Reviewed by Ron Eagle Elk
Like many of you FAOLer's, I am a huge
fan of Roger Emile Stouff's articles on
FAOL called Native Waters. With
each new issue of FAOL on Mondays I
eagerly look forward to a new column
from Roger's pen (or computer). I know
that each new article will either have
me rolling with laughter or pondering
some event in my life. In several instances
it has done both at the same time.
When his book Native Waters, A Few
Moments In A Small Wooden Boat
came out I knew I had to have a copy. Like
Roger, I get distracted, and only recently
purchased a copy. Before getting my very
own book, I had read posts on the Bulletin
Board by others who said it was a page turner,
couldn't put it down til the last page and
similar comments. I must tell you that it
wasn't that way for me. It took me almost
two weeks to get through the 284 pages of
Roger's year. It's not because this isn't a
good book,..well, it's not a good book, it's
a great book. It's because Roger and I share
similar backgrounds. We are both mixed bloods,
the term half breed is usually said with a
sneer of disgust where I come from, and we
both live in circular, not linear, time for
a good part of our lives. We also both turned
away from our ancestral ways for a time, only
to follow the circle that brought us home again
to the important things in life.
Rogers writing reminds me of sitting around
with the elders in the winter as they told
and retold the oral history of a people. Elders
have a way of allowing you to think about the
things that were said over the last couple of
hours. I call them elder pauses. Like they are
catching their breath before continuing, but it's
for you to catch up and reflect a bit about what
has been said, and how one part of the story
connects to another in a never ending circle.
Roger's finely written words evoked such
strong memories in me that I had to make
my own elder pauses. I'd read a bit, find
a part that struck a chord, then put the
book down to ponder the impact of the words
or the memory that they brought out, only
to pick the book up again and continue on
with the story. Like any good story, there
are parts I missed, or weren't perfectly
clear with the first reading, so it will
have to be retold, in this case reread,
several times to get a clear understanding
and exhaust the memories that each retelling
brings forth.
When Roger speaks of the things that most
people would consider myth or legend, I
know that they are the simple truth of a
people connected to the land that supports
them. Science can attempt to explain these
things away, but the truth of a people that
have inhabited an area for thousands of years
rings true to my ears.
In many ways I envy Roger, living in a house
that has sheltered his family for 160 years,
for my Father's people were nomads of the
Great Plains. Our houses were made from the
hides of buffalo, in a shape given to us by
the leaves of the cottonwood tree. Any shelter
of ours which is that old surely is sealed away
in some climate controlled museum, never again
to shelter the people who created it. What a
pleasure it must be to live within a thin spot
in the universe.
Those who read the book and find a fascinating
story will realize they have spent their money
well, and just as important, will get their
monies worth. Those who read the book and
have the written words trigger a response
deep within their spirit will soon realize
this isn't just a book, but a treasure, to
be read and reread, time and time again.
You can order it direct from:
www.iuniverse.com, Amazon.com,
or Barnes & Noble.com.
~ Ron Eagle Elk (REE)
Native Waters; A Few Moments In A Small Wooden Boat
Roger Emile Stouff
Published by iUniverse
Softbound, 6 x 9 inches, 284 pages, color
ISBN: 0-595-34316-3
Price: $21.95 US
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