Shadow of the Wolf: An Apache Tale - Hardcover

Plumlee, Harry James

9780806129051: Shadow of the Wolf: An Apache Tale

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806129050 ISBN 13: 9780806129051

Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr, 1997

As the novel opens, Nakaidoklinni is a novice raider on traditional Apache forays into Mexico. After the establishment of Fort Apache, he becomes a scout for the U.S. Army, fighting in skirmishes against Apache bands in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona. The course of his life changes, however, when he encounters a white wolf in the dark of night. Drawing special powers from the wolf, he becomes a healer and spiritual leader for his troubled people.
Beseeching the gods for guidance, Nakaidoklinni begins a series of transformational dances to unify his people. The success of the dances threatens the interests of white settlers and soldiers, who ultimately confront Nakaidoklinni's people in the bloody battle at Cibique Creek in August 1881.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

A well-meaning if tepid debut, set during the waning years of Apache glory, about a medicine man who proves a threat to white designs for the Indians' containment. Based on the life of the historical Apache shaman Nakaidoklinni, the story opens with the healer as a young man, a member of a raiding party to Mexico. The raid successfully completed, the youth is a step closer to manhood in the tribe, but he diverges from the warrior's path when he has a vision in which a white wolf speaks to him, urging him to seek counsel with someone who can teach him about wolf power. A respected old medicine man takes him under his wing, training his apprentice in Apache ways of healing. White soldiers are becoming a permanent presence in rugged Apache country, restricting the Indians' movements and forcing them to abandon their Mexican raids. For a time the changes seem manageable, and the new shaman is able to marry, have a son, and gain the respect of his people, even traveling to Washington to meet President Grant as his band's representative. But as the Apache are increasingly forced to rely on US government rations, encouraged to turn against one another, and hunted down mercilessly if they refuse to submit to white authority, they begin to lose sight of who they are. In response to this bleak situation, Nakaidoklinni rallies his people with a hopeful vision of peaceful coexistence. He stages almost nonstop dances of healing to drive away the despair. Then the corrupt Indian agent, his stranglehold on the tribe threatened, persuades the Army to bring the shaman in for questioning. In the inevitable fight that ensues, both the man of hope and his movement are annihilated. A highly sympathetic view of the Apache way of life, but, since narrative concerns are sacrificed to details of tribal practice, the result is more interesting anthropology than compelling drama. -- Copyright �1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

In this historical fiction, set in the late 19th century, Plumlee follows the life of Nakaidoklinni, an Apache historical figure, from his days as an apprentice warrior through the events that led to his becoming a medicine man with the White Mountain Apache band. As Nakaidoklinni ages, the Apache way of life begins to disintegrate owing to the encroachment of white settlers and the U.S. annexation of Mexican lands. Plumlee is most effective in demonstrating the intense cultural differences that made communication between the Apaches and the United States difficult, aside from language barriers, corrupt federal agents, and a lack for the sovereignty of the Apache people, which inevitably led to violent confrontation. Appropriate for grade school through adult readers, this is recommended especially for public libraries.?Rebecca A. Stuhr-Rommereim, Grinnell Coll. Libs., Ia.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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