Tall Woman: The Life Story of Rose Mitchell, a Navajo Woman, c. 1874-1977 / Edition 1

by Rose Mitchell, Charlotte J. Frisbie

Overview

Translated from her own words, this story of a Navajo woman who lived for more than 102 years is a vivid account of traditional lifeways in a harsh and challenging environment. Tall Woman was raised in a family of foragers and herders: "we never lived in one spot for any length of time; we just roamed about from place to place, and from time to time." Forbidden to go to school, she learned traditional skills and knowledge from her elders, growing up to be a well-known weaver and an expert on the uses of traditional plants as food and medicine. She was also in demand as a midwife. Despite her reputation and that of her husband, Frank Mitchell, a well-known political leader, judge, and Blessingway singer, Tall Woman lived the unassuming life of a traditional Navajo woman, focusing on the hogan, her twelve children, the sheep and goats, and the farm.

Edited and annotated by a distinguished anthropologist who has worked with the Mitchell family since 1963, this book was written to fulfill Tall Woman's desire to share her story not just with her descendants but with others. In addition to her own life history, Tall Woman tells ancestral stories and offers wise advice to future generations. Both Navajo and non-Navajo readers will be fascinated by the courage and ingenuity evoked in her account of the People's survival during a period of immeasurable change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826322036
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	606
Sales rank:	960,167
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Charlotte J. Frisbie is professor emerita of anthropology at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

Table of Contents

	Illustrations	ix
	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	xvii
I.	Narratives of Forebears, Infancy, and Childhood	1
1.	Stories from the Old People	3
2.	My Mother's Early Times	14
3.	In My Very Early Days	27
4.	Starting to Get Older	41
5.	Late Girlhood and End of Childhood	52
II.	Young Adulthood, Early Married Years	69
6.	Getting Together with My Husband	71
7.	Starting Out Together	86
8.	Houses Standing in a Line	97
9.	Place of the Reeds	107
10.	The Flu	128
11.	My Father Comes to His End	140
III.	Middle Years, The Rest of My Childbearing Years: Supporting and Raising Our Children	155
12.	The Flats and Settling in Chinle	157
13.	Marriages, Births, Deaths, and Ceremonies	172
14.	Frank as a Traveling Man	185
15.	My Mother	200
16.	We Lose My Mother	210
IV.	Grandparent Years, Late Adulthood	219
17.	Going on Alone	221
18.	Daily Round and Expanding the Farm	236
19.	The War Years	253
20.	Frank's Judge Job and Its Effects	261
V.	Old Age	271
21.	Old Age Catches Us and We Lose Frank	273
22.	Words to the Future Generations	293
VI.	Epilogue: 1971-77 and Concluding Reflections of Tall Woman's Family	307
	Appendixes	325
A.	Genealogy: Introduction	327
A-1	Tall Woman's Forebears	330
A-2	Tall Woman's Natal Family	333
A-3	Conjugal Family of Tall Woman and Frank Mitchell	340
A-4	Descendants of Children of Tall Woman and Frank Mitchell (as of June 1, 1997)	343
B.	Chronology	352
C.	Schooling	378
	Notes	379
	References	489
	Index	517

Editorial Reviews

An account of traditional lifeways in a harsh and challenging environment translated, edited, and annotated by Frisbie (anthropology, Southern Illinois U.-Edwardsville). Her family were foragers, and she learned traditional skills and knowledge from her elders when she was forbidden to go to school. A weaver, expert in food and medicine plants, midwife, and wife of a politician and judge, she nevertheless focused on the hogan, her 12 children, the sheep and goats, and the farm. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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