Lakota Myth - 2nd Edition by James R Walker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

James R. Walker was a physician to the Pine Ridge Sioux from 1896 to 1914. His accounts of this time, taken from his personal papers, reveal much about Lakota life and culture. This third volume of previously unpublished material from the Walker collection presents his work on Lakota myth and legend. This edition includes classic examples of Lakota oral literature, narratives that were known only to a few Oglala holy men, and Walker's own literary cycle based on all he had learned about Lakota myth. Lakota Myth is an indispensable source for students of comparative literature, religion, and mythology, as well as those interested in Lakota culture.

Review Quotes

"[Elaine Jahner] is sensitive to the analysis of texts, sensitive to meanings hidden between the cracks of texts and correspondences, and sensitive and generous to the scholars--Sioux and non-Indian alike--who preceded her in collecting and analyzing the myths and cultural detail of the Teton Dakota Sioux."--Pacific Historical Review

"A primary source of research and serious study. . . . Ethnology at its best."--American Indian Culture and Research Journal

"An immensely interesting and provocative addition to the literature of the Plains Indians."--North Dakota History

"One of the major publications of American Indian myth."--Reviews in Anthropology

About the Author

Elaine A. Jahner (1942-2003) was a professor of English and Native American studies at Dartmouth College and the author of Spaces of the Mind: Narrative and Community in the American West (Nebraska 2004). Raymond J. DeMallie is a professor of anthropology at Indiana University and the editor of The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt (Nebraska 1984).