagine si bevono tanto sono coivolgenti e interessanti, specie per chi come me nutre un amore sconfinato per questo popolo e la loro preziosa cultura.
Attraverso gli occhi di Pretty Shield apprendiamo le loro abitudini, ad esempio vediamo il corteggiamento, il matrimonio, il parto, i sogni di guarigione, la cura dei malati, lo strettissimo legame con la Natura e altre sfaccettature della femminilità crow.
Un viaggio meraviglioso che è uno scrigno di storie.
Recensione a cura di Lena Ceglia in data 18/09/2021 sul blog lalocandadeilibri.com©
Tutti i diritti riservati ©
December 23, 2018
First published in 1932 by Frank Linderman, the book is Pretty-shield's story of her life as told to Linderman during interviews and conversations held in 1931 when she was 74 years old. The interchange took place with the aid of an interpreter and by using sign language. It is unusual for its candor but also because Native American women of her age rarely discussed the roles of Crow women with white people, let alone telling it all to a white man.
Pretty-shield was born into the Crow Tribe when they hunted buffalo on the plains, game animals in Montana's mountains, and collected plants all along their seasonal travel routes. She was born in a teepee and birthed her children in teepees. Hers was a time of great change for the Crow and her stories relate her personal experiences as well as a few stories told to her by her grandmother. She talks about the lessons of childhood, mischievous adventures, escapes from enemy tribes, marriage and childbirth, and the social structure of her people. Although war was a man's domain, Pretty-shield relates a few stories she heard from her father and her husband, as well as the role played by two women warriors in a US Army attack on Lacota villages.
Reading this short book (about 150 pages) was an incredible window into a life long gone but not forgotten--which was why she told her stories to Linderman. There were times of joy and celebration, moments of terror and head-long flight, as well as the comfort of daily tasks done carefully and according to traditional teachings. It was a great read.
Pretty-shield was born into the Crow Tribe when they hunted buffalo on the plains, game animals in Montana's mountains, and collected plants all along their seasonal travel routes. She was born in a teepee and birthed her children in teepees. Hers was a time of great change for the Crow and her stories relate her personal experiences as well as a few stories told to her by her grandmother. She talks about the lessons of childhood, mischievous adventures, escapes from enemy tribes, marriage and childbirth, and the social structure of her people. Although war was a man's domain, Pretty-shield relates a few stories she heard from her father and her husband, as well as the role played by two women warriors in a US Army attack on Lacota villages.
Reading this short book (about 150 pages) was an incredible window into a life long gone but not forgotten--which was why she told her stories to Linderman. There were times of joy and celebration, moments of terror and head-long flight, as well as the comfort of daily tasks done carefully and according to traditional teachings. It was a great read.
February 25, 2025
I’m so thankful this little book found its way to my bookshelf. Published 95 years ago, this is a series of interviews between an anthropologist and a Native Crow woman. The author dedicated much of his career living with indigenous people, but culturally, Crow women rarely spoke to men outside of their family.
This books was the rare chance for a first hand account of life in the 1800s from a Crow women’s perspective.
Pretty Shield is a delight. She is silly, with a great sense of humor. Her big personality shines through- you can tell the author really respects and admires her. I also enjoy the moments when the author “breaks the fourth wall” and shares some of the silly moments in the room between him, pretty shield, and their interpreter.
It’s a fun read!
Pretty Shield’s stories are CRAZY interesting! She’s in her 90s when she gives these interviews, so she was born around the 1830s. She speaks vividly of her own childhood, but she also recants some of HER grandma’s stories, too. It’s such a rare first person account of a genuine Native American experience, what life was like before white people had to ruin it for everyone.
This is one I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is curious about humanity and history. It’s fun, quick, and brilliant.
This books was the rare chance for a first hand account of life in the 1800s from a Crow women’s perspective.
Pretty Shield is a delight. She is silly, with a great sense of humor. Her big personality shines through- you can tell the author really respects and admires her. I also enjoy the moments when the author “breaks the fourth wall” and shares some of the silly moments in the room between him, pretty shield, and their interpreter.
It’s a fun read!
Pretty Shield’s stories are CRAZY interesting! She’s in her 90s when she gives these interviews, so she was born around the 1830s. She speaks vividly of her own childhood, but she also recants some of HER grandma’s stories, too. It’s such a rare first person account of a genuine Native American experience, what life was like before white people had to ruin it for everyone.
This is one I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is curious about humanity and history. It’s fun, quick, and brilliant.
January 9, 2023
Wonderful astounding book.
In the 1920's the author who spoke Indian sign language interviewed a elderly Crow woman about her early life.
