Author: Amy Hill Hearth
Pages: 224
ISBN: 0743297792
Pub. Date: March 28, 2008
Price: $23.00
I am Native American, and so is my wife/partner. Heather is from the Sukizeet tribe and I am from the Nanticoke tribe or as we say, “People of Lenni Lenabe”. Thus, we have the last name Elitou.
It’s true that most Native Americans hid their ancestry in the past and took on more accepted roles as white and colored in their outward expression forming a secret society, so to speak, for their inner cultural expressions. Many of us have the same experiences of other minority groups who have been classed in the same category and racially targeted. It seems that many people in the American communities have Native American backgrounds as we meet new people everyday.
In my family, there are light and dark skin people we don’t see each other in skin tone, but more so in blood tie. If you are Lenabe you are Lenabe that’s, that! Light or dark skin doesn’t matter. I mean that’s how we roll. We say that our cousins are the Lenni Lenape because they have slightly different customs and experience from ours since we have been separated by racial divides.
We are still relatives and share the exact same ancient ancestry but we express it slightly different. Being from the city requires a different approach to cultural life than country living and so with that brings the difference between the spellings of the two names which are really the same.
I was excited to learn about “Strong Medicine” Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say.” I requested that my editor get this book and I was pleased to see it in my office the following day. It was a very interesting read and very close to home. The book is written by Amy Hill Hearth who also shares Lenape ancestry through a great-grandmother. I was surprised to read this about the author because as she says she looks “completely white”. Although, I was surprised I was not completely taken aback because as I said, we meet new family every day. They come in different shades and sizes but they are Lenape.
Amy Hearth is also the author of “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” which is the true story of two African American sisters who are 100 years old. Having a talent for storytelling, reminiscent of her Native American background, the book went on to become an enduring best seller and the subject of a three-time Tony Award nominated play. What’s interesting about Amy’s story is that she didn’t know that she was Lenape until her father stumbled upon her ancestry but in spite of her not knowing there were ancestral traits to be found such as helping a stranger in need which is written in Strong Medicine.
Pages: 224
ISBN: 0743297792
Pub. Date: March 28, 2008
Price: $23.00
I am Native American, and so is my wife/partner. Heather is from the Sukizeet tribe and I am from the Nanticoke tribe or as we say, “People of Lenni Lenabe”. Thus, we have the last name Elitou.
It’s true that most Native Americans hid their ancestry in the past and took on more accepted roles as white and colored in their outward expression forming a secret society, so to speak, for their inner cultural expressions. Many of us have the same experiences of other minority groups who have been classed in the same category and racially targeted. It seems that many people in the American communities have Native American backgrounds as we meet new people everyday.
In my family, there are light and dark skin people we don’t see each other in skin tone, but more so in blood tie. If you are Lenabe you are Lenabe that’s, that! Light or dark skin doesn’t matter. I mean that’s how we roll. We say that our cousins are the Lenni Lenape because they have slightly different customs and experience from ours since we have been separated by racial divides.
We are still relatives and share the exact same ancient ancestry but we express it slightly different. Being from the city requires a different approach to cultural life than country living and so with that brings the difference between the spellings of the two names which are really the same.
I was excited to learn about “Strong Medicine” Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say.” I requested that my editor get this book and I was pleased to see it in my office the following day. It was a very interesting read and very close to home. The book is written by Amy Hill Hearth who also shares Lenape ancestry through a great-grandmother. I was surprised to read this about the author because as she says she looks “completely white”. Although, I was surprised I was not completely taken aback because as I said, we meet new family every day. They come in different shades and sizes but they are Lenape.
Amy Hearth is also the author of “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” which is the true story of two African American sisters who are 100 years old. Having a talent for storytelling, reminiscent of her Native American background, the book went on to become an enduring best seller and the subject of a three-time Tony Award nominated play. What’s interesting about Amy’s story is that she didn’t know that she was Lenape until her father stumbled upon her ancestry but in spite of her not knowing there were ancestral traits to be found such as helping a stranger in need which is written in Strong Medicine.
Curious to find out more about her Lenape ancestry she researched and found Marion Strong Medicine Gold on the internet and was inspired to contact her and learn more about our culture. What she learned was so awe inspiring that she decided to write a book about it, but in a way that gives the source of the information a more direct voice to the reader.
