Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West by Candace Fleming

In the U.S. cultural perceptions of gunslinging cowboys, fierce Native Americans, shoot-outs, and showdowns in the West were influenced by Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in 1883, but as Candace Fleming shows, many of Cody's stories were tall tales, embellished for entertainment: "It's a stirring story. Too bad it's not accurate." This book explores the myths surrounding Buffalo Bill Cody compared to historical truths. A fascinating glimpse into Westward Expansion and colonial cultural encounters with the Native Americans, Fleming reveals the good and evil in Buffalo Bill. A man of contradictions he influenced the Wild West myth and perpetuated a stereotype that exists even today for some: that America's conquest of the West was won by white people who bravely fought savage Native Americans spreading civilization and creating a democratic society by taking "free" land.

A man of contradictions, Buffalo Bill Cody painted himself as a hero, but he had a shady past. As a youth, his family was victim to hostile settlers, their lives threatened and home robbed when his father had to flee for his life. Yet as a teenager, Cody inflicted on others the same thing done to his family as a child as he enlisted with militant bands of fighters that stole, persecuted, and burned the homes of innocent people. In his Wild West show, Cody exploited hired Native American's to make whites feel superior, but he also treated the Indians well in terms of food, money, and certain freedoms. He claimed he was "equal" with Chief Sitting Bull, but scalped an Indian for his own glory and portrayed the Indians as savages in his show. When he died the Oglala Lakota Indians issued a statement expressing their sympathies and calling him a "warm and lasting friend." He was respectful and disrespectful. He was generous and exploitive. He was flawed and real.

Why did hundreds of Indians agree and show up for tryouts year-after-year (that lasted 30 years) to be in Cody's show when he went to the reservations seeking talent? The show was demeaning. In sections called, "Panning The Truth," Fleming reveals the historical context and the horrible conditions of the reservations where Native Americans were starving. Cody paid his employees fairly well with enough to feed their relatives. On reservations, Native Americans couldn't practice their religion in sweat lodges, sing, dance, wear traditional costumes, speak their native language, ride horses, live in tipis, or leave without the government's permission, to name a few. Acting in the show let them reclaim their past and pass on traditions they were afraid of losing. They could visit other relatives on different reservations. Chief Sitting Bull joined the show to save his tribe from starvation. And he came to hate the show. Fleming's task of presenting the complexities of Buffalo Bill's character and self-centeredness is handled with skill and care. Readers can decide for themselves what to think of him.

The Indians were one of the Wild West show's main attractions with the U.S. government approving whether or not over a hundred could perform in the show. Cody re-enacted a Buffalo hunt, battle between Native Americans and colonialists, and a stagecoach attack. These scenes required Indians for authenticity; however, when on tour in Europe seven died from diseases and accidents. The government began an investigation that threatened to revoke the use of Native Americans in the show (not because they feared for their safety and well-being but because they wanted to make them live like the "white man" and Cody's show perpetuated their traditions). In response to the investigation, Cody sought out and added to his show skilled foreign horsemanship from Russian, South America, and Arabs countries. In a strange twist, the government not only dropped their investigation but gave thirty Native Americans the choice of going to prison or joining Buffalo Bill's show after the Wounded Knee Massacre. Twenty-three signed up with Cody's show and brought their families totaling more than seventy people. Cody's show had 650 employees, buffaloes, horses, elk, deer, and more. It was an enormous production requiring large outdoor spaces to perform.

Lately, I've been reading books like, "The Underground Railroad," by Colson Whitehead with the theme of the victor or dominant group in a society controlling the narrative of history or literature to suit themselves and their agenda. Candace Fleming uses this same theme revealing how Buffalo Bill created a show that romanticized the West, but was a far cry from the realistic brutality, racism, and selfish exploitation of the times. Buffalo Bill was an international celebrity during his life. A superstar who knew how to sell himself. And While Fleming doesn't judge, readers might feel some cognitive dissonance that reveals self-awareness of racial prejudices. Or not. If you just want a fun yarn, you can get that from it too. Don't miss this one.

