Review
"She writes with disarming honesty about the obstacles she encountered, including poverty, illness, rape, and unwed motherhood. There are miracle moments, both literal and figurative, in a book whose appeal extends beyond region and ethnicity. For its warmth, sensitivity, and inspirational qualities, this is recommended for all libraries." - Library Journal. "Snell is a storyteller... Her words have been sensitively and artistically edited by oral historian Matthews. Snell spins tales of growing up with her grandmother, Pretty Shield...,of a difficult youth, and of an eventually solid marriage. What drives the book is not so much dramatic external events but visions of an interconnected cosmos. An excellent addition to Native American Studies." - Booklist "(Snell's) remarkable life story includes an enduring love affair enriched by pathos, traveling evangelism, a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a period of activism, life on several reservations, and emergence as a cultural teacher. Her candor and willingness to describe intimate facets of Crow culture is unique in the literature. Snell provides an excellent introduction to Crow ethnographies; her editorial hand is deft. Recommended for undergraduate libraries supporting Indian, women's, and multicultural studies. Undergraduates." - -CHOICE
Product Description
'I became what the Crows call kaalisbaapite - a 'grandmother's grandchild'. That means that I was always with my Grandma, and I learned from her. I learned how to do things in the old ways' - Alma Hogan Snell. "Grandmother's Grandchild" is the remarkable story of Alma Hogan Snell, a Crow woman brought up by her grandmother, the famous medicine woman Pretty Shield. Snell grew up during the 1920s and 1930s, part of the second generation of Crows to be born into reservation life. Like many of her contemporaries, she experienced poverty, personal hardships, and prejudice, and left home to attend federal Indian schools.What makes Snell's story particularly engaging is her exceptional storytelling style. She is frank and passionate, and these qualities yield a memoir unlike those of most Native women. The complex reservation world of Crow women - harsh yet joyous, impoverished yet rich in meaning - unfolds for readers. Snell's experiences range from the forging of an unforgettable bond between grandchild and grandmother to the flowering of an extraordinary love story that has lasted more than five decades. Becky Matthews teaches history at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Peter Nabokov is Professor of World Arts and Cultures at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the author of "Two Leggings: The Making of a Crow Warrior" (Nebraska 1982) and other works.
