| |
Category: 7. Literature; creative writing by Lumbee
people
CUMM005. Cummings, Delano. River
dreams: tales of a Lumbee warrior. Illus. by Eileen Harrison and Van
Wilkins. Ed. by Marian Novak. Livermore, Maine: Signal Tree Publications,
2001. 146 pages. 17 illustrations.
Publication type: Book
This book consists of fifteen chapters, several
of which recount one of the author's dreams (these begin with the phrase
“In my dream . . .”). Recurring themes in the book are (1) the
healing, soul-satisfying effects of being home among the Lumbee and following
Indian ways; (2) the author's Vietnam War experiences; (3) the Lumbee
River, its flora and fauna, and the spiritual gifts derived from spending
time there, and (4) progress made by the Lumbee people.
Several of the dream sequences begin with the author as
an Indian warrior (living in a village and consulting with Indian elders
or with the red-tailed hawk) or, later, as an Indian elder and storyteller
in the same village. The dream sequence then shifts to Vietnam War experiences.
Some of the non-dream chapters include: Chapter 4, “The
Land of the Lumbee,” describing elimination of obvious forms of
segregation, and indicators of progress for the Lumbee, since the author
left Robeson County in 1963; Chapter 5, “The Lowry Wars,”
a descriptive account that ends with the author wondering if Henry Berry
Lowry had dreams; Chapter 6, “The Tuscarora,” on Robeson County's
Tuscarora groups, with recollections of the author's participation in
Tuscarora protest rides through the county in 1972; Chapter 7, “Land
of the Cherokee”; and Chapter 13, “The Wall,” on the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C.
Many of the stories involve animals which have spirit
qualities and are able to communicate with the author, whether or not he
is in a dream or out-of-body phase. There are stories involving the red-tailed
hawk, tiger, alligator, wild dogs, a German Shepherd scout dog (in Vietnam),
deer, brown bear, and rattlesnake.
Note: Author is Lumbee.
Additional Subjects: Delano Cummings | Vietnam War | Lumbee
River | Tuscarora Indians of Robeson County | Red-tailed hawk | Dreams
This annotation was written on: December 30, 2001; last
edited on June 6, 2002.
Home Page URL: lumbeebibliography.net |
|
