The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing

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A thoughtful exploration of Indian culture and medicine

The First Navajo Woman Surgeon.

Solid credentials but too abstract

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What We All Want in a Doctor

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing
Lori Alvord , and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0553378007
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Book Description

The first Navajo woman surgeon combines western medicine and traditional healing.

A spellbinding journey between two worlds, this remarkable book describes surgeon Lori Arviso Alvord's struggles to bring modern medicine to the Navajo reservation in Gallup, New Mexico--and to bring the values of her people to a medical care system in danger of losing its heart.

Dr. Alvord left a dusty reservation in New Mexico for Stanford University Medical School, becoming the first Navajo woman surgeon. Rising above the odds presented by her own culture and the male-dominated world of surgeons, she returned to the reservation to find a new challenge. In dramatic encounters, Dr. Alvord witnessed the power of belief to influence health, for good or for ill. She came to merge the latest breakthroughs of medical science with the ancient tribal paths to recovery and wellness, following the Navajo philosophy of a balanced and harmonious life, called Walking in Beauty. And now, in bringing these principles to the world of medicine, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear joins those few rare works, such as Healing and the Mind, whose ideas have changed medical practices-and our understanding of the world.

Customer Reviews:

A thoughtful exploration of Indian culture and medicine.......2007-07-26

Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."

Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.

Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.

"For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.

At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.

Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.

She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.

While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.

A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."

The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."

Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.

While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.

At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.

The First Navajo Woman Surgeon........2007-04-09

I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.

Solid credentials but too abstract.......2003-12-04

--Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
--On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
--On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
--The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
--This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
--Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.

READ THIS BOOK.......2003-05-10

I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list

What We All Want in a Doctor.......2002-03-18

This book was recommended by a friend, and after I read it, I chose it as my selection for my book club. Living in the Southwest, the insight into Native American culture was especially educational. Alvord seems to confirm what so many of us as patients have been saying for years: give us a doctor who will take the time to get to know us on a personal level and treat the whole person. I would recommend this to men and women, young and old alike! What an amazing woman.

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

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Great Book!!
Terrific book
Fantastic book to read aloud
The Code Talker Review
A Good Book All Around!

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
Joseph Bruchac
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142405965

Book Description

The United States is at war, and sixteen-year-old Ned Begay wants to join the cause—especially when he hears that Navajos are being specifically recruited by the Marine Corps. So he claims he's old enough to enlist, breezes his way through boot camp, and suddenly finds himself involved in a top-secret task, one that's exclusively performed by Navajos. He has become a code talker. Now Ned must brave some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with his native Navajo language as code, send crucial messages back and forth to aid in the conflict against Japan. His experiences in the Pacific—from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and beyond—will leave him forever changed.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!!.......2007-10-10

This is a great book. Not much else to say. 5 stars!! especially if you are into fictional stories based on real historical events!

Terrific book.......2007-09-28

Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.

Fantastic book to read aloud.......2007-09-25

We read this book aloud while on a driving vacation through Navajo country in New Mexico and Arizona. My children (girl 10, boy 8 and girl 5) were completely enthralled with both the story and the insight into the Navajo people. Although a work of fiction, the book reads very convincingly as a memoir. The author succeeds admirably in relating the cultural challenges faced by patriotic Native Americans serving in the military as well a giving a non-romanticized portrayal of the realities faced by the soldiers who waged battle in the Pacific. We particularly appreciated the lighter moments -- one tale of boot-camp swimming "lessons" had the kids screaming with laughter. A great read pure and simple, but also one with good lessons to be learned.

The Code Talker Review.......2007-04-06

This book is a great part of history that makes you want to read more and more after every chapter. It teaches you about the Navajo marines of World War 2. Two words; spontaneous and action packed. I loved it when it was talking about the Kamikaze airplanes, atomic bomb, and the Pearl Harbor attack. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

A Good Book All Around!.......2007-03-08

I suggest reading this book if you are interested in the Navajo Code Talkers. I would rate it as 4 out of 5. The book has somewhat of a language conflict, because of the different languages spoken. To completely understand the book, you will want to read it twice.

