Drafts and revisions of Drummers and Dreamers (part 2).
Date
1952
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Caxton Printers.
Abstract
This book, first published in 1956, is based on the author's first-hand experience and research with followers of the Wanapum Indian prophet Smohalla. The Wanapum, or River People, were a small Columbia River tribe, their remnants now absorbed into the Yakama, but Smohalla's movement resonated throughout the Northwest Plateau tribes. His message was one of resolute refusal to compromise Native spiritual values; he is most widely remembered today for his words, "You ask me to plow the earth? Shall I take a knife and cut my mother's breast?" which was in fact the practical creed of his followers. He preached nonviolent passive resistance to the white invaders and to all their efforts to change the Indian way of life, strengthening Native resistance in the Northwest to taking up farming, and Smohalla's movement had a strong influence on Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce. The religious tradition that Smohalla founded is still practiced in much of the Northwest, such as on the Warm Springs reservation in Oregon. This book is a perceptive, touchingly empathetic look at the Smohalla movement, written by a journalist who knew the Indian people about whom he was writing personally and had deep affection and caring for them.
Description
2 boxes of 8.5 x 11 inch sheets. Typed. Editing marks throughout by Relander. Not digitized due to copyright restriction. Available to view, in person, by appointment.
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Keywords
Drummers and Dreamers