Carry Forth the Stories
By
Rodney Frey
Foreword by Leonard Bends
In this “ethnographic memoir” Rodney Frey, a seasoned
anthropologist/ethnographer, offers personal and professional insights into the
power and value of indigenous storytelling, and describes what he has learned
over forty years of working successfully with tribes and Native peoples.
He frames his story as “the quest of an ethnographer to learn from his hosts and
engage in collaborative, applied, ethical-based research, writing, and classroom
pedagogy.” He addresses issues of permissions and cultural property rights,
tribal review, collaboration, applications of research, and “giving back” to the
host community. He considers Indigenous learning styles and perspectives, and
their research, writing, and teaching. His own experiences with collaborative
research projects offer a model for others seeking to work with tribal
communities.
Intertwined throughout are stories: gathered from interviews, oral histories,
and conveyed by elders, as well as Frey’s personal story about his experience
with cancer drawing from both Native and Western healing traditions.
Frey relates: "During the mid-1970s, I had the
privilege of working with such elders as Tom and Susie Yellowtail and Allen Old
Horn of the Crow of Montana, and they shared with me four quintessential stories
that has laid the foundations for my interwoven professional and personal lives,
culminating with his own journey with cancer.
Among the central topics I explore in this "ethnographic memoir" are the
power and importance of story and storytelling, and of empathy, the glue that
makes it all work, also considered are the insights and value of "heart
knowing," of experiencing the world through the eyes of the Indigenous, and
finally considered is how we can successively address the seemingly “mutually
exclusive” in our interpersonal lives, of overcoming the "my way or the highway"
mentality. There are lessons from the indigenous for
us all.
Rodney Frey
is professor of ethnography and Distinguished professor of humanities at the University
of Idaho. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Colorado, and
since the mid-1970s has worked in collaboration with tribal communities
including the Coeur d’Alene, Crow, Nez Perce, and Warm Springs. He is the
author of four other books, including Stories That Make the World: Oral Literature of the Indian Peoples
of the Inland Northwest and Landscape Traveled by Coyote and Crane: The
World of the Schitsu'umsh--Coeur d'Alene Indians
What readers are saying:
“This book offers something very rare and very important: a reflection on what
the author has learned over a long career as a professor and as a human being.
His ability to weave together central ideas within his scholarly work (orality,
literacy, ethnographic methodology, the ethics of scholarship, pedagogy,
traditionalism) with his own personal narrative is striking, and often simply
beautiful.”--Suzanne Crawford O’Brien, Pacific Lutheran University, author of
Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness Among Native Communities in the
Pacific Northwest
“An impressive exploration of indigenous storytelling and culture…in a
distinctive style consistent with indigenous storytelling methods. Dr. Frey
invites the reader to indulge, not as a casual observer, but as an active
participant. This is the heart of indigenous storytelling.”--Randall Schleufer,
Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Board of Directors, Salish School of Spokane
“A summing up of the life, wisdom, and even pedagogy of a highly respected
teacher and ethnographer. It was a pleasure to read, and is a book that taught
me a great deal.”--Dennis Baird, University of Idaho (emeritus), author/editor
of eight books, most recently, with Diane Mallickan and William Swagerty, the
multiple award-winning
Encounters With the People: Written and Oral Accounts of Nez Perce Life to 1858
ISBN 978-0-87422-348-4
Paperback $29.95 list
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