The book tells of a Navajo who was forced to learn English as a young child. He was assigned an English name and was never aloud to speak Navajo. As he aged and went through High School the Japanese were starting a war with the United States. Because the Japanese would intercept all of the Americans messages there was no way to communicate. The U.S. started to recruit Navajo's because of the language they spoke: Navajo.

The author tells us of his journey through WWII and his heroic story of courage and bravery while fighting to communicate with the "Main land". As the story progresses the author meets new friends and finds buddies from home. He describes war very thoroughly. He also describes the loss of a friend and how devastating it can be, especially during war.

There is a long introduction to the book (about 70 pages) in which reads very slowly. After you get past the beginning it is a page turner. I have recommended this book to my whole class because of the authors stunning ability to compel thoughts and emotions during war and hard times.

This is a short read with lots of interesting facts that have never been aloud to be spoken. The book would be considered Historical-Fiction because of its small amount of fictional content. I liked this book a lot and think that you would too. If you like anything to do with history, I would suggest that you read this book.

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Review of Sing Down
Native Americans Fell to European Invaders
My first book review and it's a good one!
The Navaho Trail of Tears
A review for Sing down the Moon

Sing Down the Moon
Scott O'Dell
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440979757
Release Date: 1997-03-26

Book Description

The Spanish Slavers were an ever-present threat to the Navaho way of life. One lovely spring day, fourteen-year-old Bright Morning and her friend Running Bird took their sheep to pasture. The sky was clear blue against the red buttes of the Canyon de Chelly, and the fields and orchards of the Navahos promised a rich harvest. Bright Morning was happy as she gazed across the beautiful valley that was the home of her tribe. She turned when Black Dog barked, and it was then that she saw the Spanish slavers riding straight toward her.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Sing Down.......2007-04-15

Sing down the moon is a book for ages about 11-13.
The main character is a girl named Bright morning, and she's a Navajo Indian. She gets kid-napped by the Spaniards.
When she gets back, she has this ceremony of becoming a woman.
After her tribe has a march, in the march they walked a lot and a lot of people got sick and died. Some people had hope and some people thought it was going to be the end.
During the march Bright Morning and Tall Boy got married.
It's a historical fiction story, and if you like historical fiction... I suggest you read it.
There were parts in the book which I think were not so good and I didn't really like it, but there were parts that were fine and pretty interesting.

Native Americans Fell to European Invaders.......2007-03-04

Before Columbus, the only encounter Americans had with a European was in 888 A.D. when the Maya were visited by Kash-Kash of Qurtabah (Cordoba). The Iberian Muslim was well treated by his American hosts and returned to Iberia with a ship full of gold - a famous legend well familiar to Columbus 500 years later. Unfortunately, Kash-Kash had unwittingly left behind smallpox and the Mayans had to flee their infected city, which remained deserted for 200 years.

When Columbus arrived 500 years after Kash-Kash, he too brought smallpox along with steel bayonets and firearms. Small pox aside, even the most advanced American communities were no match for the technology of the boat people, who came from Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England. The boat people fought amongst themselves for the privilege of waging war on the indigenous communites of America. Into the peaceful world of America came the murderous Europeans - the worst being the genocidal Protestant Anglos who, unlike the Catholics, did not consider Americans to be people and therefore seldom took them for spouses.

This short story about the fictional character Bright Morning and her eventual husband Tall Boy covers two years in the actual history of the Navaho Americans from 1863 to 1865. This was also the time of War Between the Yankee States, when the Yanks of the North fought against the Yanks of the South (the Yanks of the South called themselves Confederates). While the Yankee boat people fought between themselves, the Northern Yanks sent some of their army to remove Americans from their land - something they have always done but began in earnest during the 1820s with their leader Andy Jackson who forced the Cherokee Americans to walk to Oklahoma. Now, in 1864, Kit Carson was forcing Americans to leave their property and walk to Fort Sumter. The Americans, who have been doing Homeland Security since 1492 with little success, were unable to resist the Yanks save Geronimo and his cadre of 100 Homeland Security officers for a period of ten years (during that time they killed 7,000 invaders, which is 70 each).

