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Reviews

Upon arrival of the wolf shirt I made all the necessary arrangements to ensure my wolf pack would feel right at home. In preparation I laid out freshly cut lamb and a bowl of spring water because Wolves are mammals and they require hydration and nutrients just like we do and after there long travels I'm sure they would be parched. However, before releasing the wolf garment from the confines of its package I recommend washing your hands. Any foreign scent could send the pack into a frenzy and would defeat the entire purpose of owning this shirt if it ends up eating you. Also, make sure your room is dimly lit as not to startle them when you open the parcel. One final note, it's very important to avoid eye contact as this is a sign of aggression. Instead keep your head down and step back slowly. If you still stand unmolested after the wolves have finished there meal then they have accepted you into the pack. Feel free to mount this fine artisan shirt crafted by the trappers at "the mountain." However, word of caution when going out in public; these wolves have not been accustomed to interacting with other humans. In fact, you might be standing around all sweet like and expect random high fives and gropings but step back your going to fast. These wolves are wild animals and are not as docile and submissive as there domesticated brethren. Take things slow, if you want to look sweet play it safe. Examples: Your in the club and you want to tear it up. First, stand in the corner out of the way to allow the pack to feel out the environment. Once the pack is in a calm and submissive state then you can cut loose on full display. Second scenario: Your at the library or a quiet indoor environment. Cover the pack up with a magazine or book and allow them to smell the patrons. This will limit scenarios resulting in strangers being mauled to death by sending incorrect signals through direct eye contact. Bottom line, prepare the pack by transitioning into new environments slowly. When in doubt...just walk away or if given the opportunity strut away. Both are acceptable means of exiting a sticky situation. Remember, great awesomeness comes great responsibility, use it wisely and we can all be winners or fail to follow my advice and pay the price...your call.

Nice design on the silk screen. Not near the quality of my old Mountain T shirts. Shrinks and becomes wider and much shorter with every wash. I wouldn't purchase any more shirts from them again.

I have purchased several shirts by The Mountain Men from brick-and-mortar stores so I was familiar with the brand. This was my first online purchase. The quality was excellent as expected, the shirt arrived as scheduled in pristine condition. In the future I will likely look to Amazon first for merchandise by The Mountain Men products because the selection is so much greater than in any store near me.

I was very pleased with the material and screening on the T-shirt when received. I purchased for a family member who absolutely loves wolves. He also loved the T. However, since it looked like the footprints in the material were tie-dyed, he washed it prior to wearing. The bottom hem unraveled even though it was washed alone on a delicate setting. I tried to find a link to Mountain Men to report this, but was unable to find the correct link.

I purchased this shirt to capture the energy and ferocity of the three wolves depicted, until I realized two of them were sitting down- hell, one appears to be almost asleep! Thus being, my shirt was completely surprised by its rival three wolf moon shirt, whose wolves were alert and ready for action, and it was destroyed in the ensuing battle. I recommend adding more wolves to future shirts.

Reviews

Being written for young people, Standing Bear's account of his Lakota childhood is necessarily sanitized and romanticized. Its focus is on the domestic life of his people. Mention is often made of the courage of the warriors but there is no description of any military action. An incident is related of an enemy warrior stumbling into the village. We are told that he was well treated and quickly released. It is hard to believe that that was typical treatment of an enemy. Similarly, the more adult themes of courtship and sexuality are largely ignored. What we are left with is a treasure trove of homely detail: how cooking was accomplished in the absence of metal pots, how the boys caught turtles in the creek, what games they played. This is the very warp and weft of everyday life that gets left out of the broad-sweep histories that concentrate on great battles and famous lives. Standing Bear may not always be totally reliable, any more than any other commentator - for example, his account of leather tanning, which was strictly women's work, did not quite ring true for me. (Not that I have ever tanned a buffalo hide - I just doubt it can be done in quite the way he describes). All the same this remains an essential work, packed full as it is of fascinating detail, for anyone interested in understanding the lifestyle of the Sioux, and is a perfect gift for a youngster who expresses an interest in American Indians.

Reviews

This is a horrible book, who reads this crap. Come on, give me a break. The writing is about the level of a 3rd grader and the story is nothing but one cliche after another for no other reason than writing for the sake of writing. The editors who accepted this manuscript should be fired. What standards do they have, after attempting to read this jumbled, simplistic work the answer is clear: none. I doubt the book would have been published if the author submitted it under her legal name, Delphine Shaw, but change that to redshirt and it is magicaly transformed and yes, unfortunately published. And to think they killed trees to print this...

