Touchwood

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Vizenor presents works by Ojibway (also known as Chippewa) writers past and present. William Warren's dull 19th century ``History of the Ojibway Nation'' is followed by George Copway's writings of the same period, also influenced by a Christian outlook, but Copway's contribution is much livelier and conveys a sense of traditional Ojibway tales and culture. John Rogers's account of returning to his mother's wigwam after six years in a mission school, though warm and loving, exposes a callous federal government policy that often resulted in severed ties in Indian families. An excerpt from Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine comes as a shock after the sedate prose of a century ago. In her story about a young man's attempt to bring his senile grandfather back to his senses, we have a glimpse of contemporary Ojibway conditions. Vizenor's own two stories juxtapose Ojibway life in the 19th century with today. Jim Northrup's 14 tales are mostly about Luke Warmwater's escapades at a mission school, at an Indian conference, on a drunk and in jail. B. Wallace's ``Maybe,'' which describes a bogus department founded by Indian university students, highlights the chasm between white academia and Ojibway ``tricksterism.'' (June)