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The traditional material includes the Seminole "Song for Bringing a Child into the World," the Navajo "Hymn of the Horse," the Pima "Quail Song," and more. Contemporary authors included are Beth Brant (of the Mohawk people), Joy Harjo (Muscogee), Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), and others.
The book contains a useful bibliography. However, there is almost no biographical data on each contemporary author, and very little data on the various nations represented. The book would have been stronger if such data had been included. Still, this is a beautiful and enriching anthology. Topics covered include spirituality, animal and plant life, conflict with Eurocentric culture, Native language loss, and more. Some of the best poems include Joseph Bruchac's moving "Geese Flying over a Prison Sweat Lodge"; Maurice Kenny's sensuous, mystical "Sky Woman"; and Carter Revard's deeply spiritual "What the Eagle Fan Says." I recommend this book both for classroom use and for general reading.
I'll admit it was the poetry (which is mostly if not completely modern) rather than the traditional songs which attracted my attention. In particular, I quite liked "This Is No Movie of Noble Savages" by Adrian Louis and the poems by Sherman Alexie. One thing in particular that annoyed me with this book, however, was what would seem to be an anachronism perpetuated by the translator(s). Namely, several traditional Native American songs in the book from different tribes refer to 'the Milky Way'. Now, I don't know what the words are that these were translated from, but I'm fairly sure that there weren't any Native Americans (or anybody else at th time) that were calling anything a Milky Way.
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