Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn - Softcover

Colton, Larry

4.17

1,202 ratings by Goodreads

9780606253574: Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0606253572 ISBN 13: 9780606253574

Publisher: Demco Media

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In Native American tradition, a warrior gained honor and glory by "counting coup" -- touching his enemy in battle and living to tell the tale. This is a modern story of...

COUNTING COUP

In this extraordinary work of journalism, Larry Colton journeys into the world of Montana's Crow Indians and follows the struggles of a talented, moody, charismatic young woman named Sharon LaForge, a gifted basketball player and a descendant of one of George Armstrong Custer's Indian scouts. But "Counting Coup" is far more than just a sports story or a portrait of youth. It is a sobering expos� of a part of our society long since cut out of the American dream.

Along the banks of the Little Big Horn, Indians and whites live in age-old conflict and young Indians grow up without role models or dreams. Here Sharon carries the hopes and frustrations of her people on her shoulders as she battles her opponents on and off the court. Colton delves into Sharon's life and shows us the realities of the reservation, the shattered families, the bitter tribal politics, and a people's struggle against a belief that all their children -- even the most intelligent and talented -- are destined for heartbreak. Against this backdrop stands Sharon, a fiery, undaunted competitor with the skill to dominate a high school game and earn a college scholarship. Yet getting to college seems beyond Sharon's vision, obscured by the daily challenge of getting through the season -- physically and ps

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About the Author:

Larry Colton lives in Portland, Oregon.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The social dilemmas faced by present-day Native Americans are revealed in this journalistic look at a high school girls' basketball team in Crow, Montana.In a previous book, Goat Brothers (1993), Colton examined the lives of fraternity brothers from the 1960s to the 1990s. Here, he spends a season living and observing the Hardin High School girls' basketball team, a team comprised of white girls and Crow Indians. Although Colton manages to give a face to the different players, he is particularly fascinated by 17-year-old Sharon Laforge, an extremely talented American Indian who hopes to earn a college basketball scholarship, but whose future is threatened by several factors, including an absentee father, an alcoholic mother, a possessive and abusive boyfriend, an undisciplined lifestyle, and pressure from peers and community. The racial oppression that Native Americans still face, especially in small rural towns, is another factor. Hardin's population of 2,990 is 49 percent Crow Indian, and mistrust and misunderstanding exists between cultures: the Crows see the whites as having inherited privilege, and the working-class whites see the Crows as having access to government funds, services, and scholarships that they themselves cannot get. In addition, the emerging status of women, especially star athletes such as Sharon, threatens the downtrodden and jealous Crow men who traditionally are used to being in charge. "Counting coup," an Indian battle term that referred to warriors gaining honor, respect, and dignity, is now also a Hardin High School basketball term that refers to dominating one's opponent. In this Hoop Dreams for American Indians, Colton shows how a handful of girls try to count coup against opponents who appear on more than just the basketball court.Colton's account of the environment he witnesses, while not particularly enlightening, does provide good dramatic background for his story of the team's attempt to make, and win, the state championship. -- Copyright � 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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