Navajo Blessingway Singer: The Autobiography of Frank Mitchell, 1881-1967

by Frank Mitchell (Editor)

Other authorsDavid P. McAllester (Editor), Charlotte J. Frisbie (Editor)
Paperback, 2003

Publication

University of New Mexico Press (2003), Paperback, 472 pages

Call number

Native / Mitch

Barcode

BK-06515

ISBN

0826331815 / 9780826331816

CSS Library Notes

Frank Mitchell

Physical description

472 p.; 9.18 inches

Description

This life history of a Navajo leader, recorded in the 1960s and first published in 1977, is a classic work in the study of Navajo history and religious traditions. "A skillful, meticulous, and altogether praiseworthy contribution to Navajo studies. . . . Although the focus of Mitchell's autobiography is upon his role as a Blessingway singer, there is much material here on Navajo history and culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mitchell attended the government school at Fort Defiance, worked on the railroad in Arizona, served as a handyman and interpreter at several trading posts and the Franciscan missions, and later served as a tribal councilman in the 1930s and as a judge in the 1940s and 1950s. His observations on these experiences are relevant to our understanding of contemporary Navajo life."--Lawrence C. Kelly, Western Historical Quarterly "This book stands easily among the best of the 'native' autobiographies. Narrated by a thoughtful and articulate Navajo leader over a span of eighteen years, this life history is brought into English with none of the selective romanticizing that has spoiled some books. . . . [It is] a superb job of bringing one culture ever closer to another."--Barre Tolken, Western Folklore… (more)

Language

Original language

English
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