Fools Crow Summary By Chapter

1986 novel written by James Welch

Fools Crow

Writer	James Welch
State	United states of america
Language	English language
Genre	Gimmicky American Fiction, Native American
Publisher	Viking
Publication appointment	1986
Media blazon	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	391 pp (Paperback edition)
ISBN	0-14-008937-3 (Paperback edition)
OCLC	15366761
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 nineteen
LC Course	PS3573.E44 F66 1987

Fools Crow is a 1986 novel written by Native American author James Welch. Set in Montana shortly after the Civil War, this novel tells of White Man's Dog (afterwards known as Fools Crow), a young Blackfeet Indian on the verge of manhood, and his ring, known as the Lone Eaters. The invasion of white club threatens to change their traditional way of life, and they must cull to fight or assimilate. The story is a portrait of a civilisation under pressure level from colonization. The story culminates with the historic Marias Massacre of 1870, in which the U.Southward. Cavalry killed a friendly band of Blackfeet, consisting generally of not-combatants.

Plot summary [edit]

Ready in 1870, the novel is about the lives of the southern Blackfeet people. The main character, White Homo's Canis familiaris, joins his friend Fast Horse in a night-time raid confronting the Crow. White Human'southward Canis familiaris is portrayed every bit weak and powerless. Considering of that, he visits the medicine man. Xanthous Kidney appoints White Man's Domestic dog to pb the young warriors in stealing a herd of horses. White Man's Domestic dog is offset wary, but he sings his warrior songs to gain courage. As they bulldoze the horses away from the hamlet, a scout appears. White Man's Domestic dog rushes in and kills the scout. Fast Horse shouts awakening the village, and the Crow respond. Yellow Kidney hides in a lodge where he sees people sleeping. He hides beneath the robes (sleeping bag) of a immature girl. He becomes aroused and rapes her before realizing she is dying of a disease they call White Scabs (smallpox). Trying to escape, Yellow Kidney is shot and captured by the Crow. They cutting off his fingers, tie him to a horse, and ship him out into a driving snowstorm.

White Human being's Canis familiaris returns to his tribe and gains respect for the raid. Feeling responsible for the loss of Yellow Kidney, he begins to provide the youth's family with food and supplies. Xanthous Kidney finally returns to campsite and tells the story of Fast Horse's fault. Shamed, Fast Equus caballus leaves the tribe, joining Owl Kid and his renegade band in killing the encroaching Napikwans (white people).

At the Sun Dance, White Man'due south Dog released wolverine from a trap, gaining his first spirit animal. He took role in the Sun Dance, a ritual physical trial. He sought purification from feeling sexual desire for his father'due south tertiary married woman, Kills-Close-to-the-Lake. After a dream in which she left him a white stone the size of a finger, he awakens to find such a rock adjacent to him. Toward the end of the Sun Dance, Kills-close-to-the-lake tells him she sacrificed her finger to purify herself from the same sexual desires.

When Red Paint becomes pregnant, she and White Man's Domestic dog decide to name their child as "Slumber Bringer". This was inspired by a butterfly which Red Paint saw when she began to think she was pregnant.

Later on a raid on the Crow, White Human'southward Dog came habitation and was given a naming anniversary. He was in a drunken state however, and had told anybody that he had pretended to exist dead so killed and scalped Bull Shield. In reality however, he had passed out for but a few seconds which led Bull Shield to believe he was dead, but White Man'due south Dog reached for his gun and shot the Crow chief iii times before he could be killed himself. His stories were profoundly exaggerated and that led to people thinking that he had used his "good medicine" to confuse the Crow, hence the name that he was given, "Fools Crow."

After his return, Fools Crow has a 2d dream, in which the Raven, a powerful effigy, orders him to kill a mountain man who had been hunting animals for fun and leaving their bodies to rot. The Pikunis consider this to be heinous, equally their culture works to go on rest and have no more than they demand. Fools Crow finds the Napikwan and attacks him; after a tough fight, Fools Crow kills his foe and suffers a spear wound. He takes a wolf's scalp from the Napikwan. He is recruited to take over the Dry Bones and learn the Beaver medicine.

Yellow Kidney decides to leave the tribe, feeling isolated past losing his fingers. While out lonely, he decides to become dorsum and name Ruby-red Paint's child as Yellow Calf. He accepts his mutilation and realizes that he can live well even without the apply of his fingers. Earlier his return to the band, he is shot by a Napikwan. He was avenging terrorism by Owl Child'southward gang.

