Mabel McKay: Weaving the Dream

"Wonderful, and urgently needed in these days of confusion over Native American identity and spirituality. . . . Vibrant testimony to the survival of American
Indians and the power of the old spirits."—Leslie Marmon Silko

"All the lean wit of a Castaneda tale, the lyric spark of the Black Elk translations, Weaving the Dream is a modern-day
Indian classic."—Kenneth Lincoln, author of The Good Red Road

Library Journal

In his endeavor to write about McKay, the celebrated Pomo basket weaver and medicine woman, Sarris (English, UCLA) has been able to find his own identity. Part American Indian, Filipino, and Jewish, he was adopted at birth and is now chief of the Coast Miwok tribe. His bonding with this extraordinary individual and his growth during their relationship is described throughout the book. Sarris's catharsis is reflected on the last page: "I squatted in front of her and repeated my questions. `Why did you do it for me?' She looked me in the eye and said, plain as day, `Because you kept coming back."' McKay's life, simple yet spiritual, is as quintessential as the baskets she wove. Her stories are poignantly collected and captured in this biography. Recommended for public libraries.-Vicki L. Toy Smith, Univ. of Nevada, Reno

Part American
Indian, Filipino, and Jewish, Greg Sarris was adopted at birth and raised in both
Indian and white families. He is Professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, and chief of the Coast Miwok tribe. He is the author of Keeping Slug Woman Alive: Essays Toward a Holistic Approach to American
Indian Texts (California, 1993), editor of Rattles and Clappers: An Anthology of California
Indian Writing (1994), and author of a volume of short stories, Grand Avenue (1994).