Navajo Blessingway Singer: The Autobiography of Frank Mitchell, 1881–1967 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826331815 ISBN 13: 9780826331816

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 2003

Synopsis

This life history of a Navajo leader, recorded in the 1960s and first published in 1977, is a classic work in the study of Navajo history and religious traditions.

"A skillful, meticulous, and altogether praiseworthy contribution to Navajo studies. . . . Although the focus of Mitchell's autobiography is upon his role as a Blessingway singer, there is much material here on Navajo history and culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mitchell attended the government school at Fort Defiance, worked on the railroad in Arizona, served as a handyman and interpreter at several trading posts and the Franciscan missions, and later served as a tribal councilman in the 1930s and as a judge in the 1940s and 1950s. His observations on these experiences are relevant to our understanding of contemporary Navajo life."--Lawrence C. Kelly, Western Historical Quarterly

"This book stands easily among the best of the 'native' autobiographies. Narrated by a thoughtful and articulate Navajo leader over a span of eighteen years, this life history is brought into English with none of the selective romanticizing that has spoiled some books. . . . [It is] a superb job of bringing one culture ever closer to another."--Barre Tolken, Western Folklore

About this title

From the Publisher:

This important biography of a noted Navajo leader is now available only from UNM Press.

About the Author:

Charlotte J. Frisbie is professor emerita of anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0826331815
• ISBN 13: 9780826331816
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 472
• Editor: Frisbie Charlotte J., McAllester David P.