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CM . . .
. Volume XXI Number 36. . . .May 22, 2015
excerpt:
In the “Foreword”, by Lee Maracle (Salish and Cree Sto:lo Nation), she writes:
Highly Recommended. Gail de Vos, the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore, teaches at the School of Library and Information Studies for the University of Alberta.
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Next Review | Table of Contents For This Issue - May 22, 2015 |
Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices is a vibrant collection or, perhaps more precisely, a pulsating collage of personal stories told through words, images, and structure from an extensive range of creative people challenging their readers and viewers about what it means to be a young aboriginal person in today’s world. The entries are organized according to four major topics: roots, battles, medicines and dreamcatchers. The energy and tone of each of these sections are unswerving but flowing, with the entries in “roots” demonstrating strength while those in the next section,” battles,” are much more strident. The next two sections are reflective of healing and hope for the future. The editors, Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale, have selected and organized these entries effectively, resulting in a unified narrative. But it is also a book that can be dipped into at will, allowing readers and viewers, to taste and plot an individual path through the entries without losing form and structure.
The more than sixty authors, dancers, filmmakers and illustrators are from all over North America and represent a wide variety of tribal affiliations, all acknowledged in both the entries and the succinct notes about the contributors in the back matter. The age range of the contributors is also wide and varied, including high school students and elders. Dreaming in Indian is a powerful book, celebrating stories wrapped in sensually creative page layouts and book design, belongs in every middle school, high school and public library.