The Good Red Road: Passages into Native America

In 1975 Kenneth Lincoln went on the road with his small daughter and four students, traveling from Los Angeles through Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, searching for the essence of the Indian experience in modern America. His gritty but poetic account of this trip explores the challenges facing native peoples. The Good Red Road captures the tension between Indians and whites, reveals the continuing importance of religion among the Lakotas, and depicts the differences among Indians. Finally, the book is a journey of self-discovery by Lincoln and his students, one of them coauthor Al Logan Slagle, a Cherokee Indian and later an advocate for Indian rights.

Kenneth Lincoln, who was adopted into the Oglala Sioux, has taught Native American literature at UCLA for many years. He is the author Indi’n Humor: Bicultural Play in Native America.