As for the book itself, I found a review that leaves me wondering how you or anyone else could have found this book credible. My comments have >>>.
http://hallamericanhistory.com/americas/1448.shtml From Kirkus Reviews , January 15, 1996
The life and healing practices of a Muskogee Creek medicine man who seems never to have met a disease he couldn't cure. A general reader must suspend disbelief and patiently endure grandfatherly lectures throughout this book, coauthored by Larkin, a white woman who experienced a spiritual rebirth under Bear Heart's tutelage. As a young disciple, Bear Heart underwent training rituals that included
trooping through a nest of rattlesnakes and lying on an anthill.
>>>This is straight out of Hollywood nonsense, Indian mystical primitive warrior stereotypes.
He also became adept in using traditional healing tools, including a wide repertoire of chants, an eagle feather upon which he blows when ministering to sick patients, the Sacred Pipe, and peyote, which only recently was legally permitted for use by practitioners of the Native American Church. In his long tenure as medicine man, Bear Heart claims to have cured earaches, tubercular-like illnesses, poisonings, and paralysis, often after Western medicine had failed. In addition, he was able to produce snow for a Colorado ski resort and cause choking fits from a distance in those with evil intentions.
>>>Controlling the weather? This is straight out of some dubious writings on "Rolling Thunder" a white man who passed as Cherokee and, much like the Bear Tribe, misled a lot of white hippies.
>>>And I'm not sure about the Muscogee in particular, but among a lot of Native tribes, doing things like causing choking fits would get someone condemned as a witch and shunned out of the tribe. (In the old days, they could even be killed.) And this is true of the Navajo, which Bear heart sometimes claimed to be. Mighty strange for
someone who also claimed to be Christian minister.
In the main, however, one can read this as a homily-filled discourse on leading a healthy and happy existence. Among his admonitions
are to remain humble, have respect for elders, laugh frequently, be respectful of the natural environment, avoid blaming others for one's
situation, and other tried-and-true strategies. The book is forever in danger of meandering into areas best left untouched, such as bear psychology (``Mostly they use telepathy to communicate'')
>>>This is pure nonsense. I've never heard of any Native peoples whose elders believed in telepathy for animals.
and anthropology (``It's possible that the Hebrews were here in North America first and then traveled to Israel''),
>>>Most Natives would find this pretty offensive and complete nonsense. We're not Israelites and Israelites were not like us. That's straight out of the old racist theories that claimed Indians were so primitive they could never have built pyramids in
Mexico. I wonder why this racism didn't set off alarm bells for the book's readers?
but the writers maintain such a consistently sincere tone that the uncritical reader readily forgives Bear Heart's leaps into the unknown. In sum, one can read this in lieu of spending an evening with a well-meaning but long-winded relative or use it,
sparingly, as a resource for insight into traditional Native American practices. --
Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
---
Let me add one final important note: if anyone over there should come into contact with the Bear Tribe, *women especially* should exercise caution.
I don't know of any accounts that have people in the Bear Tribe raping women or sexually exploiting their followers, outside of Laduke ("Sun Bear") himself. But since they worshipped him, some
might share his attitudes and it's best to be cautious.
--- In nafps_again@yahoogroups.com, "vikinglady03"
<banfield@a...> wrote: Hi..now when I磛e found this great source of information, there is yet another man I磎 curious about.
There is a book that has become tremendously popular here in Scandinavia and seems to be "The Bible" for any indian interested person. It is called "The Wind is My Mother - the life of an Indian schaman" (!!) It is written by Molly Larkin on behalf of a guy called Bear Heart. He is said to be Muskogee Creek indian and a medicine man. He grew up some miles west of Okemah, Oklahoma and is about 75 years old.
I磛e read the book - with the very litte I know about different Native cultures, I didn磘 find anything "wrong". Apart from two things: him being Christian and telling the readers to go to church and pray to God. Seemed a bit odd to me since the book is all about traditional native culture. Also, he seems to be telling EVERYTHING about the practices of medicine men - rites, ceremonies, traditions.
I thought the communities kept most of that to themselves...?
Oh well...everyone here knows of this book - nuager or not - so it would be interesting to find out about this guy Bear Heart.
Annika