She talks about the constant war between the Crow and the Lakota. There were always men killed and women mourning. In fact Pretty Shield was given to her aunt by her mother to cure the aunt of sadness from losing her children and husband in a Lakota raid. This was not a terrible hardship as the clans visited often.Wherever they went the men had to be on the lookout for raiders and yet she describes wonderful times as a child playing in the out-of-doors, playing with her small tepee and dolls, making herself and friends into mud clowns, joining some men who are hunting buffalo and killing a small calf with their spears. Pretty exciting stuff for a young kid to do.
Before the Crow had horses when a woman got old and could not travel they set her up in the lodge with meat and wood for a fire and left her. There was nothing else they could do. When a man got too old to take care of himself he put on his best clothes and all his war paint and went out to battle in order to be killed. Life was so much better with the coming of horses; there was always meat and singing and dancing in the villages.
She describes being on an older horse and getting caught in a buffalo stampede hanging on for dear life until finally her father and another man moved their horses into the stampede forcing her horse out saving her life. When she was 10 or so her father lent her his best horse. She tried to catch a calf by roping it in a buffalo herd. She didn’t manage to catch the calf but her horse knew exactly what to do even tripping the calf. If she had fallen off that horse she would’ve been trampled. Her father laughingly admonished her for being unable to rope the calf. Nowadays a father would go to jail for allowing a 10-year-old girl to do something like that. These were tough people.
Pretty Shield’s stories are so lyrical. She mixes in what must’ve been imagination or dreams saying she saw things that couldn’t have been possible. For instance, one time a bear was attacking a woman and one of the men whose “medicine” was the dragonfly took his knife and walked straight at the bear who could not see him because he was a dragonfly. The man was singing his dragonfly song and he scared the bear away. What does one make of that kind of story?
Another time she and a friend watched a little boy bear cub get angry at his mother and walk away in a pout. She and her friend decided to go and capture this club while the mother was not looking. They did so but as they were leaving the mother saw what they were doing reared up on her back legs. They dropped the cub and ran. Another time they found two baby antelope which they ran off with. The mother came after them but then stopped and began to beat her hoofs on a rock and sing a song about her children. This made Proud Shield and her friend think about how they would feel if their children were stolen and they let the antelope babies go.
Once she and one of her friends had climbed up a tree and some boys she was playing with had captured three bear cubs and tied them to the base of the tree and went away. Of course, the mother bear came and the girls could not get down. Eventually her father came after the boys let on about their joke and rescued her. I suppose this would be the 1880’s Crow Indian equivalent of pulling a girl’s pigtails, boys just being boys!
She described a clever method that the Crow used to tell if a black spot in the far distance was moving i.e. a human or animal. Two sticks set in the ground lined up with the spot would make it very easy to see the spot was moving. She describes how a Crow mother and daughter escaped from slavery in Lakota village and how the husband cut off one of his fingers to show his grief for their suffering.
At one point Pretty Shield mentions a story about an alligator which the author says it’s quite common among the Indians in that area which led him to believe that these tribes must once have lived near the ocean.
A man and his married sister in law may not speak or sit together even if they are living in the same tepee. However a husband may demand marriage to his wife's unmarried younger sisters.
In fact Pretty Shield married a man who had another wife and who then took her two sisters as wives. However, she was the only one who gave him children and it was she whose face he chose to paint after he had done well in battle which she took as a great honor.
Pretty shield mentions how you could tell the seasons from a chickadees tongue. The author thought this was all nuts but then researched it and learned that indeed the Chickadee does have a tongue that has remarkable characteristics.
Men could not marry until they had counted coup or were 25 and of course they did not want to wait that long. The women tried to talk them out of going to war but it was like “talking to the winter wind.” She describes a time in which the Crow had captured 100 Lakota women and a Lakota man coming in peace requested that a trade could be made, the women for horses as the Lakota needed their women. The crow agreed and the exchange was made except one woman was left over. She lived with the Crow from then on and was a very disagreeable person.
She describes the men returning from the Battle of Little BigHorn and later being shown by one of the Crow warriors who fought where Custer was killed apparently in the middle of a ravene. She says that the monument marking out where the battle took place and where Custer was killed is displaced. Custer was called Son-of-the-Morning-Star by the Crow.
And finally she describes how all the Buffalo were killed by white hunters leaving their carcasses rotting on the plains, how the government gave all Crow land to ranchers and they ended up living on the reservation were not able to survive except on government handouts. The men began to drink and families fell apart, and she watched the destruction of a life she had lived and loved.
Wonderful, touching, revealing book.
In the 1920's the author who spoke Indian sign language interviewed a elderly Crow woman about her early life.
She talks about the constant war between the Crow and the Lakota. There were always men killed and women mourning. In fact Pretty Shield was given to her aunt by her mother to cure the aunt of sadness from losing her children and husband in a Lakota raid. This was not a terrible hardship as the clans visited often.Wherever they went the men had to be on the lookout for raiders and yet she describes wonderful times as a child playing in the out-of-doors, playing with her small tepee and dolls, making herself and friends into mud clowns, joining some men who are hunting buffalo and killing a small calf with their spears. Pretty exciting stuff for a young kid to do.