Carmine Paint'due south younger brother contracts rabies after being bitten by a rabid wolf. Fools Crow is called to cure him, as his instructor Mik-api is abroad, healing another tribe. Fools Crow has changed from a warrior to a healer.

Fast Equus caballus comes upon Yellow Kidney's torso and returns it to the tribe, but he goes northward to alive alone.

The volume ends with Fools Crow visiting the mythic Plumage Woman, the wife of Morning Star and mother of Star Boy. Fools Crow watches a "xanthous hide" and notices that images are forming within the hide. The yellow hide reveals five different visions.

The showtime is the spread of smallpox within his camp, with numerous dead bodies stacked on a platform.
The second is the destruction of Heavy Runner's military camp by the seizers (white soldiers).
The third is lifeless land all around the region; non one animal can be seen.
The fourth is Indian children attending a boarding school with their hair cut off.

Plumage Woman tells Fools Crow to prepare the Pikuni for what is to come and to pass on their traditions. She tells him that he tin do much good for the Pikuni and that he volition pass on the stories. Fools Crow returns to his tribe, merely he is unable to prevent the disasters he has foreseen.

He meets Native Americans being forced to migrate due north and accepts that the Napikwan are swarming over the state. His people must change their way of life, shifting from bison and game to fish. At the decision, Welch tells almost the Pikuni through the animals, showing that although their practices changed, their civilization lives on indefinitely.

Characters [edit]

Pikuni – A clan of the Blackfeet tribe.
Napikwan – refers to White people.
White Man's Dog/Fools Crow – Protagonist. Volition eventually lead his tribe to victory.
Rides-at-the-Door – Fools Crow's father. Becomes chief after Iii Bears dies.
Double Strike Woman – Fools Crow's mother and Rides-at-the-Door's married woman.
Striped Face up – 2nd married woman of Rides-at-the-Door.
Kills Close to the Lake- Third wife of Rides-at-the-Door. She is 17 years quondam.
Running Fisher – Fools Crow's blood brother.
Fast Horse – Fools Crow's friend, son of Dominate Ribs. Turns away from tradition, but atones past returning Yellow Kidney's torso.
Yellow Kidney – Leader of the horse raid, where he rapes a dying young woman and is captured. Father of Ruby Paint and father-in-constabulary of Fools Crow. Eventually killed past the Napikwan.
Heavy Shield Woman – Married woman of Yellow Kidney.
Cherry-red Paint – Girl of Yellow Kidney, marries Fools Crow.
Mik-Api – Medicine homo of the Blackfeet. Teaches Fools Crow the traditional songs and medicines.
Owl Child – A Pikuni rebel who plans on waging state of war on Napikwan. Provokes retaliation.
Chief Mountain – Pikuni main who aligns with armed struggle rather than compromise. (Not historically accurate. Mount Master was the final leader of the Blackfeet tribe, not Rides-at-the-door, a fictional grapheme.)
Heavy Runner – Pikuni leader who, in contrast to Mountain Primary, cooperated with the US. (Heavy Runner'south band was mistakenly killed by Army forces at the Marias Massacre.)
Boss Ribs – Father of Fast Horse. Well respected in the tribe

Reception [edit]

Fools Crow was well-received by critics. Information technology was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize,^[i] American Book Award,^[2] and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Laurels.^[three]

References [edit]

^ The Los Angeles Times (4 October 1987). "The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 1987 : FICTION PRIZE". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
^ "Cool Montana Stories- James Welch". Retrieved i May 2013.
^ "Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award". Retrieved 1 May 2013.

Farther reading [edit]

Whitson, Kathy J., Native American Literatures: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and Themes ABC-CLIO Inc, Santa Barbara, 1999
Little Hawkeye, Lionel, Greengrass Pipe Dancers - Crazy Horse's Pipe Bag and a Search for Healing (Naturegraph Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0-87961-250-9)
Lowie, Robert H.: "Ceremonialism in North America", American Anthropologist xvi:4 (1914), 602-31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/660776, accessed 11/04/2008 17:34
Lupton, 1000.J.: James Welch: A Critical Companion. Westport CT: Greenwood, 2004.