Waterlily

The story of the people of the Plains Indian Dakota culture and Sioux Nation is told through the life of Waterlily from her birth through motherhood. Waterlily is born in the late 1800s during her village's migration to a new site. With permission from her mother-in-law, Waterlily's mother, Blue Bird, steps out of the walking line to go into the woods where, "against a spinning world she struggled to think coherently. Just what was it her grandmother once told a woman -- something about the best position to induce an easy birth?... An eternity passed -- and then, the child was a girl." Within minutes, Blue Bird rejoins the line with Waterlily pressed against her heart. The fabric of life in Waterlily's Dakota camp circle is woven of kinship obligations, ties "that held the people together, impelling them to sacrifice for one another" through joyously observed gift-giving rituals. Waterlily is instructed by the quiet modeling and supervision of all her family, the village elders, and 'kola' - voluntarily bonded friends. Her story is a beautifully written and loving tribute to the strengths and wisdom of Sioux women, and to a culture whose primary desire is to make "duties toward others a privilege and a delight." -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14 . -- From 500 Great Books by Women ; review by Jesse Larsen A member of a prominent Yankton Sioux family, Ella Cara Deloria was born in 1889 on the Yankton Reservation and lived as a child on the Standing Rock Reservation. Her studies at Columbia University with Franz Boas resulted in three books, Dakota Texts , Dakota Grammar (a collaboration with Boas), and Speaking of Indians , as well as many other writings.