Strong Medicine is a very charming individual with 83 years of life to talk about. She takes us all the way back to her humble beginnings. Walk with Strong Medicine as she takes us on a step by step journey through the decades of her life and rare views that otherwise would not have been shared with the outside world. Strong Medicine takes a leap of faith and opens up to Ms. Hearth. At some point it was questionable as to whether or not it was a good idea to go public with such information because racism is still very much alive in America and threats are around every corner. Maybe it was the kinship between them that made Strong Medicine comfortable with her regardless of the potential danger. You can tell that the chemistry is just right for an interesting story— one that keeps the pages turning easily.
Marion takes us back to the 30's as she recalls quite vividly, the days of her childhood growing up black, white, and Indian in America. How could she be black, white, and Indian you ask? She explains how we Native Americans are often mistaken for these races depending on outside racial contact and the misperception of the people. The truth is that we are neither black, white, or Indian- we are indigenous.
Back in America’s younger days, being indigenous was outlawed so most indigenous people would go about their lives neither confirming nor denying their identity. Marion remembers living her life as Lenape but not talking about it much when she was a little girl. Her mother was Lenape, and her father was Lenape and Black, thus giving her a skin tone that blended into most communities.
We learn that she was her parent’s second child, and their first born (a boy) died from crib death in 1921. Marion was born in 1922, and was stronger and faster then some of the boys she played with. She sometimes wished that she could do the boys chores because they seemed more interesting than the chores for girls such as washing clothes and gardening. When it came to boyfriends she caught the eye of a few but the one who caught her eye was a Lenape boy named Wilbur Gould, born in 1919. He was almost three years older than Marion and if it wasn’t for a chance encounter she would have never known him. As luck would have it she later married Wilbur, and as sure as life is full of test, they were tested as well. Wilbur was drafted into the army the year after Pearl Harbor was attacked and fought on the Western Front in World War II. He was taken prisoner during the battle of the Bulge, escaped and returned to active duty on December 31st. I could try to tell you everything about the book but that wouldn’t be fair because it is worth reading yourself.
Overall, Strong Medicine and Amy Hearth have teamed up to give the non-Native American community a rare, inside peek of the Lenape culture and local tribal community (if you live in or near NJ). If you have Native American ancestry, Strong Medicine is a book that should definitely be in your personal library.
Strong Medicine is a very charming individual with 83 years of life to talk about. She takes us all the way back to her humble beginnings. Walk with Strong Medicine as she takes us on a step by step journey through the decades of her life and rare views that otherwise would not have been shared with the outside world. Strong Medicine takes a leap of faith and opens up to Ms. Hearth. At some point it was questionable as to whether or not it was a good idea to go public with such information because racism is still very much alive in America and threats are around every corner. Maybe it was the kinship between them that made Strong Medicine comfortable with her regardless of the potential danger. You can tell that the chemistry is just right for an interesting story— one that keeps the pages turning easily.
Marion takes us back to the 30's as she recalls quite vividly, the days of her childhood growing up black, white, and Indian in America. How could she be black, white, and Indian you ask? She explains how we Native Americans are often mistaken for these races depending on outside racial contact and the misperception of the people. The truth is that we are neither black, white, or Indian- we are indigenous.
Back in America’s younger days, being indigenous was outlawed so most indigenous people would go about their lives neither confirming nor denying their identity. Marion remembers living her life as Lenape but not talking about it much when she was a little girl. Her mother was Lenape, and her father was Lenape and Black, thus giving her a skin tone that blended into most communities.
We learn that she was her parent’s second child, and their first born (a boy) died from crib death in 1921. Marion was born in 1922, and was stronger and faster then some of the boys she played with. She sometimes wished that she could do the boys chores because they seemed more interesting than the chores for girls such as washing clothes and gardening. When it came to boyfriends she caught the eye of a few but the one who caught her eye was a Lenape boy named Wilbur Gould, born in 1919. He was almost three years older than Marion and if it wasn’t for a chance encounter she would have never known him. As luck would have it she later married Wilbur, and as sure as life is full of test, they were tested as well. Wilbur was drafted into the army the year after Pearl Harbor was attacked and fought on the Western Front in World War II. He was taken prisoner during the battle of the Bulge, escaped and returned to active duty on December 31st. I could try to tell you everything about the book but that wouldn’t be fair because it is worth reading yourself.
Overall, Strong Medicine and Amy Hearth have teamed up to give the non-Native American community a rare, inside peek of the Lenape culture and local tribal community (if you live in or near NJ). If you have Native American ancestry, Strong Medicine is a book that should definitely be in your personal library.
Aalim Elitou- Reviewer
No comments:
Post a Comment