| "That's What They Used to Say": Reflections on American Indian Oral Traditions Contributor(s): Fixico, Donald L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0806157755 ISBN-13: 9780806157757 Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press OUR PRICE: $34.60 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2017 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology - Performing Arts | Storytelling |
| Dewey: 398.208 |
| LCCN: 2017006657 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.3" W x 9.1" (1.15 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - Native American |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: As a child growing up in rural Oklahoma, Donald Fixico often heard "hvmakimata"--"that's what they used to say"--a phrase Mvskoke Creeks and Seminoles use to end stories. In his latest work, Fixico, who is Shawnee, Sac and Fox, Mvskoke Creek, and Seminole, invites readers into his own oral tradition to learn how storytelling, legends and prophecies, and oral histories and creation myths knit together to explain the Indian world. Interweaving the storytelling and traditions of his ancestors, Fixico conveys the richness and importance of oral culture in Native communities and demonstrates the power of the spoken word to bring past and present together, creating a shared reality both immediate and historical for Native peoples. Fixico's stories conjure war heroes and ghosts, inspire fear and laughter, explain the past, and foresee the future--and through them he skillfully connects personal, familial, tribal, and Native history. Oral tradition, Fixico affirms, at once reflects and creates the unique internal reality of each Native community. Stories possess spiritual energy, and by summoning this energy, storytellers bring their communities together. Sharing these stories, and the larger story of where they come from and how they work, "That's What They Used to Say" offers readers rare insight into the oral traditions at the very heart of Native cultures, in all of their rich and infinitely complex permutations. |
Contributor Bio(s): Fixico, Donald L.: - Donald L. Fixico (Shawnee, Sac and Fox, Mvskoke Creek, and Seminole) is Distinguished Foundation Professor of History and Distinguished Scholar of Sustainability in the Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. He is the author or editor of 13 books, including Call for Change: The Medicine Way of American Indian History, Ethos, and Reality. |