Smoke Dancing: A Novel
The power struggle between traditionalists and progressives on a modern-day reservation is at the center of Eric Gansworth’s latest work of fiction. Through the characters and their unique “voices,” he deftly develops the multiple viewpoints and arguments that currently exist on many reservations. These voices include a traditional chief and a modern-day group of young adults who, as neglected children, banded together in a traditional dance group. The narrative thread that connects these characters uses the metaphor of traditional dance and its relationship to the integrity of Iroquois culture.
     A number of the dance group have come to work in the growing empire formed by one of their members—selling tax-free cigarettes and gasoline on reservation land. This new economic base alters the balance of power on the reservation. At the center of the conflict is Fiction Tunny, a dancer and developing love interest of a man in the smoke business. She is also the illegitimate daughter of the chief, who refuses to acknowledge her; to admit she exists would be to admit he is not fit for his role of chief. Fiction’s resentment of her father and the sometimes archaic nature of his life and government are juxtaposed with the predatory nature of the entrepreneur who begins pursuing her sexually at all costs. Fiction seeks a balance, a path that will ground her identity in tradition while following her ever-changing culture into the future.

1102275482
Smoke Dancing: A Novel
The power struggle between traditionalists and progressives on a modern-day reservation is at the center of Eric Gansworth’s latest work of fiction. Through the characters and their unique “voices,” he deftly develops the multiple viewpoints and arguments that currently exist on many reservations. These voices include a traditional chief and a modern-day group of young adults who, as neglected children, banded together in a traditional dance group. The narrative thread that connects these characters uses the metaphor of traditional dance and its relationship to the integrity of Iroquois culture.
     A number of the dance group have come to work in the growing empire formed by one of their members—selling tax-free cigarettes and gasoline on reservation land. This new economic base alters the balance of power on the reservation. At the center of the conflict is Fiction Tunny, a dancer and developing love interest of a man in the smoke business. She is also the illegitimate daughter of the chief, who refuses to acknowledge her; to admit she exists would be to admit he is not fit for his role of chief. Fiction’s resentment of her father and the sometimes archaic nature of his life and government are juxtaposed with the predatory nature of the entrepreneur who begins pursuing her sexually at all costs. Fiction seeks a balance, a path that will ground her identity in tradition while following her ever-changing culture into the future.

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Smoke Dancing: A Novel

Smoke Dancing: A Novel

by Eric Gansworth
Smoke Dancing: A Novel

Smoke Dancing: A Novel

by Eric Gansworth

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Overview

The power struggle between traditionalists and progressives on a modern-day reservation is at the center of Eric Gansworth’s latest work of fiction. Through the characters and their unique “voices,” he deftly develops the multiple viewpoints and arguments that currently exist on many reservations. These voices include a traditional chief and a modern-day group of young adults who, as neglected children, banded together in a traditional dance group. The narrative thread that connects these characters uses the metaphor of traditional dance and its relationship to the integrity of Iroquois culture.
     A number of the dance group have come to work in the growing empire formed by one of their members—selling tax-free cigarettes and gasoline on reservation land. This new economic base alters the balance of power on the reservation. At the center of the conflict is Fiction Tunny, a dancer and developing love interest of a man in the smoke business. She is also the illegitimate daughter of the chief, who refuses to acknowledge her; to admit she exists would be to admit he is not fit for his role of chief. Fiction’s resentment of her father and the sometimes archaic nature of his life and government are juxtaposed with the predatory nature of the entrepreneur who begins pursuing her sexually at all costs. Fiction seeks a balance, a path that will ground her identity in tradition while following her ever-changing culture into the future.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780870137082
Publisher: Michigan State University Press
Publication date: 04/30/2004
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 235
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Eric Gansworth, an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, was born and raised at the Tuscarora Indian Nation in Western New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in English from Buffalo State College. He is Professor of English and holds a position of Writer in Residence at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. His previous work includes a novel, Indian Summers, and a collection of poetry, Nickel Eclipse: Iroquois Moon; numerous Native literature anthologies include his poetry and fiction. Eric is also an active artist and has painted the cover illustrations for a number of his books.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsix
Prologue: Women's Shuffle Fiction Tunny1
Part 1Rabbit Dance (a women's choice dance for couples)5
Round 1
Chapter 1The Last Dance Fiction Tunny7
Chapter 2Redman's Drop Mason Rollins19
Round 2
Chapter 3Harvest Moon Eclipse Bud Tunny37
Chapter 4Unfinished Business Fiction Tunny47
Round 3
Chapter 5A Six-Chair Night Fiction Tunny59
Chapter 6Curbside Phoenix Big Red Harmony71
Part 2Standing Quiver Dance (a group war and hunting dance)87
Round 1Hunting
Chapter 7The Sharpest Vision Bud Tunny89
Chapter 8Frostbite Big Red Harmony101
Chapter 9Winter Garden Fiction Tunny119
Round 2Warfare
Chapter 10Commodities Mason Rollins137
Chapter 11Fighting and Flying Fiction Tunny149
Chapter 12Undercurrents Bud Tunny163
Part 3Smoke Dance (an individual competition dance)175
Round 1
Chapter 13Snap Shots Big Red Harmony177
Chapter 14Bloodstone Mortar Mason Rollin189
Chapter 15Washed in the Blood of the Land Ruby Pem201
Chapter 16Mourning Rituals Bud Tunny211
Chapter 17Rites of Passage Patricia Tunny219
Chapter 18The First Dance Two-Step Harmony227

What People are Saying About This

Joseph Bruchac

Smoke Dancing is one of those books that you'd like to take time with…Like many of the best novels by the new generation of Indian authors, it uses multiple perspectives…I cannot think of another novel I've read in the last few years that has been more true to contemporary Indian life, richer and more satisfying. If you don't read this book, you are really missing something special.—Joseph Bruchac, author of Children of the Longhouse

Clifford E. Trafzer

Onondaga author and artist Eric Gansworth has done it again. He has written a magical story, a good read filled with realism, humor, and insight. Smoke Dancing invites you into an Indian world complete with colorful characters and fascinating stories—stories within stories. From the first page, you will be hooked…—Clifford E. Trafzer, author of Exterminate Them!

Diane Glancy

Each story shifts with each telling and each telling shifts the one telling it. This book is a rising smoke dance, turning, braking, and turning again.—Diane Glancy, author

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