Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend = �wako �ma ohei paskw~wi-mostos k~-kist�yimiht: n�hiyaw-~cimowin. Judith Silverthorne. Told by Ray Lavallee. Illustrated by Mike Keepness. Translated by Randy Morin, Jean Okim~sis & Arok Wolvengrey. Regina, SK: Your Nickel�s Worth, 2015. 48 pp., pbk, $14.95. ISBN 978-1-927756-33-1. Subject Headings: Cree Indians-Folklore. Bison-Folklore. Grades 3-8 / Ages 8-13. Review by Tanya Boudreau. *** /4

excerpt:

My hide will be flexible when it is tanned, suitable for tipi and sweat lodge covers and liners. The two-leggeds may also use my soft tanned hide to clothe themselves in dresses, leggings, moccasin tops, breechcloths, belts, and shirts. They will also create headdresses for ceremonies and costumes to disguise themselves as they hunt me.

Told in English and Cree (Y dialect) and narrated by a grandfather to his grandson, Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend explains how the buffalo came to help the indigenous people who lived on the plains. The dialogue between the buffalo and the Creator explains how the buffalo�s body parts (hair, wool, organs, bones, blood, fat) will be used to provide clothing, tools, and shelter to the people who live on the Plains. After the Creator thanks the buffalo for this thoughtful gift and sacrifice, he reassures the buffalo that the �two-leggeds� will honour him through prayer and song to their spirit (which the grandfather demonstrates to his grandson). As the buffalo respond to the grandfather�s song, the grandson discovers he has much to learn about �Buffalo Medicine�.

     Back material includes six pages of photographed objects made from buffalo (e.g. neck bone club, hide quiver, tail broom), one page of buffalo facts, and an educational guide of questions and research activities. The 18 full-page paintings in the book appear beside the written pages (which are divided in half to include the two languages). The artwork features scenes from the Cree�s traditional way of life. The body parts mentioned in the text are in bold letters, and the languages on each side of the page are in different fonts. The buffalo dialogue is italicized. Students studying Cree will find this book useful for their projects.

Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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