Watch the book trailer for In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse created by Texas Bluebonnet Award.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marshall III, Joseph and Jim Yellowhawk. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CRAZY HORSE. New York: Abrams, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-4197-0785-8.

PLOT SUMMARY:  Jimmy Mclean is a Lakota boy through his mom who is Lakota and his dad who is half white and half Lakota.  Jimmy is constantly teased by two boys at school because he is a Lakota with blue eyes, light-brown hair and his last name is Mclean.  After finding out that he is being teased at school, Jimmy’s grandfather Nyles, takes his on a trip during the summer.  During the trip, Jimmy comes to learn the story of Crazy Horse, a Lakota war leader who also had light skin and brown hair, through his grandfather’s storytelling .  After learning Crazy Horse’s story, not only does Jimmy learn about this Lakota ancestry but it also helps him to realize that he can handle anything that comes his way.  

ANALYSIS: Jimmy, is an eleven-year-old Lakota boy who is tired of being teased by a couple of classmates because he does not look like other Lakota children and does not have a Lakota name.  Jimmy enjoys spending time with his maternal grandparents especially going on trips with his grandfather.  He enjoys listening to his grandfather’s stories.  After learning about Crazy Horse and what he went through, Jimmy comes to understand that he can be as courageous as Crazy Horse especially considering that what Jimmy is going through is minimal compared to what Crazy Horse had to go through. 

Crazy Horse was a Lakota war leader who also had light skin and brown hair like Jimmy.  Crazy Horse was known for his generosity by watching over the older people and widows and supplying them with food.  Crazy Horse also fought against the United States government taking over their land and was one of the last ones to surrender to them. 

SETTING:  The story goes back and forth during present time and the way it was from 1855-1877.  The way Lakota people lived shows how they hunted for food and how in the winter of ’76 and ’77 was hard because there was less buffalo to hunt since the white people had killed them for their hides and for sport.  Men could have more than one wife and as opposed to the white people the Lakota used only  horses as a means of transportation.  The reader also sees how the Lakota, with other Natives, were forcefully removed from their land and had to live on reservations where they had to “accept” the way of the white people since the number of white people was much greater than the Natives.

ILLUSTRATION ANALYSIS:  The illustrations in the book are black and white.  At the beginning, there is a map to show Jimmy and Grandpa Nyles’ journey.  There are illustrations present at the beginning of each chapter which correlate with what the chapter is about.

THEME:  The theme of this book is history of a courageous hero and self-acceptance.  Grandpa Nyles tells Jimmy about Crazy Horse so he knows that being Lakota can mean being different from other Lakota based on his appearance.  Jimmy also learns about the great Crazy Horse and how courageous he was as he fought for his Lakota people against the encroachment of the United States.  Jimmy comes to realize that how he reacts to the bullies will be up to him and that he can stand up to them because what he is going through cannot compare what Crazy Horse had to endure with his own bullies. 

CULTURAL MARKERS:  

Authenticity in description of the diversity within the book:

One of the things we see here is the important role that Grandpa Nyles has as a person with knowledge of the history of the Lakota people.  His storytelling is regarded as very important, and Jimmy holds the upmost respect for his grandfather’s storytelling. 

Jimmy being a boy with light skin and brown hair, demonstrates that not all Native Americans are of dark skin and hair. 

Book source notes provided:

Joseph Marshall III provides a variety of source notes to include an author’s note, a glossary and a bibliography.  In the author’s note, Marshall explains his reasons for writing this book.  As a Lakota, Marshall feels a strong connection to Crazy Horse especially since he was a real hero.  In the glossary included there are many words such as important places mentioned in the book and Lakota names of people and names of various tribes.

Author qualifications to write relating to the culture:

Marshall is a member of the Lakota tribe and was raised in a Lakota household.  One of his sources is  the oral stories told to him by Lakota elders. 

CONNECTIONS: Students will do research on a Lakota tradition and belief and will prepare a presentation using PowerPoint.  Students will share presentation with classmates.

Retrieved from:

http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/PageServer?pagename=alm_culture_traditions