Star Woman and Other Shawnee Tales by James A. CliftonReview by: Rebecca H. NoyesAmerican Indian Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Winter, 1988), pp. 69-70Published by: University of Nebraska PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1183795 .

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BOOK REVIEWS 69

of the Mississippian question. Smith sees the Mississippian as an adaptation to certain easily-worked, self-renewing river valley floodplains of Eastern North America.

The section covering the period of exploration and conquest begins with a good synthesis, by John H. Parry, of the earliest European intrusions. Dr. Parry points out that de Soto came to the Southeast to rob the inhabitants which had been the case with other New World explorations. De Soto, however, found no treasure and although the goals of the expedition were not achieved, it produced the first recorded, albeit brief, glimpse of Southeastern Indian culture by Europeans. He recognizes the possible effect that the contact may have had on Southeastern cultures and on subsequent relationships between Indians and Europeans. The two succeeding articles deal with de Soto's specific route. Dr. Brain discusses the type of material that archaeologists would have to find in order to prove the passage of de Soto's army through a specific area and reviews the "Swanton" route. Following this, the latest historical and archaeological research bearing on the actual routes of de Soto and others is reviewed by Chester DePratter, Charles Hudson and Marvin Smith. These individuals have been involved with this subject for a number of years and make a convincing case for a portion of a specific route. However, much of their argument is based on speculation, since little concrete data have been recovered. The final essay in the section, by Charles Fairbanks, deals with the varying Spanish strategies for colonization, noting the fatal flaw of each. To Dr. Fairbanks, the failure of Spanish policy was in part due to the disrupting effect which de Soto's expedition had on the indigenous groups.

Four papers comprise the last section. Wilcomb Washburn compares colonization events which occurred in the Southeast with those from the Northeast. He stresses that events in the Southeast are just as important to the development of the country as their better known northern counterparts. The point is well made. He emphasizes that the early events of the Southeast have the potential for productive research. Lyon's article dwells on the es- tablishment of Spanish sovereignty over the Southeast as an extension of earlier conquests in the Caribbean and Mexico. William and Hazel Coker's discussion of the siege of Mobile stresses the significance of Spanish removal of the British from the Gulf coast and the importance of that for the ultimate success of the American Revolution. Michael Scardaville emphasized the importance of studying the Southeast as a borderland. He points out that the history of the Southeastern United States is much more than the history of English colonization of a virgin territory; it is rather a history of conflict between several European powers.

The papers in this volume are interesting for the general reader as well as valuable to researchers. It provides both synthetic articles and provocative new material and should be read by those interested in prehistory, and early history of the southeast.

Valdosta State College Newell O. Wright, Jr. Valdosta, Georgia

Clifton, James A. Star Woman and Other Shawnee Tales. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1984. viii + 76 pp. Bib- liography. $17.75; $5.75 paper.

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70 AMERICAN INDIAN QUARTERLY, WINTER 1988

At first glance, James C. Clifton's Star Woman and Other Shawnee Tales is merely a collection of five richly woven and masterfully retold stories. These beautiful tales, filled with rich imagery and traditional symbols are a joy to read and beg to be told. The mystical beauty of Star Woman, the frightening vision of the Cannibal Monster, and the poignant Toadstool Man provide spellbinding reading for all ages. For a storyteller familiar with the Shawnee language, these five tales provide exciting material. These qualities alone give this book merit.

However, this is not only a storybook. James C. Clifton's notes at the end of the book explain the real significance of these tales. They were, in fact, the Shawnee Prophet Tenskwatawa's attempt to communicate contemporary Shawnee social problems to Charles C. Trowbridge in the 1820s. Unfortunately Trowbridge never saw the deeper meaning of these stories and they were ignored until rediscovered by Clifton.

In these five tales, Tenskwatawa discusses issues such as the place of the aged in society, young people and new values in conflict with the old, and the abandonment of traditional ways. Although these tales are more than a century and a half old, the themes are amazingly similar to contemporary literature and drama.

Also included in this volume are a bibliography and a key to Shawnee pronunciation. The key to pronunciation is an invaluable aid to the reader who is unfamiliar with the Shawnee language or modern transliteration. Its presence at the end of the book is slightly confusing to those who read a book from front to back. It might be more comfortably placed after the acknowl- edgments at the beginning of the book.

James C. Clifton has made a valuable contribution to the field of American Indian Studies with his work Star Woman and Other Shawnee Tales. The understanding we gain from Tenskwatawa's tales and Clifton's analysis are not only tools for understanding the past, but the future as well.

HCR 60 Box 1158 Rebecca H. Noyes Tower, New Mexico

Speck, Frank G. and Leonard Broom, in collaboration with Will West

Long. Cherokee Dance and Drama. Norman: University of Okla- homa Press, 1983 (1951). xxiv + 112 pp. Illustrations, notes, bib-

liography, index. $14.95.

Cherokee Dance and Drama, first published in 1951 by the University of California, has now been published in an attractive new edition by the Uni- versity of Oklahoma Press. The text is a valuable source of reliable information concerning some of the traditional dances and ceremonies of the Eastern Cherokees. Many of the dances described are no longer practiced and without this record the ceremonies would be largely unavailable for researchers into the Cherokee tribal history and folklore.

There are 136 pages of descriptive text as well as 22 illustrations and 12 figures which clearly describe particular dances and their movements. The text is easy to read and the figures and illustrations are simple to follow. The

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