Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom

 Is three book clubs too many??? This is the book for one that I haven't yet attended, but I plan to in the future. My new next-door neighbor, Sandy Peterson, lent me this book when I expressed an interest in it, even though they had already held their discussion of it. I hope it will be the basis of a good discussion between the two of us in the future. I really like her so far, and hope we can become friends. 

At first I wasn't impressed by this book, because it felt like a classic disingenuous retelling of the superior Native culture, full of stereotypes. And there was the potential of a lot of violence and struggle, and I wasn't in the mood to be brought down. Yet, I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. There was more to the story than the stereotypes and there was a lot of Native culture explained that was admirable. What was most interesting to me was the way the author was able to contrast the two world views: Crow vs. Whites.

One interesting departure from the norm was that the white person in this story became a victim of his alcoholism, and not the Indians. Yes, there was drinking by Natives and whites, but the drinking of Farwell had a dire impact on his family. I admired the character of Crow Mary, and wonder how much of this historical person's story is accurate. Surely she was a brave woman to even just travel and marry a trader, let alone rescue some of her people. 

Because of my experiences with Lakota culture I feel somewhat more informed and sensitive about the ways Native culture and people are portrayed. This book didn't add much to my knowledge, but some. It was interesting to note the differences between the Crow and the "Sioux" that the author illuminated, and since her sources were all Crow, it's not surprising that other tribes were looked down on. But that's natural...and I can take that in stride. And it was good summer evening reading...not an author I will pursue again...but not a total loss, either.