"These are the real stories of a Sichangu Wischasha who knows himself well and a haunting story of a people who have survived on the Northern Plains against all odds." INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MAGAZINE

If you're a backyard or weekend wildlife observer, this is the perfect book for you. Put it in your backpack, pocket, glove box or camper and always be ready to identify! The illustrations are excellent and provide enough detail to know one similar frog from another. If you're looking for some biological detail, go for a bigger book, but this one is great for quick ID.

This book is an outstanding work by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) for all theatre professionals as well as K-12 teachers. I strongly recommend that it be part of every school library collection.

Written by one of the Masters of Native stories and story-telling, this book offers a tremendous degree of insight into the importance and relevance of traditional stories and story-telling in today's world. Often dismissed as entertainment for children, Bruchac shows in great depth the many layers of importance and wisdom that these stories have. He also provides an expert analysis of the role of story and story-teller -- their functions and realities. If you are interested in traditional Native literature and stories, or just in story-telling in general, this is a must-read book.

The works of Edward S. Curtis are monumental and beautiful. This book reproduces them with stunning clarity capturing the luminescence of his orotones remarkably well. The text serves to convey the rich meaning behind the photographs. For anyone interested in photography, art, or the story of the Native Americans, this is a treasure not to be missed.

This book is filled with great poetry, plays, essays, and short stories. A wealth of stories about being Native American in modern America. Some passionate essays are also contained in this book. If you have any interest in poetry, literature, or Native American studies; I suggest you pick up this book anywhere you can.

Someone should do a movie version of this book. With all the excellent Native American actors and actresses we have today, I'm sure that America would enjoy the Native American version of this saga. Greasy Grass better known as The Battle of Little Big Horn in this version excels in bitter truth and, in triumphant victory for the Native Americans. Everyone would walk away with much food for thought.

These are the names of the people who are now gone and some that are made up from the people of the tribe and family.

I found that the resulting studies printed in these pages revealed a great amount of insight about successful Native American economic development and the interplay of culture, tradition, politics and tribal governmental mechanics. The book also reveals that the task of reforming tribal government may be a difficult task to achieve.

I would recommend a brief reading by any individual, company, or agency that maintains or wishes to develop a working relationship with Native American Tribes.

Marshall provides a deep insight into the Native American world through the medium of the novel. The tale describes a society's reaction to agents of change and the means by which the changes are assimilated into culture.

Winter of the Holy Iron describes the affects of the "white man" and the new technologies used by the "white man" on Native American culture. Rather than being a simple comparitive novel, Marshall weaves a tale of conflict, understanding, and uncertainty from the perspective of a Native American but does not come to conclusions. According to the story, these types of change face us all -- across time and across cultures. This universal treatment makes Marshall's novel interesting reading and a compelling analysis of Native American and White cultures.

Marshall portrays the Native American as far more than a passive character in history or the blood-thirsty savage. Marshall's works define the Native American as an active participant in history. This refreshing perspective, along with his oral-storytelling-tradition-on-paper writing style, define the the Native American as active and not necessarily reactionary. Even today, Marshall's tale still accurately describes the issues between acceptance of foreign ideas and goods (assimilation) and the rejection of such ideas.

I have read Marshall's two other works in book form (I found his works by chance). Winter of the Holy Iron is different from his essays but embodies the best of his short essay narratives and descriptions (like those from Dance House : Stories from Rosebud). The novel is very well written and allows Marshall to develop characters that are unforgettable -- something he also masters in his short essays. This book is a true 5 star work.