In this tale, the two major characters manage to escape and return to their property, hiding in a canyon with their sheep. A tragic and emotionally unsettling story based on true events, what happened to the Americans at the hands of the Yanks is no different than what happened to the Indians in the 1940s at the hands of the Brits during the partition of India, or to the Palestinians at the hands of the boat people from Europe - it continues to echo today in Iraq, where 3,000 civilians flee each day.

My first book review and it's a good one!.......2006-09-15

The character that I like the most was Bright Morning. She is the main character. Her job is to take the flock of sheep to the aspen grove so they can eat. I think she was really brave because she did something nobody else in her tribe ever did before.

I think this is an excellent book to read and I think my friends will enjoy reading it because there are lots of surprises and it is never boring! I don't have a favorite part because I enjoyed reading the whole entire book. My name is Tori and I am 9 years old.

The Navaho Trail of Tears.......2006-05-14

One morning, while Navaho fourteen year old Bright Morning and her friend Running Bird are out in the fields of their home, Canyon de Chelly, tending sheep, they see strange men approaching. Before they can stop it, Bright Morning is kidnapped by the men, who turn out to be Spanish Slave-holders, and take her to a South-Western town, dominantly Mexican. She is sold as a slave to a Spanish speaking family, where she meets another slave, who can speak her language. Bright Morning tries desperately to find a way to get back to her people. The other slave imprisoned with her tells her the way, and Bright Morning is able to make a narrow escape back to her people. But when she returns, she finds her village under occupation of the "Long Knives", or American soldiers. After she is forsed into an arranged marriage with another Indian, Tall Boy, the Long Knives push the Navaho out of their land- and onto one of the most memorable events in American history- the Trail of Tears. Many all around her suffer and eventually die as they continue to walk on.
A very well written story, and very informative.

A review for Sing down the Moon.......2006-01-18

Sing down the moon was not such a bad book.
I mean Sing down the Moon is like a rollercoaster
some times it's good and some times it's not.

but it does take a good Auther to write a rollercoaster
book. I admire Scott O'dell the person who wrote this. Ok back to the book.
The good parts are when theres alot of action. the bad parts are
when it's dull.

I would want to tell you the bad parts and the good parts
but i don't want to spoil a really good book. So you read it and tel me if I'm correct. So until i see you by by.

Diné Bizaad: Speak, Read, Write Navajo Audio Lessons 1-10, 11-20, 21-30

Average customer rating:

A must buy with the text book!
Excellent resource
Very Pleased
the only way to learn Navajo
non professional

Diné Bizaad: Speak, Read, Write Navajo Audio Lessons 1-10, 11-20, 21-30
Irvy W. Goossen
Manufacturer: Salina Bookshelf, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1893354032
Release Date: 2004-12-31

Book Description

This six compact disc set follows along with the textbook. Each audio lesson accompanies a chapter in the textbook and highlights either a cultural or a practical theme. Ideal for teaching yourself Navajo vocabulary and pronunciation!

Customer Reviews:

A must buy with the text book!.......2007-04-19

If you want to learn some Navajo and buy the text, you must invest in the CDs. For an English speaker, it's quite necessary to actually hear how things are pronounced in order to attempt to emulate them. But Mr. Goosen's set of text and CDs are really good together.

Excellent resource.......2007-04-19

This is an excellent resource, but I strongly advise buying the CDs as well. I think it's completely necessary for an English speaker to hear the sounds in order to even begin to emulate them. But it's a well thought out text and I'm quite pleased with it. However, I haven't actually had a chance to try any of it out yet, but the CDs have a native speaker narrating, and so I trust that when used together, this will give anyone the basics of the language.