In this book the author d. redshirt--most commonly known as one of the only writers to be banned by Indian Country today for poor scholarship and for her relentless attacks on so-called "mixed blood people," whom she labels as wanna-bes--writes about her experiences growing up in the northern plains. Perhaps, it is her own experiences growing up in this harsh, remote area that has made her such a bitter opponent of remanants of New England tribes who have been able to finally gain some measure of economic security and success since the introduction of casino gambling. As if that was not enough, she even claims that all these people "have died out." That is certainly news to us!!!!!!! the people of the Narragannsett, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Wampanoag, Aroostook, Mohegan, and Mashantucket Pequots. Interestingly, at the same time she was making these bizarre arguments she was living an opulent upperclass lifestyle in New Haven, Connecticut, while playing the role of "poverty stricken Indian." In this book she speaks often of poverty and hunger, but instead of using it as a positive force, she wraps herself in it as if a martyr. The prose is often over the top and given her bent to vicously attack other native people, in the end her work rings hollow. Interestingly, while Redshirt seems to embrace her own mixed blood heritage it is ironic that she would demean and belittle this same quality in others. For her skin color tells her that "these are not indians", as she so simplistically put it in a recent work. For this author the most important litmus test for Indian heritage is skin color and skin color alone. All in all, given the motivations and the underlying prejudices of the author, this text is best left alone. It does nothing to present a false picture of Native experience, which is both excludes and demeans the experiences of others. Mitakuye Oyasin!!! apparently not for this author. Saddly, it seems that she is stuck in a mindset that many are trying to forget, one that seeks to enforce the racial standards of 19th century racial profiles as a determiner of cultural identity. If you rweally want to get insight into Native culture and belief there is a wealth of published materials out there. I would certainly not recommend this one.

I am interested in reading memoir and also in sharing literary memoir with secondary students and with preservice teachers who need to understand so many different ways of growing up. Bead on an Anthill tells the story of someone who seems to be my own contemporary and to hear her story, growing up and learning Lakota ways in Minnesota as well as dominant culture Anglo customs when she goes to public school offers quite a different story from own middle class, white, suburban, East coast growing up. I was riveted from the beginning with Redshirt's integration of her Lakota language in her text as if no Anglo phrases could truly describe what she wanted to say. I was taken with the acts of discrimination she suffered as a child and with her wondering about the clash of two cultures she experienced. I read many passages out loud to my students and will assign it as a text to represent good memoir to mystudents next semester in order to offer a realistic view of today's Native American.

Bead on an anthill:Though a relatively short book, Bead on and Anthill by Delphine Red Shirt is rich with stories about the author's early life in a Traditional Lakota family. The Lakota language is spoken by everyone at home; many customs and practices of the "old way" are continued by the author's mother who also practices the old faith and its ceremonies. Interlaced throughout the book is the Lakota language as an illustration of how a language is at the heart of a culture. The author writes the phrases and words that apply to each situation, translating the meaning each time. There is also a separate chapter on the Lakota language in which it is compared to English. In her introduction, the author gives the reason for writing her book as "primarily for the joy of remembering what was good in my life." Her purpose has been fully realized in this gem of remembrances. Although poverty, alcoholism and other hardships were ever present, the basic goodness in her early years dominates her book. First and foremost is love. Delphine Red Shirt loves her mother, the one who takes care of her family and keeps the Lakota ways. She reveres her older brother who is like a mentor and whose future death is tragically hinted at by the author. Death is a constant presence here. The most moving part of the book is the chapter devoted to Delphine's oldest sister. She is described as a loving sister. Her death from alcoholism is devastating to Delphine. Just as the Lakota language graces every page of the book, the Lakota customs and traditions are also interwoven with the stories. How the Lakota handle death, their beliefs about the afterlife, and what is done at the wake is described as a community coming together and carrying out the rites from long ago. Many other religious ceremonies are described as, for example, the author's passage from childhood to womanhood, her return from the military, the Sun Dance, etc. Often, she notes that a certain practice was formerly prohibited by the government but has survived to be freely expressed today, thanks to religious freedom legislation passed in the 1970's. Aside from her mother, she also greatly values her grandfather not only for her enjoyment of him but for his knowledge about the Lakota history and ways. When he dies she is painfully aware of how much he has taken away with him and will be forever lost. Everyday life is also described in wonderful passages where Delphine plays by herself or with her brothers, learns from her elders, attends a County Fair or describes life in different types of schools - public, government and Catholic. The Traditional community she lived in as child was poor but a good place for children because of the great value placed on them by the Lakota. Perhaps this love is what made everyone of her relations loving to each other as well. This book is recommended for anyone interested in Lakota culture, especially the language. For those who have read works by Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) or Luther Standing Bear, this book will be a contemporary addition. And for those who do not understand why Indian people cling to their culture, this book will illuminate why they hold their land and culture so dear.

Red Shirt tells her story in clear, oral-story format, using Lakota words where appropriate (and translating them -- she is a 'breed,' and the Lakota word for that means "translator." This gives a very effective sense of culture, time and place. Like most autobiographies by American Indians, her tale is marked by poverty, illness, and the death of loved ones, but it also conveys the strength of the family and their relationship with their past. Red Shirt reminisces about her own experience, and recounts how different her life would have been had she lived during traditional times; but this is not only a tale of loss. It speaks of the strength and permanence of their traditions and the power it gives the people.

Reviews

A great book to read about the lives of American Indians. Two other books to recommend: Bury My Heart On Wounded Knee, & The Education of Little Tree.