Messengers of the Wind: Native American Women Tell Their Life Stories - Paperback

by Jane Katz (Author)

"Messengers of the Wind goes beyond the autobiographies of everyday women. These are women who have long been an invisible part of American culture. Their stories are haunting, frightening, encouraging, and courageous. . . . Katz is a faithful guide."
--The Minnesota Daily
In Messengers of the Wind, Native American women, old and young, from a variety of tribal groups, speak with eloquence and passion about their experience on the land and in urban areas; about their work as artists, activists, and healers; as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; as modern women with a link to the past. And as each woman, renowned and obscure, tells her remarkable personal story, it is clear that each has tapped into the power that comes from within and has reached back into a history that brings with it courage and hope.
" 'Giving energy to Mother Earth' -- Yes. That is our duty as women, as Natives, and as human beings. Messengers of the Wind is a way of doing just that. It is not a dance, feet patting our mother, but it is an offering, the voices of the women sent to comfort her. Thank-you, Jane Katz, for your offering. It is a special and much-needed gift."
--Paula Gunn Allen
Author of Voice of the Turtle
"COMPELLING. . . INTIMATE."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A RICH COLLECTION OF PERSONAL STORIES. . .REWARDING. . . These are powerful women with important stories to tell."
--Kirkus Reviews

Front Jacket

Messengers of the Wind goes beyond the autobiographies of everyday women. These are women who have long been an invisible part of American culture. Their stories are haunting, frightening, encouraging, and courageous. . . . Katz is a faithful guide.
--The Minnesota Daily
In Messengers of the Wind, Native American women, old and young, from a variety of tribal groups, speak with eloquence and passion about their experience on the land and in urban areas; about their work as artists, activists, and healers; as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; as modern women with a link to the past. And as each woman, renowned and obscure, tells her remarkable personal story, it is clear that each has tapped into the power that comes from within and has reached back into a history that brings with it courage and hope.
" 'Giving energy to Mother Earth' -- Yes. That is our duty as women, as Natives, and as human beings. Messengers of the Wind is a way of doing just that. It is not a dance, feet patting our mother, but it is an offering, the voices of the women sent to comfort her. Thank-you, Jane Katz, for your offering. It is a special and much-needed gift."
--Paula Gunn Allen
Author of Voice of the Turtle
"COMPELLING. . . INTIMATE."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A RICH COLLECTION OF PERSONAL STORIES. . .REWARDING. . . These are powerful women with important stories to tell."
--Kirkus Reviews

Back Jacket

For generations the lives of Native American women have been kept in the shadows. Now, in Messengers of the Wind, these extraordinary Americans illuminate their diverse traditions, roles, and present-day realities. For though they share common threads of experience and history, Native women do not inhabit one contained world with a specific name, but rather many worlds. Native American women old and young, from a variety of tribal groups, speak with eloquence and passion about their experience on the land and in urban areas; about their work as artists, activists, and healers; as grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; as modern professional women with a link to the past. On an Ojibway reservation, a grandmother faces arrest rather than relinquish treaty rights; an Inupiat woman shares her spiritual connection to the Alaskan landscape; an Upper Skagit elder speaks of ancient tribal values and ceremonies she is helping perpetuate. All the women testify to the struggle of keeping Native ways alive in a time and place constantly threatening to trample them. And as each woman, renowned and obscure, tells her remarkable personal story, it is clear that each has tapped into the power that comes from within, and has reached back into a history that brings with it courage and hope. In strong, clear voices, Native women communicate the vision derived from their ancestors, which guides them as they forge new paths in a changing world.

Author Biography

Jane Katz is an oral historian, artist, and editor of several multicultural anthologies including Messengers of the Wind: Native American Women Tell Their Life Stories. She studied drawing and watercolor at Minnetonka Art Center and Edina Art Center. Katz resides in Minnesota.