Very Pleased.......2007-01-05

I am pleased by the book. I highly recommend that you purchase the audio CDs also so that you can make sure your pronunciation is accurate.

It would have been nice if more audio exercises were included in the audio set, but over all, I highly recommend this as a means to grasp the basics of the Navajo language.

The author and publisher did an excellent job considering how scarce good Navajo training materials are to find. Kudos...

Remember, as with any language...practice makes perfect.

the only way to learn Navajo.......2006-07-03

I bought the accompanying book to this CD set a while ago, thinking I'd pay a much cheaper price for what I thought would amount to almost the same level of instruction. I was very wrong. Especially with a language that's very far removed from one's native language (such as Navajo is from English), it's absolutely essential to hear it spoken correctly, instead of trying to figure out the pronunciation from written guides and accent marks. I was a bit apprehensive about the price of this set, but at a total of 6 CD's, it's still well under what you would pay for music CD's. My only slight criticism is that the audio lessons don't match up exactly with the lessons in the book (e.g., there are far more lessons in the book than on the CD's, so you can't hear every lesson). Other than this, however, this is a great (and necessary) companion to Irvy Goossen's book.

non professional.......2005-11-08

This book is difficult to use without a teacher. A translation of the dialogues would have been welcome since many words are not included in the glossary! The verb is another nightmare because the inflexions are prefixed unlike english (suffixed). If you look for the translation of 'worked' (suppose you learn english), you will look in the dictionary for 'work'. But if you look for the translation of 'naalnish' you will have to search thru every inflected forms of every verbs in Appendix A! If the stems of the verbs (in this example '-nish') had been included in the dictionary , it would have made the task easier. Completing the 30 lessons is a steep and thorny road.
In spite of these defects, this book is better than BREAKTHROUGH
NAVAJO and its sequel INTERMEDIATE NAVAJO.

Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today)

Average customer rating:

Author Brings Honor to his Subjects

Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today)
Monty Roessel
Manufacturer: Lerner Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0822597128

Customer Reviews:

Author Brings Honor to his Subjects.......2002-06-27

"Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave" is the BEST, most sensitive and comprehensive children's book on the subject. Photographer and writer, Monty Roessel, took a personal approach to creating this book when he chose his daughter and his mother as subjects. He documented his ten year old daughter, Jaclyn, as her grandmother taught her to weave. The fifth grader learned about the practical aspects of weaving; like shearing sheep, carding and spinning wool, natural dyes, and weaving techniques. Nali Ruth (Grandmother) also taught Jaclyn about important Navajo stories related to weaving and the significance of each tool.

This book has an informative, well written text and wonderful graphics. It has many photographs and informative diagrams. Small samples of different rug patterns appear in the margins every few pages, leading to a full page map of the regions associated with the patterns. The wooden Navajo loom is shown in a labeled drawing. The traditional stories of how weaving originated for the Navajo people are on separate pages from the rest of the text, bordered by a rug-type design. I would recommend this book for both adults and children over 8 as a delightful way to learn about this subject. He honors his mother, his daughter, and Navajo weaving with this book.

Book Description

In the early 1990s anthropologist John Sherry lived with Leroy Jackson and Adella Begaye, leaders of DinÃ© CARE, a Navajo organization dedicated to protecting the environment and its links to Navajo culture. Land, Wind, and Hard Words is his account of the founding, activities, and evolution of DinÃ© CARE, whose original mission was to protect the Navajo forest from the ravages of industrial logging. SherryÂ's intimate account of the daily lives of this group of activists reminds us of the threats facing local communities and the people trying to defend them. Not least among these threats are the many demands of the Â“outside world.Â” From meetings with lawyers or do-gooder environmentalists to the cutthroat world of fundraising, every encounter with outsiders affects the work, draining time and resources away from direct participation with the community and even affecting the way activists think.

