Friends of Thunder: Folktales of the Oklahoma Cherokees

By Jack Frederick Kilpatrick and Anna G. Kilpatrick

The Cherokee husband-and-wife team who recorded and translated these folktales in 1961 helped to preserve the lore of seventeen elder Oklahoma Cherokees. This volume includes a wide variety of folklore; talking-animal stories, tales of a dragon-like creature and other monsters, accounts of little people inhabiting the hills of eastern Oklahoma, variants of European tales, fragments of Cherokee mythology and cosmology, and legends and lore of historical personages and events. The authors present the stories exactly as they were told, adding brief comments to place the stories clearly in the context of Cherokee life and thought. Musical notations are included wherever a song formed part of a story. Jack F. Kilpatrick and Anna G. Kilpatrick both were natives of Stilwell, Oklahoma. Jack was Chair of the Department of Music at Sothern Methodist University. Anna, a descendant of Sequoyah, was in the United State Indian Service. Together the Kilpatricks wrote several books on the Oklahoma Cherokees.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806127228
• ISBN13: 9780806127224
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Culture Translated

Jack and Anna Kilpatrick do a wonderful job translating selected folktales of the Cherokee nation. This book is broken down into several user friendly sections and also includes a breif section on the Storytellers and biographical information on some of the contributors. The tales are very easy to read and there does not seem to be much lost in translation. There is a great selection throughout this book, including animal, humor, and historical stories. A very good read and a great educational tool. This book is an eye-opening experience into the ways and beliefs of a people who were, and are, a very important part of our American Nation.