This valuable collection gathers tribal voice and thought into a surpassing whole that offers to the reader the pleasures of subtle poetry, the intensity of living struggles, the humor of myth, and the depth of consideration for all of life that characterizes the most moving of Native American philosophies.

"It was in the year of 1945 on a cold morning, the third day, in the month of March. A little boy was born as the wind blew against the hogan with bitter colds and the stars were disappearing into the heaven." So begins the story of Broneco, a Navajo boy who tells of his search for a miracle. Through that telling we learn a new perspective on language and life. In Miracle Hill, Blackhorse Mitchell presents the unforgettable account of a boy's struggle to learn--which would be for him a miracle--in the face of handicaps most people would call insurmountable. Under the guidance...

This is the most complete version of the Navajo creation story to appear in English since Washington Matthews' Navajo Legends of 1847. Zolbrod's new translation renders the power and delicacy of the oral storytelling performance on the page through a poetic idiom appropriate to the Navajo oral tradition.

Zolbrod's book offers the general reader a vivid introduction to Navajo culture. For students of literature this book proposes a new way of looking at our literary heritage.

When Water Monster caused the Great Flood, the thirty-two clans of the First People left their pleasant lands and migrated to the present world through an enormous hollow reed. In this marvellous collection, Franc Newcomb recounts some of the many tales she heard during long winter evenings at Blue Mesa, tales that describe the journey of the Din+(c) to this world and the efforts of the People to establish themselves here. Every person, animal, and insect who made the difficult descent was expected to bring some tangible magic, skill or knowledge to help to make the new world a place of...