Because of his friendship with the Jacksons, Sherry was on the scene during the aftermath of the mysterious death of Leroy Jackson in 1993. His vivid account of the resulting journalistic feeding frenzy and heightened conflict on the reservation adds an unusual dimension to this intimate and unpretentious story.

Customer Reviews:

Compelling and beautiful storytelling.......2005-04-04

This is a beautifully crafted personal account of the early years of the Navajo environmental justice organization Dine CARE (Citizens Against Ruining our Environment), which has worked for more sustainable forestry practices, protested the siting of toxic waste dumps near native communities, and fought for restitution for Navajo uranium miners. The author demonstrates an admirable awareness of the feelings and motivations of the community and individuals he is describing, while remaining conscious of the limitations inherent in his perspective as a white outsider.

"Land, Wind, & Hard Words" interweaves the narrative of how members of this community came together to found Dine CARE (including descriptions of some of their early struggles against government and industries) with excerpts of Navajo legends and more academic commentary on topics such as the disconnect between such grassroots groups and the fundraising system that claims to want to support them.

Anyone interested in the environmental justice movement will find this book a rich source of information on its potential and challenges. Anyone interested in native issues, Navajo history, or the Southwest in general, will find it a compelling story. I encourage everyone to buy this book - all royalties go to support the ongoing work of Dine CARE.

Amazingly accurate and insightful.......2002-05-30

Dr. Sherry's unique humor and his insighful wit made this book a pleasure to read. It's obvious that Dr. Sherry is a man of values, courage, and spontaneity. I applaud Dr. Sherry for his efforts in really bringing to light the activism portrayed in the chronicle. While Sherry's other works were "farcicle," this one has all the makings of a gem.

My only concern is that this book is repetitive and obligatory at times. Dr. Sherry, you might want to be aware of this in future publications.

Dazzling.......2002-05-09

Excellent read on fascinating topic. Kudos to Mr. Sherry on writing a book that is academically rigorous yet accessible at the same time.

Average customer rating:

Sweet and educational
Kids book? I still love it at 30 years old!
Goat's point of view
Good for creative children
A charming book with wonderful illustrations

The Goat in the Rug
Charles L. Blood , and Martin Link
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689714181

Book Description

Geraldine is a goat, and Glenmae, a Navajo weaver. One day, Glenmae decides to weave Geraldine into a rug. First Geraldine is clipped. Then her wool is spun into fine, strong yarn. Finally, Glenmae weaves the wool on her loom. They reader learns, along with Geraldine, about the care and pride involved in the weaving of a Navajo rug -- and about cooperation between friends.

Customer Reviews:

Sweet and educational.......2004-10-06

This is a gentle book, both the words and illustrations, which guides the reader through the process of making a traditional Navajo rug. Told from the goat's perspective, humor is interwoven with facts. My 5 year old wants to add that the goat ate up some of the flowers the weaver had collected when she wasn't looking.

The last page states: "This is a true story of a weaver and her goat who lived in the Navajo Nation at Window Rock, Arizona." The end plates have pictures of items used in making the rug, including local plants and which parts of them are used for certain dye colors (ex. juniper branches used for brown dye).

My mother lived on a Navajo reservation as a child and so I've purchased this for her childrens book collection so that she can read it to the grandkids when they visit.

Kids book? I still love it at 30 years old!.......2002-05-15

I was raised on this book and it has always been a favorite of mine. The pictures are delightful and the story has stayed with me through the years. I love how Geraldine decides to eat all the yummy plants they were going to use to dye the wool. OOPS! Now I find it is on the school reading list and being used in the classroom! I highly recommend this book as a favorite for children and parents alike.

Goat's point of view.......2001-09-23

This is a very funny story about a goat that tells the story of how her fur becomes a Navajo rug. If you look close enough at the front cover, you'll notice the book is written by the goat herself. It's a wonderful book for all ages, especially Navajo children.

