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2013 Review of The Woman Who Loved Mankind: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Crow Elder By Lillian Bullshows Hogan, as told to Barbara Loeb and Mardell Hogan Plainfeather Kelly M. Branam Saint Cloud State University

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Branam, Kelly M., "Review of The Woman Who Loved Mankind: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Crow Elder By Lillian Bullshows Hogan, as told to Barbara Loeb and Mardell Hogan Plainfeather" (2013). Great Plains Quarterly. 2490. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/2490

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 118 GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY, SPRING 2013 these constructs from the perspective of Indig- But by the early twentieth century, as various enous people themselves. reservation resources dwindled, access to land Joining the discussion with other anthropolo- contracted, and jobs became scarce, the moti- gists and historians who have been wrestling with vations of the Crow and other communities to the definition of “tribal,” Rzeczkowski challenges spawn inclusive ties with other tribes diminished, the position some have maintained that the con- to be replaced by much more exclusive, fixed, and cept of “tribal” is of totally Euro-American origin, impermeable tribal identities. Reliance on the designed to facilitate colonial control over Indig- Euro-American-derived “blood quantum,” this enous populations. Rzeczkowski recognizes this racially based and externally imposed criterion position as a reaction to the legacy of nineteenth- was incorporated by the Crow and other commu- century notions of “evolutionary anthropology,” nities, becoming the basis for their new, narrowly which established a false hierarchical dichotomy defined, divided tribal identities. This has re- between “tribal”—as something static, rigid, prim- sulted in the Crow and other tribes “reinventing” itive, and constrained by tradition—and “mod- their sense of past identities, viewing the past and ern”—as fluid, diverse, complex, and open. How- “tradition” through the lens of current identities. ever, he points out that abandoning the concept Rzeczkowski has presented an accessible, of “tribe” implies that “Indian” identity requires well-documented, and insightful critique of the the surrender of tribal identities. meanings of “tribal” and “identity,” certain to Anchored in a wealth of historical record from contribute to the ongoing discussions of these the Crow and other Northern Plains reservation constructs by historians and anthropologists, and communities (Blackfeet and Lakota), Rzeczkows- by the Crow people themselves. ki eloquently demonstrates a dynamic interplay of continuous Indigenous initiative and creativ- RODNEY FREY ity unfolding within federally imposed restric- Department of Sociology and Anthropology tions. Providing examples from both individual University of Idaho lives and social groupings, he establishes that the Crow and other Indigenous communities were anything but passive. “Tribe” becomes a dynamic The Woman Who Loved Mankind: The Life of a term, continually redesigned by the Crow people Twentieth-Century Crow Elder. By Lillian Bullshows to meet their needs and form their changing Hogan, as told to Barbara Loeb and Mardell identity over time. Hogan Plainfeather. Lincoln: University of While reservations—designed to be “hermeti- Nebraska Press, 2012. xxxvi + 425 pp. Notes, cally sealed, isolated islands”—sought to constrain, maps, photographs, bibliography, index. $60.00. they provided the Crow and other communities, ironically, a setting in which to continue conduct- The Woman Who Loved Mankind is a collection ing various Indigenous means of social, cultural, of the life stories of Lillian Bullshows Hogan, a and political exchanges and alliances, helping to Crow elder who lived from 1905 (perhaps as early facilitate inclusive and dynamic community iden- as 1902) to 2003. After individual introductions tities. Through the initiatives of the Crow people, by Barbara Loeb and Mardell Hogan Plainfeath- reservations fostered a sense of social solidarity, er, Hogan’s daughter, Hogan’s stories begin with as well as a new sense of “Indianness,” intertrib- “When I Was Born” and end with “I Feel Proud.” alism, and a pan-Indian identity. The Crows of In between, she recounts how she was named, her the late nineteenth century were a multiethnic, memories as a young child, the stories of her el- inclusive community. Despite the efforts of res- ders, her experiences at boarding school, and the ervation administrators, many of the forms of ex- destructive effects of alcohol within her family. change that flourished prior to reservations con- We hear about her husbands and children, while tinued unabated during the reservation period. simultaneously learning about Crow traditions BOOK REVIEWS 119 and the ways in which Hogan, throughout her Pipe and Tobacco Societies, showing how Hogan life, wove together the ways of her elders and the integrated these traditions into her devout Chris- ways of the non-Indian culture that surrounded tian life. In addition, the story and discussion of her. She speaks of her grandchildren, the honors the social position of the Last Crow Berdache is she has received (Lady Bird Johnson, for exam- rarely seen in other texts. ple, visited her home in 1964), and through these Despite its length, it is essential reading for honors the names she was able to make and give new and seasoned students and scholars of Amer- to her grandchildren. As readers experience early ican Indian cultures. reservation life, they learn about poverty, reserva- tion politics, gender roles, women’s work, Crow KELLY M. BRANAM families, Crow traditions, and relationships be- Department of Sociology and Anthropology tween Crows and non-Indians. Saint Cloud State University This is the ninth biography or autobiography written by or about a Crow person, including sev- eral about people of Hogan’s generation. Yet this Working People in Alberta: A History. Edited by contribution is unique. First, its style makes it an Alvin Finkel. Edmonton: AU Press, 2012. xii + excellent contribution to the history of the Great 345 pp. Photographs, illustrations, notes, tables, Plains. Loeb’s desire to protect “Lillian’s right to bibliography, index. $45.95 paper. speak for herself” led her to write down Hogan’s stories in a way that preserves Crow storytelling Working People in Alberta can be divided into three conventions. Thus, for every pause in Hogan’s main parts. Two relatively short chapters com- speech, Loeb creates a line break, making the text prise the first part, summarizing what is known read as though one were sitting at the foot of a about the working lives of Aboriginals in what Crow elder as she “speaks directly to you from we now call Alberta prior to contact with Euro- the page.” Loeb’s and Plainfeather’s scholarship peans, and the experiences of workers during the is documented in the endnotes, which connect period of the fur trade and early European settle- the stories to previous scholarship concerning ment. The second part is the bulk of the book: Crow history, as well as providing additional valu- six chapters presenting a detailed chronological able information about twentieth-century Crow history from 1885 to 2010 that melds labor his- reservation life. The text as a whole records the tory, social history, and political economy. Two voice of a Crow elder and positions this voice in additional chapters, comprising the third part, the historical and cultural context in which Ho- highlight important themes (namely “Women gan’s life took place. Any concern that readers and Labour” and “Racialization and Work”) that might find Hogan’s storytelling style foreign at are sometimes lost in the shuffle of the preceding first is minor in view of what the text as a whole chronological chapters. achieves. Alberta has the lowest trade union coverage The book’s greatest contribution is its master- rate among Canadian provinces (only 12.2 per- ful discussion of Crow kinship and the role of tra- cent of the private sector in 2010) and is the most ditional sacred ceremonies during the early reser- conservative Canadian polity by a long shot, vation period. What is clearly shown is the role politically dominated since the mid-twentieth of adoption within Crow kinship as children are century by the investors, managers, profession- often ceremonially adopted by others—creating a als, and working people who have benefited (to larger support network. At times these adoptions differing degrees) from the intensive capitalist are connected to traditional ceremonies. Hogan’s development of Alberta’s fossil fuel riches. On stories of the responsibilities one has to one’s clan three occasions since the mid-1980s there have uncles and aunts brings to life the complex Crow been serious proposals to make Alberta a right- clan system. Several chapters discuss the Sacred to-work jurisdiction. In terms of political culture,