Before the Crow had horses when a woman got old and could not travel they set her up in the lodge with meat and wood for a fire and left her. There was nothing else they could do. When a man got too old to take care of himself he put on his best clothes and all his war paint and went out to battle in order to be killed. Life was so much better with the coming of horses; there was always meat and singing and dancing in the villages.
She describes being on an older horse and getting caught in a buffalo stampede hanging on for dear life until finally her father and another man moved their horses into the stampede forcing her horse out saving her life. When she was 10 or so her father lent her his best horse. She tried to catch a calf by roping it in a buffalo herd. She didn’t manage to catch the calf but her horse knew exactly what to do even tripping the calf. If she had fallen off that horse she would’ve been trampled. Her father laughingly admonished her for being unable to rope the calf. Nowadays a father would go to jail for allowing a 10-year-old girl to do something like that. These were tough people.
Pretty Shield’s stories are so lyrical. She mixes in what must’ve been imagination or dreams saying she saw things that couldn’t have been possible. For instance, one time a bear was attacking a woman and one of the men whose “medicine” was the dragonfly took his knife and walked straight at the bear who could not see him because he was a dragonfly. The man was singing his dragonfly song and he scared the bear away. What does one make of that kind of story?
Another time she and a friend watched a little boy bear cub get angry at his mother and walk away in a pout. She and her friend decided to go and capture this club while the mother was not looking. They did so but as they were leaving the mother saw what they were doing reared up on her back legs. They dropped the cub and ran. Another time they found two baby antelope which they ran off with. The mother came after them but then stopped and began to beat her hoofs on a rock and sing a song about her children. This made Proud Shield and her friend think about how they would feel if their children were stolen and they let the antelope babies go.
Once she and one of her friends had climbed up a tree and some boys she was playing with had captured three bear cubs and tied them to the base of the tree and went away. Of course, the mother bear came and the girls could not get down. Eventually her father came after the boys let on about their joke and rescued her. I suppose this would be the 1880’s Crow Indian equivalent of pulling a girl’s pigtails, boys just being boys!
She described a clever method that the Crow used to tell if a black spot in the far distance was moving i.e. a human or animal. Two sticks set in the ground lined up with the spot would make it very easy to see the spot was moving. She describes how a Crow mother and daughter escaped from slavery in Lakota village and how the husband cut off one of his fingers to show his grief for their suffering.
At one point Pretty Shield mentions a story about an alligator which the author says it’s quite common among the Indians in that area which led him to believe that these tribes must once have lived near the ocean.
A man and his married sister in law may not speak or sit together even if they are living in the same tepee. However a husband may demand marriage to his wife's unmarried younger sisters.
In fact Pretty Shield married a man who had another wife and who then took her two sisters as wives. However, she was the only one who gave him children and it was she whose face he chose to paint after he had done well in battle which she took as a great honor.
Pretty shield mentions how you could tell the seasons from a chickadees tongue. The author thought this was all nuts but then researched it and learned that indeed the Chickadee does have a tongue that has remarkable characteristics.
Men could not marry until they had counted coup or were 25 and of course they did not want to wait that long. The women tried to talk them out of going to war but it was like “talking to the winter wind.” She describes a time in which the Crow had captured 100 Lakota women and a Lakota man coming in peace requested that a trade could be made, the women for horses as the Lakota needed their women. The crow agreed and the exchange was made except one woman was left over. She lived with the Crow from then on and was a very disagreeable person.
She describes the men returning from the Battle of Little BigHorn and later being shown by one of the Crow warriors who fought where Custer was killed apparently in the middle of a ravene. She says that the monument marking out where the battle took place and where Custer was killed is displaced. Custer was called Son-of-the-Morning-Star by the Crow.
And finally she describes how all the Buffalo were killed by white hunters leaving their carcasses rotting on the plains, how the government gave all Crow land to ranchers and they ended up living on the reservation were not able to survive except on government handouts. The men began to drink and families fell apart, and she watched the destruction of a life she had lived and loved.
Wonderful, touching, revealing book.
March 6, 2023
Looking for wonderful books for a fantastic price?? Check with your local library and contact the Friends of the Library and see when they have their 2nd hand book sales. 1$ for hard-back and 50 cents for paperbacks. They have great deals on children's books(if you have a young reader, you know that they are really high. But they had a ton of them and I got them fo4 25 cents apiece. This time I stumbled upon this amazing book for 50 cents. In 1931 Frank Linderman was able to talk to Pretty-Shield, a Medicine Woman from the Crow tribe. She spoke about her childhood and how the Crow Tribe lived through the seasons and the years before Custer was shot down at Little Big Horn. After that, the Crow, who were used to follow the buffalo herds throughout the years. Then fences were set up and all the Indian tribes were told where to live. They weren't what to eat once all the buffalo were killed and their bodies left to rot outside of those reservations. A wonderful insightful history .