Good for creative children.......2001-08-01

When I was little (a long time ago at this point!) I had this book and was utterly fascinated by it. I remember trying to dye yarn myself after reading it... (well, that didn't work out so well as I recall-- since this is NOT a how-to book, just an engaging story-- but it was fun all the same.) Now that I'm an adult, I would definately recommend this book to anyone with "creative" children who love to make things.

A charming book with wonderful illustrations.......1998-08-07

While visiting the Hubbell Trading Post, our daughter was able to watch as a Navajo weaver worked on a beautiful Ganado rug. The ranger working on the premises suggested this charming book. The story is told by a goat whose mohair is woven into a spectacular rug. The illustrations are enchanting and my daughter loves to giggle at the goat who stays with the weaver to "supervise" her work. She asks questions about the process of weaving and the interaction between the goat and the weaver. It's a lovely little book I wholeheartedly recommend!

Navajo Weaving Way: The Path from Fleece to Rug

Average customer rating:

The Navajo Way
Written with respect
Wonderful!
Only buy it to build a tapestry loom, thats the only reason!
Navajo Weaving Way

Navajo Weaving Way: The Path from Fleece to Rug
Noel Bennett , Tiana Bighorse , and John Running
Manufacturer: Interweave Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Rugs | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Textile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Weaving | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1883010306

Book Description

Navajo Weaving Way is a compilation of Nol Bennett's earlier, out-of-print books on Navajo rug-weaving traditions: Working with the Wool, Designing with the Wool, and The Weaver's Pathway. This book augments the information in Bennett's previous works with all-new chapters on spinning, carding, and dyeing techniques. Illustrations include photographs by John Running of Navajo women carding, spinning, and weaving, along with detailed line drawings depicting specific techniques.

Customer Reviews:

The Navajo Way.......2007-07-06

Cover to cover, this book was filled with wonderful stories and excellent instructions. Where else could I have learned the wisdom, passed on from generation to genneration. I received an in-depth picture of how to warp and weave a Navajo loom and could never have proceeded without it.

Written with respect.......2003-10-24

Noel Bennett's book on Navajo Weaving is a gem. It is as much a description of her personal odyssey into the world of traditional Navajo weaving as it is a how-to book. Ms. Bennett learned from Tiana Bighorse not only the techniques of weaving but respect for the culture that created the techniques. In describing the creation of the weaving tools, the collection of dye plants, even the hand spinning of the wool Ms. Bennett shows how the creation of a rug can be a spiritual experience. Her book includes plans for a home-built Navajo loom, covers all the major weaving techniques, and includes a teaching sampler with full instructions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain an insight into Navajo weaving.

Wonderful!.......2000-06-09

What a life saver! It's difficult to get information on the Texas Gulf Coast about Navajo weaving. As an art major I had no trouble locating weaving classes (fiber arts) but no one seems to be into the Navajo style. This book singlehandedly taught me how to not only make a Navajo loom but also how to weave a rug (that turned out beautifully!). It has very easy to understand instructions that utilize contemporary easy to find materials. It also gives good resources for weaving fibers and/or tools that may not be available in your area. I haven't tried the Navajo spindle yet (to spin my own yarn) but the spindle is on order and I can't wait. Wonderful book!

Only buy it to build a tapestry loom, thats the only reason!.......2000-05-31

The only value to this [poor] attempt at giving the reader a true navajo experience, are the parts on building your own tapestry loom. There are better books!

Navajo Weaving Way.......2000-05-09

An excellent book. I used it to build a loom and learned much about the Navajo and Native American Spirituality.

Average customer rating:

Navajo History in a nut shell!
Interesting, BUT . . .
Navajo history, at last!
A Sweeping History of a Remarkable People

Dine: A History of the Navajos
Peter Iverson
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 082632715X

Book Description

This comprehensive narrative traces the history of the Navajos from their origins to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Based on extensive archival research, traditional accounts, interviews, historic and contemporary photographs, and firsthand observation, it provides a detailed, up-to-date portrait of the DinÃ© past and present that will be essential for scholars, students, and interested general readers, both Navajo and non-Navajo.

