cover image Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories

Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories

. Minnesota Historical Society Press, $15.95 (153pp) ISBN 978-0-87351-385-2

In Honor the Grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota Women Tell Their Stories, editor Sarah Penman, a journalist who reports on the experiences of Native Americans, preserves four oral histories that contribute to our understanding of Indian life past and present. According to tradition, it is the responsibility of Dakota and Lakota grandmothers to teach tribal history. During the course of their long lives, the four women--Celane Not Help Him, Stella Pretty Sounding Flute, Cecilia Hernandez Montgomery and Iola Columbus--witnessed tremendous change in the circumstances of their peoples (e.g., Celane Not Help Him recalls the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890), which Penman presents with grace and respect. (Jan. 5)