Crazy Horse's Vision book review

I was first dawn to the fiction picture book Crazy Horse’s Vision because of its illustrations. Using brightly colored acrylics on wooden panels, illustrator S.D. Nelson painted powerful images to correspond to author Joseph Bruchac’s text. This book review will discuss how both the illustrations and the text create a piece of authentic Native American literature.

The story is about a leader of the Lakota Sioux people named Crazy Horse. He is famous for defeating General Custer alongside Sitting Bull at Little Bighorn in 1876, (Bruchac 31). At the beginning of the story Crazy Horse is a young boy and quickly proves himself to be of leadership material. He tames a wild horse, (5), kills his first buffalo with one arrow, (7), and receives an important vision, (22). The story ends as Crazy Horse is still a young man and is realizing that his vision prophesizes that he will be a defender of his people, (28).

There are many aspects which make this book authentic. According to scholar Debbie Reese, “All of Bruchac’s books are recommended as sources with accurate information from a Native American perspective,” (Reese 170). Bruchac is considered an “insider” author because he is of Abenaki decent who was greatly influenced by his Abenaki grandfather and grandmother as a young boy, (170).
Illustrator S.D. Nelson is also an “insider.” He is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe whose painting has been influenced by the traditional ledger style of the Plains Indians, (Bruchac 32). Nelson describes in the Illustrator’s Note how the “outlined two dimensional figures and indistinct facial expressions” techniques he uses in Crazy Horse’s Vision are inspired by the Plains Indians ledger style drawing, (32). He also explains that he painted Crazy Horse blue because the Lakota people believe blue to represent the sky and a connection with the spirit world.

Another way that this book is authentic is Bruchac’s descriptions of Plains Indian customs. After a battle Crazy Horse stands next to the burial scaffolds to clear his thoughts, (16). Burial scaffolds were a custom performed with the recently deceased. Crazy Horse also goes on a vision quest for which he “stripped off his clothes” and fasted according to custom, (18-19).

Each of these features combines to produce a story true to Native American culture. Bruchac and Nelson’s dual effort has effectively generated a magnificent book which informs readers of Plains Indian tradition.

Works Cited:

Bruchac, Joseph. Crazy Horse’s Vision. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 2000.

Reese, Debbie A. and Caldwell-Wood, Naomi. "Native Americans
in Children's Literature" in Harris, V. J. (Ed.) Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. Norwood: Christopher Gordon, Inc., (1997): 155-192.

Image: http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~gathread/bruchac.html