Pretty-Shield

<p><strong>A rare documented account of the life of a Crow medicine woman drawn from interviews conducted by legendary writer and ethnographer Frank Bird Linderman and told in her own words.</strong><br/><br/>In the spring of 1931 Pretty-shield a grandmother and medicine healer in the Crow tribe met Frank Linderman for a series of interviews. When Linderman asked Pretty-shield about her life the old woman relaxed and laughed. We shall be here until we die.</p><p>In this rich account Linderman using sign language and an interpreter pieces together the story of Pretty-shield's extraordinary life from her youth migrating across the High Plains with her people to their forced settlement on the reservation to how she became a medicine woman. Pretty-shield vividly recalls the centuries-long traditions of the Crow people bringing into focus the many complex facets of Crow womanhood and the ways in which Indigenous communities care for each other.</p><p><em>Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows</em> reveals the everyday concerns and deep-rooted customs of tribal life for a new generation coming to terms with the violence and racism of America's past and offers a fascinating and authentic portrait of the Crow their customs and traditions their relationship to nature and healing and the timeless insights of their lived experiences. As Pretty-shield reminds us Listen to the old ones. . . keep their wisdom within your heart and understand that wisdom in your mind.</p><p>An essential contribution to the American experience <em>Pretty-shield</em> illuminates a segment of our society which has for too long been relegated to the shadows of history and celebrates Crow life and its contributions to our rich culture. </p>