Fools Crow (Contemporary American Fiction)

I read this book for a summer class, and was therefore under a strict time constraint. Had I read it more leisurely, I may well have dropped the book as too much work for a casual read.
I'm very, very glad I stuck with it.
At first, the book's use of Pikuni concepts to describe common objects like the sun, moon, and animals is a bit disconcerting: the extra layer of decoding can be daunting, and I'm still not sure what a couple of the animals were supposed to be (I'm from New York, and plead ignorance regarding Western wildlife). However, a third of the way into the book I found myself hooked, and found that language decision to have been an effective means of drawing me into the characters and situations.
Other reviews address the historical context of the book. Look at [the internet] to get an idea of the events this book will cover, with more or less detailed attention to historical accuracy.
I came at it from a perspective of empathy and entertainment. The title character is very human, and rife with embarassing little secrets that allow us to identify with his struggles. Other characters are particularly human, and demonstrate the negative effects of bottling up secrets versus the positive side of sharing them and facing one's failings.
I suppose this review doesn't make sense without having read the book, which makes it a failure as a review. Well, here are some positive aspects of the book: Visceral confrontations will make your heart pound; Conflicting perspectives of 19th-century Euro-American western expansion will make your head pound; The cruelty of individuals among both the Pikuni and the Napikwan (whites) will make your heart ache.
If you find Native American culture at all fascinating, read this book. If you don't know a whit about Native American culture, read this book. If you've been turned off to Native American culture due to your school system's inadeqate handling of their perspective, read this book.

When I signed up for Native American Literature, I must confess that I had a preconceived notion that the assigned literature might be drab and depressing. The only Indian lit I had read previously was Leslie Marmon Silko, and while I can appreciate talent, I simply didn't like it. But "Fools Crow" by James Welch? PHENOMENAL!!!

Once you get the hang of the language he uses, you are absolutely transported to the plains where this coming-of-age story takes place.

What's unique about Welch is that he doesn't sentimentalize the plight of the Indians. He just tells a story, and a damn good one at that.

I don't want to give away the title and where it comes from, but I can sincerely say that this great story will give the reader a sense of the turmoil that was going on with Indian/white relations and perhaps give way to a new way of thinking.

My introduction to the epic begins with the Homeric tradition, especially the "Odyssey" and "Iliad" (in my order of reading, one who was slow to grasp the brilliance of the "Iliad"), a tradition that extends forward to Vergil's "Aeneid," Dante's "Commedia," and Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso," to name a few. "Gilgamesh" must also be included, though it's a rather late discovery (in the nineteenth century), and though its found fragments precede the Homeric by hundreds of years (Homer writing in about 800 BCE, Gilgamesh written in about 1900 BCE).

I have long thought America has no epic in this great tradition, but my belated discovery of "Fools Crow" (published 1986) is an eye-opener. Scholarly study may one day rank "Fools Crow" as perhaps the truest and greatest American epic. James Welch is from the Blackfoot tribe, born in Browning, Montana. I was raised about 120 miles distant, in Great Falls, amid well-meaning people who nonetheless conveyed subtle sneers against the Indian ne'er-do-wells on Hill 57. Mr. Welch, a writer deeply "burdened with the knowledge of his people," has managed to open my eyes, transforming his burden into a worthy telling of the Blackfoot way of life before the "seizers" came to take their land and their way of life.

My first partial awakening came in 1988 when Bill Moyers interviewed Joseph Campbell in "The Power of Myth," a PBS six-part series with followup book to capture their dialogue. I had long known of Campbell's interest in myths, but had never heard that his interest began with fascination in the Indian way of life. Yet, if Campbell was first to help me see spiritual brilliance beneath the brutish appearance, I needed another twenty-five years to discover and read "Fools Crow." Mr. Welch transports me from my boyhood ignorance into a higher realm of native American myth.

On finishing his imaginative rendering of his ancestors' way of life I was most eager to contact Mr. Welch, just to thank and congratulate him for his great work; to tell him the value of "Fools Crow" is far beyond a contribution to any Indian "renaissance," as some have praised it. "Fools Crow" deserves ranking among America's greatest literary works.

I was greatly saddened to learn that Mr. Welch died young -- in his early sixties -- and that I could not send him an email, or receive one in return, or someday chat, and sit by a tipi fireside, there to tell glad stories of the breadth and depth of Blackfoot kings.

Like many reviewers, I was assigned this book to read in an American Indian Lit class at the University. I was in "read and regurgitate" mode, so I cracked the book and began to jot down salient points to possibly discuss for the coming lecture. But speed was of the essence. I had an obscene pile of books to read, and this was just one of many.

