Marshall, Joseph. Walking with Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders. Korea: Sounds True Inc., 2005. 114 pages. (Non-Fiction / Native Americans)
This book is about a man named Joseph who is talking about what his grandparents had told and taught him as a child. Throughout the entire book, Joseph is talking about his life as a child. His grandfather’s name was Albert, and he was a Sicangu Lakota in his sixties. Now he is an Elder. His grandmother is Annie, Good Voice Eagle Two Hawk, and is most likely in her sixties too. Joe lived with his grandmother when he was little. He talks about everything his grandparents taught him: how to find and make arrows in a dried piece of ash stave, and several life lessons, stories, and Indian languages. This story takes place in South Dakota, where the Lakota had settled. There were some hard times for Joe and his grandparents. First they moved out of a beautiful log home on a plateau in a prairie with horses. One of the horses was found in a snow filled gully, smothered. There was nothing left other than her carcass that was mangled by the coyotes. Shortly after they moved, the house was sold and then ripped down. Each chapter is like a different story that took place sometime in his grandfather’s life.
I really loved this book because it was moving and touching. It taught me things like how to make arrows out of wood and some words in Lakota. I think this book was very well written. I recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone who has a good relationship with their grandparents. This author would most likely make a great teacher (but I’m afraid he’s too old) because he wrote this book, and it’s so good and has so many good stories and life lessons that I couldn’t stop reading it!
Reviewed by: ChickenNoodleSoup