As Iverson points out, Navajo identity is rooted in the land bordered by the four sacred mountains. At the same time, the Navajos have always incorporated new elements, new peoples, and new ways of doing things. The author explains how the DinÃ© remember past promises, recall past sacrifices, and continue to build upon past achievements to construct and sustain North AmericaÂ's largest native community. Provided is a concise and provocative analysis of Navajo origins and their relations with the Spanish, with other Indian communities, and with the first Anglo-Americans in the Southwest. Following an insightful account of the traumatic Long Walk era and of key developments following the return from exile at Fort Sumner, the author considers the major themes and events of the twentieth century, including political leadership, livestock reduction, the Code Talkers, schools, health care, government, economic development, the arts, and athletics.

Monty Roessel (Navajo), an outstanding photographer, is Executive Director of the Rough Rock Community School. He has written and provided photographs for award-winning books for young people.

The most complete and current history of the largest American Indian nation in the U.S., based on extensive new archival research, traditional histories, interviews, and personal observation.

Customer Reviews:

Navajo History in a nut shell!.......2007-09-08

Peter Iverson has one of the best ways of delivering the Navajo history to the public. He is a storyteller from way back and relates the History of the Navajos from the beginning to present day (1400's to present). A thoroughly interesting and entertaining way of presenting the Dine' story. If you are interested in Native American History, if you are interested in the History of the Navajo tribe in particular, then this is the book for you. They have a rich history and beautiful culture and it is easy to see (once you read the book) how they have survived and grown to 300,000 people overtime. It is absolutely amazing how they have become the largest Native American tribe in America.

Interesting, BUT . . . .......2007-04-19

This is only readable if one already has some knowledge of Navajo history. The photos are fabulous. The actual text gets more intersting later in the history process, but the first chapter is just impossible unless one is already versed in the history.

Navajo history, at last!.......2007-02-07

A coherent, cogent and lengthy history of the Navajos was much needed. Well worth purchasing and reading. The average American does not know much about our native peoples unfortunately. I wish all schools would really teach more authentic history so that every citizen can bring to bear pressure on Congress to help all tribes with their needs and problems. We are always giving to other people in far away places, while our own are neglected.

A Sweeping History of a Remarkable People.......2003-07-28

"Dine'" is the story of the largest Native American tribe/nation in North America. Peter Iverson's narrative takes us from the emergence of the Navajo in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau to the very recent past. Along the way we learn about the Dine' origin stories, the archaeological evidence for how they may have interacted with the Puebloan peoples that they encountered on the Plateau, and their settlement in the area (Dinetah) bounded by the four sacred mountains. Iverson takes us through the oftimes traumatic interactions between the Dine' and the governments of Spain, Mexico, and the United States. He pays particular attention, as he should, to the Long Walk, when, in 1864, the Dine' were forcibly removed from their land and marched hundreds of miles to the east to Fort Sumner and the miserable "reservation" at Bosque Redondo, where thousands died. Four years later, having signed a treaty with the United States, the Dine' returned to Dinetah, sadly one of the few instances where displaced First Americans were able to reclaim their ancestral homeland.

The balance of Iverson's book involves the key developments that have occurred since the late nineteenth century, in particular the evolution of Navajo tribal government, the often stormy relationship with the United States, and the changes that the Dine' have undergone in the last hundred or more years. One theme that the author returns to again and again is the resilience of Dine' culture, and the ability of the Navajo to incorporate new cultural elements and people into their lifeways.

Book Description

This retelling of a Navajo folktale explains how First Woman tried to write the laws of the land using stars in the sky, only to be thwarted by the trickster Coyote.

Customer Reviews:

How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend.......2000-11-02

My son is in 2nd grade and they're doing a unit on Native Americans. We read this book together and enjoyed the story as well as the beautiful illustrations. This book also lends itself to do the shadowbox project that goes along with the class studies. I enjoyed the Navajo concept of how the stars are patterned in the sky. We would recommend this book for the 7-9 year old group.

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