5 Smileys

How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle

This action-packed mixture of a ghost story with historical fiction is a must for libraries that want diversity and are looking for themes regarding tolerance. Tim Tingle, descendant of the Choctaw Indians, writes with authenticity that counters stereotypes of Native Americans in this tale of a boy that knows he will die but has the courage to do what is right in the face of it. Don't worry I'm not spoiling anything... he tells the reader in the first line of the story that he'll become a ghost. The story is about the Trail of Tears where thousands of Native Americans die when forced to relocate from their lands. The unique rhythm and repetition of words reflects the author's background as a storyteller and person invested in his topic. Tingle's great-great grandfather survived the Trail of Tears and he is able to convey the Choctaw culture to readers with a unique insider's understanding of customs and lifestyles. While the plot has some holes, the writing is full of suspense and hope with many in-depth messages ripe for discussions.

Ten-year-old Isaac is a Choctaw Indian acting like any normal kid when he starts to see ghosts and wonders if he is going crazy. The tension mounts when he hears about a Treaty with white men. His people know that nothing good comes from treaties. When his village is set on fire by white men, his fears come true. He flees with other survivors of the village but they are eventually caught along with his family and forced to march with other Native Americans along the Trail of Tears. When people he loves start to die he finds hope in forgiveness and making his ancestors proud by rising above the oppressors and letting go of his anger.

Tingle presents this plot in a unique way. There are few historical explanations and much has to be inferred by the reader. I can see some readers being confused by the soldiers and what they did to the villagers. I think this is Tingle's way of sweeping the reader into the story and slowly giving out information on a dark historical episode in American history. If he jumped out with the injustices then it might turn readers off; however, the lack of information might require clarification for readers unfamiliar with Native American history. I know that I would have to explain parts to my Asian audience. That said, it would make as a great read aloud.

Isaac is a kind-hearted, nice kid and his innocence contrasts with the horrors of a forced relocation. He is not judgmental nor is he stereotyped as a primitive Native American. His village has a lifestyle that includes religion, a government or council, an economy with livestock and farming, and generations of families caring for each other. The magical elements of shape-shifting and seeing ghosts is a part of the rich customs and practices found in Native American culture. At 160 pages, Tingle doesn't explain this much and it keeps the pacing galloping through the storyline.

The cruel soldiers are not introduced until later and Tingle balances them with kind soldiers. By looking at the past in a fair way, his message seems such that he hopes that people today will not make the same mistakes and oppress other cultures.The female teenager that is rescued is brave and courageous. She risks her life; yet, is not so afraid that she doesn't insist on hugging her parents. The three heroes value forgiveness and when the ghosts of the Nation honor them it shows how this trait is healthy for the soul to have peace and move on. Death is also treated with hope and while many characters die their ghosts are able to interact with the humans and grief is eased in survivors. This seems to be a part of the Choctaw belief system. I would have liked some notes at the end explaining facts from fiction.

History of cultures displaced and oppressed by others is like a Black Hole when you start thinking about it. America oppressed the Native Americans and African Americans. The Japanese oppressed the Taiwanese, Koreans, and others. The Spanish leader, Franco, oppressed the Catalans. The German leader, Hitler, oppressed the Jews, dissidents, and more. I was talking about this book with my colleague, the Chinese librarian born and raised in Taiwan. She said with a rue smile, "You should look at China's history... it runs deep [with Conquerors]." Tingle's story is so important because it teaches tolerance and respect for other cultures. There is always hope that new generations will not make the recurrent mistakes found in the histories of the world.

4 Smileys

Written in Stone by Rosanne Parry

The van ride was abuzz with students flipping back and forth between a collage of languages: English, Chinese, French, Singlish. Speaking in multiple languages for these high schoolers is like breathing. For me it is a reminder that I am a monolingual foreigner living in a different culture. I feel like a child looking through a window pane at a lush candy display case. Chocolate candy, that is. Yum. I see the candy and people inside but don't hear them. Even immersed in Chinese culture it is difficult understanding customs. That is what makes this book so amazing. The author, who is an outsider to the Pacific Northwest Indians, creates a story that makes it seem she is Native American. She captures the traditions, economics, society, and religion and uses rich language to develop a character that speaks to any young girl no matter what her nationality. Not an easy feat in a book that is less than 200 pages.

Pearl Shaw was honored and highly regarded as the daughter of the best whaler and weaver in the Makah tribe during the 1920s until being orphaned recently. Her world is rapidly changing as Native American traditions and way of life are being threatened by foreigners overhunting whales and mill industries expelling pulp and paper pollution that is poisoning rivers and depleting salmon populations. The Makah have to find different ways to earn money and many are heading toward cities, factories, and dangerous timber jobs. Pearl is not sure what she wants to do with her life and muses, "I would have to learn something of value now that the power had gone out of my name." When a trickster tries to con her villagers out of their natural resources, Pearl realizes that she must be the storyteller or voice of her people preserving their traditions and rich past.

