Touchwood: A Collection of Ojibway Prose

Vizenor presents works by Ojibway (also known as Chippewa) writers past and present. William Warren's dull 19th century ""History of the Ojibway Nation'' is followed by George Copway's writings of the same period, also influenced by a Christian outlook, but Copway's contribution is much livelier and conveys a sense of traditional Ojibway tales and culture. John Rogers's account of returning to his mother's wigwam after six years in a mission school, though warm and loving, exposes a callous federal government policy that often resulted in severed ties in Indian families. An excerpt from Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine comes as a shock after the sedate prose of a century ago. In her story about a young man's attempt to bring his senile grandfather back to his senses, we have a glimpse of contemporary Ojibway conditions. Vizenor's own two stories juxtapose Ojibway life in the 19th century with today. Jim Northrup's 14 tales are mostly about Luke Warmwater's escapades at a mission school, at an Indian conference, on a drunk and in jail. B. Wallace's ``Maybe,'' which describes a bogus department founded by Indian university students, highlights the chasm between white academia and Ojibway ``tricksterism.'' (June)