But Welch's masterpiece (I use that term literally; his other works have not resonated with me nearly as much) demanded a deep, personal reading. The eloquent language and well-crafted story pulled me deep into the place he'd so carefully created.

It took me a lot longer to read Fools Crow than it should have. I simply didn't want it to end. Never before have I savored a book like I did this one. Part of it, admittedly, was the people and the time and the circumstances. I figured it could not possibly end well. I just did not want the imagery Welch built with his words to end (in my mind).

My copy of Fools Crow is pretty battered now. When people come into my library and ask about a good book, it's the first one off the shelf. I've loaned it out numerous times and, unlike some other books, I always get it back.

Almost uniformly, it's because the person I've loaned the book to has bought their own copy.

It should be strongly noted that this is NOT the same as the 'Fools Crow' book by Thomas E. Mails, which is NONFICTION and about the Lakota Holy Man Frank Fools Crow. Anyone looking for those books needs to look under Thomas E. Mails, or further down their 'search' list.

I tried not to rate it because I haven't read this book, but Amazon wouldn't let me get away with it, so don't take my rating as anything regarding the quality of the book.

This fictional book introduces many customs, traditions, and beliefs of Native Americans while providing a story line that keeps the reader interested. Fools Crow explores the life of an awkward teenager of the Lone Eaters tribe as he grows into a brave warrior, earns the respect of his tribe, is named Fools Crow, and is eventually entrusted with the fate of his people. Welch explores the Native American lifestyle during early American expansion into the west through the themes of revenge, faithfulness, and racial controversies, through the trials that Fools Crow undergoes, and many other characters that he interacts with. The non-distinct line between the real world and the dream world illustrates the depth and beliefs of the Native American culture; however, while this style is intriguing, it can lead to confusion at times in the novel. For example, at several points in the story, Fools Crow speaks with animals and it was hard for me to determine whether I was supposed to believe that he was literally speaking with an animal, or whether he was dreaming. Although it was confusing, it did serve a purpose of making the story stronger by providing a possible reason for Fools Crow and other characters take their dreams and mystical experiences so seriously. Perhaps the character is similarly unsure of whether the experience was fantasy or reality, and therefore treats it as being real. While this story is mainly portrayed through the point of view of Fools Crow, it also briefly explores the lives of white settlers and soldiers. The similarities shown in these different characters expresses a great truth in that neither of these races are truly savage, and neither are completely good.

I've read a wide range of books on native americans but none have struck me, or stuck with me, like Fools Crow. This is a masterwork. It gives one the sense of living life on the high plains of what is now Montana in the years just before and then during the westward expansion of the Europeans. The gift of Welsh is his ability to transport you there, make you feel it, live and breathe it, through the glorious days before, the uncertain days leading up to, and the demoralizing days following the near obliteration of the Blackfoot culture. The use of native place names and language in the book serve to draw you in effortlessly. This is a beautiful book, powerful, heartbreaking, and memorable.

First, this is an outstanding history of the Indian condition since the late 1800's and goes up to the early 40's. A general survey of the white man's laws' results as regards the red man is somewhat enlightening. The meat of the story is, of course about the life of Frank Fools Crow. It is well presented and the reason I rate 4 stars instead of 5 is due to Mail's language as it reads like a text book.
I love reading about medicine men as it points up the fact that ANYTHING can happen because God can do anything and everything. I refer to the healing accomplished and the fact that stones speak, animals speak, etc. Fascinating. I really do believe these events and that these things have, do, and will happen; it's all in our belief system.
There is a lot of detail as to the various Indian dances and physical diagrams of where the healings take place. If you can apply your faith in a greater power like that shown in this book, then you will be a better person for having read this book.

Fools Crow is an historical novel of the European invasion from a Native perspective. This tragedy is told through prose so hauntingly beautiful, it will stay with you for a long time to come. An exceptional book.

This novel was really hard to put down. It paints a vivid portrait of Blackfoot culture without glorifying it and gives you a window into a world that no longer exists. You get a very good idea of what it was like to be in the Northern U.S. shortly after the Civil War and what it must have felt like to be seeing one way of life replaced by another. I think Welch also does a very good job of showing the different Blackfoot viewpoints at the time. Some wanted to fight the white settlers, some wanted to adopt their culture, and still others just wanted to leave the whites alone and continue their traditional lifestyle.

The only real complaint I have about this novel is that Welch uses Blackfoot names for animals and doesn't provide a key to tell you what the animals are. I had no idea what a "sticky-mouth" was until about halfway through the novel. Maybe in later editions a key was provided, but I'm not sure.