Hawk Dancer
a novel on Native American culture and the Churches
By: Bro. Joshus Seidl, SSP.
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The big blue button above with the gray background peeks inside HAWK DANCER.
The big blue button below with the RED background lets you read portions of CLOUDBURST, the second book I wrote.
www.hawkdancer.com web site is © by Joshus Seidl, SSP
Cleveland State University
Hawk Dancer is an artistically creative novel that transcends the twentieth century. The story takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, home of the Ojibwa (mistakenly called Chippewa by the French).
• • The development of the story starts with the introduction of the main protagonist, Richard White as a Metis (Ojibwe/Norwegian) teenager contemplating his heritage and future direction of his life. The protagonist, orphaned at the late age of 17, moves in with an elder relative, Uncle John Bird, in Birch Clump near the Potowatomi Reservation. Richard, who had contemplated priesthood since about the age of 12, starts to question his priestly ideals as he is influenced by the opinions and designs of his uncle to leave the farm to a relative.
• • Brother Seidl carries the reader and reveals the pain associated with the divisiveness of the Christian churches to the Native inhabitants on the reservation. Often families would find themselves separated by government-imposed regulations of worship, often splitting the reservation and families into faith quadrants. The author weaves the personal stories of the characters, Richard and Job, within a historical context spanning four decades. Through the struggle of World War II, the Native response to defend their country on the European and Pacific fronts, their return to the Reservation, the advent of Martin Luther King and Civil Rights marches, Viet Nam, and the Termination and Relocation Act, the author allows the reader to view the world through their struggle between the Ojibwe and the dominant society's ways.
• • The author's accurate portrayal of historical facts, allows the reader to visualize the happenings of the times, while learning about Ojibwe culture and the inculturation of Christianity with Native spirituality. The inculturation process or blending was not achieved reciprocally, rather Native Americans had to wait until the Native American Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was enacted. This Act allowed Native peoples the right to practice their religions without punitive consequences, a right guaranteed to other Americans.
• • I would highly recommend this novel to be used as supplementary texts for those studying social cultural studies, history, or anthropology. Through its accurate portrayal of accounts spanning forty years, the reader can get a visual look at the lives of Native people trying to weave through the intricacies of society in the twentieth century. The reader will experience humor, sadness and tears as they become absorbed in Brother Joshua Seidl's Hawk Dancer.
• • • --Dr. Rose Quinones, Ohio
Hawk Dancer © 2004 Bro. Joshua Seidl,SSP
Hawk Dancer llustrations © 2004 by Kathy Johnson