December 16, 2025
Pretty-shield is a doll.who.sinoly found a way to have her people's story told. she was probably bitter about her life in her 30s, realizing she never had children or. found her loved one.
lesbians themselves live boring lives as they shop and work on crafts, slowly learning their parents' histories, knowing deep in their soul the pain of being. we felt for our mother's, but it's when a man reduces himself to a girl and eventual baby just to feel another cultures, that one feels for people they may have once known.
pretty+shield is no.longer a king,.maybe not even pretty, but she shares a soul I might have been incarnated from. we blow last the horror of schlock.mesnt to instill littles of no value, simply in awe of sauvants who can enjoy a lifetime of doing the same thing over and over...
tagline:?! how do you do that?
lesbians themselves live boring lives as they shop and work on crafts, slowly learning their parents' histories, knowing deep in their soul the pain of being. we felt for our mother's, but it's when a man reduces himself to a girl and eventual baby just to feel another cultures, that one feels for people they may have once known.
pretty+shield is no.longer a king,.maybe not even pretty, but she shares a soul I might have been incarnated from. we blow last the horror of schlock.mesnt to instill littles of no value, simply in awe of sauvants who can enjoy a lifetime of doing the same thing over and over...
tagline:?! how do you do that?
August 4, 2020
This book has been characterized as the female counterpart to "Black Elk Speaks" but I think it may be much more valuable. Pretty-shield was a wise and spunky woman who survived the tumultuous and ultimately heartbreaking time in the history of her people. A very enjoyable read, especially if you have some prior knowledge of the Plains history. It also has some insightful and surprising observations relating to General Custer. Frank Linderman does a great job in illuminating her stories, but mostly just lets her great personality shine through.
October 21, 2024
Only a four because the stories of this amazing woman were written down by a white man.
On the one hand - at least we have the stories. But on the other hand, he was racist and sexist. So he didn't even know what questions he should ask.
The most interesting part to me was a story on page 133. There was a trans woman at the Battle of Little Big Horn. One of the Crow warriors 'had the body of a man, but the heart of a woman.' She dressed in woman's clothes but fought as a warrior.
There's more - look it up.
On the one hand - at least we have the stories. But on the other hand, he was racist and sexist. So he didn't even know what questions he should ask.
The most interesting part to me was a story on page 133. There was a trans woman at the Battle of Little Big Horn. One of the Crow warriors 'had the body of a man, but the heart of a woman.' She dressed in woman's clothes but fought as a warrior.
There's more - look it up.
February 1, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Pretty shield's tales of life during the time of buffalo were vivid and brought her stories to life. The counterpoint of Linderman's observations of her life as it presently was made clear how horribly white men have treated native Americans. I loved how she told sides of stories she knew men wouldn't. Particularly when she informed linderman of the two woman who fought with the Crows at little big horn(?) with Custer. And that one of those women had been born a man. Also noted that life back in the day was dangerous as fuck. Childhood was a struggle to survive and adulthood not much safer.
April 25, 2022
I was recommended this book by a few friends of mine. I have always had an Interest in this culture so was excited to read this especially as it was from a woman's point of view and I have to say that this book and the way it is written is amazing. Pretty-shield was a very wise woman and many could learn so much from her words even years later. This is why I highly recommend this book and gave it five stars
June 19, 2023
What intrigued me about this book is that it was written in 1932 by “white man” Frank Linderman. For the first time in history (with the help of an interpreter and through sign language), a Crow medicine woman, Pretty-shield, shared her story of life on the plains during the time of the great Buffalo hunts. FASCINATING!!!!!
“Listen to the old ones, the wise ones; keep their wisdom within your heart, and understand that wisdom in your mind.” - Pretty-shield
“Listen to the old ones, the wise ones; keep their wisdom within your heart, and understand that wisdom in your mind.” - Pretty-shield
December 16, 2023
This book was assigned reading from my Native American women in history class. I liked it so much that I have suggested it to others. It is a very easy read. Although this is biographical in nature, it doesn’t read like the typical biographies which can tend to be stuffy and monotonous. The story of pretty shield, and her crow people is one that should be required reading in all American history classes.
June 13, 2024
Story time, interesting, historical, I loved all of the stories. Pretty-shield is a G. I never fully understood what people meant when they talked about how indigenous people had a connection to nature. Now I feel like I get it a little more. Things like dragging people on horses, scalping them and the story of the horse and the bull were pretty scary. Im glad we got a mix of her stories, other people’s stories, and folk stories. I feel like she must have had more than just the stories that were in the book though?
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