The Basket Woman: A Book of Indian Tales

by Mary Hunter Austin

Book Overview

Austin's charming and evocative stories dramatize the legacy of conquest upon a land and its native peoples. Although these stories, out of print for almost a century, were first intended as delightful and instructive reading for children, on another level they are an intense examination of the dramatic implications of a legacy of conquest upon the land and its native peoples. In Austin's tales, cocky young glaciers, contemplative pine trees, resourceful...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874173361
• ISBN13: 9780874173369
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.7" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

good stories, but a little dated

Originally written in 1904, these tales weave together the lives of the son of homesteaders and a Paiute Indian, the Basket Woman. The stories are straightforward enough, and often incorporate Paiute tales; the author was respectful of Paiute culture and her local environment, so these stories rarely offend our modern sensibilities. Still, these aren't going to grab every kid's attention, and would be best recommended for a quiet, thoughtful reader with an interest in Native American culture at the turn of the century.