*spoiler alert*
The controversial messages in this book could take on a preachy tone, but the author avoids that trap with understatements that are more powerful than lectures. When the con man wants to celebrate with her family by drinking whiskey, Pearl reveals a repeated saying by her uncle, "Whiskey was invented for the purpose of stealing from Indians." That loaded sentence reveals a painful past full of the exploitation of Native Americans by foreigners. One of the few times there is a speech of some sort it is laden with wisdom and hope. Pearl's grandma spoke at the potlatch,"I believe the whales have seen the greed of the big whaling ships. They have gone deep, they have taken my son, our finest whaler, with them. They will wait in the deep for men to change their ways. And we will wait with them." She continues to exhort the listeners to honor the whales even when they are gone. "For I believe, I do believe our whales will come back to us one day." Adding strain to the community was a law banning the practice of the potlatch, a gift-giving feast where lavish gifts were given or destroyed and reciprocated. Pearl explains how another tribe was not able to reciprocate after her tribe gave them most of their goods, adding to their lack of food. By disrupting the potlatch, the government disrupted the Native Americans economic system. 

Some of the transitions between chapters were confusing and I lost my sense of place. I had to go back and reread some sections, such as when it looks like Pearl is going to take the canoe and follow the men after the potlatch and then doesn't. The Pitch Woman is mentioned as some scary person that kept Pearl from going off into the night but the story isn't revealed to the reader. The author says in the notes at the end that she didn't explain the Pitch Woman or the Timber Giant story out of respect for the Native Americans and feeling that they are not her stories to tell but theirs.The reader gets the gist that it is a Boogey-man type story but I was confused not realizing it was to scare Pearl into not going after the men. I can't ever recall an author purposefully weakening their story out of respect for a culture. This act shows tremendous empathy for the Makah people and their traditions. Perhaps she could have invented her own story to strengthen the chapter.

The characters are distinct from each other and easy to visualize. Pearl describes cousin Charlie as a "hunter of applause." He is a bit lazy, yet good at entertaining and assessing people. He sees that the white man doesn't understand that his grandpa wants him to observe him making a mask so he graciously offers his seat directing the adults in a way that makes everyone not be annoyed with each other. Henry, the oldest cousin, is kind and willing to bend traditions when changes mean the best option for the family. He's not afraid to publicly disagree with others, but isn't disagreeable in the process; hence, people listen to him. Pearl is less diplomatic and more blunt but she's so good at observing others that the epilogue suggests she learns how to be a leader herself and like her father, she finds strength in the stories of her heritage.

The author shows Pearl's grief over the death of her parents from anger to sadness. Pearl is angry at her Aunt Loula who has never lost any member of her family and who criticizes Pearl's lack of talent at basket-weaving. Pearl hangs onto a shell of her mothers and rubs it whenever she wonders what her mother would have done in a difficult situation. In a moving scene she releases the shell into the ocean so her father can find it in case he is alive underwater with the whales and needs a sign of sacrifice from her. She is moving toward the comfort of the memory of her parents found not in an object, but in her mind.

The prejudiced shown toward the Makahs is seen at the department store and theater. The girls at the counter paid no attention to Pearl and her cousin, Ida. At the theater a mom blatantly got up and moved when Pearl's family sat down in the aisle. Charlie poked fun by imitating a snobbish woman resulting in his family laughing off the shunning. Minority groups all have stories about being looked down upon. I have my own overseas stories. I, too, choose to laugh. But sometimes it is hard to overlook as Pearl describes at the theater: "We had paid the same cash price for a ticket, but their silent indifference said you don't belong here, as clear as shouting. Charlie Chaplin was as funny as ever, but this time I didn't laugh." Parry's story makes me think I should work harder at understanding the culture I am living in. If she can make sense of the Native Americans, then I can maybe make more sense of my surroundings in a Chinese culture. Whether I'm successful or not it doesn't matter. I just need to work harder to open that window pane and crawl into the cultural candy shop.

Reading Level 3.9 (a bit low)
4 Smileys