Biscuits & Buffalo: The Ongoing Reinvention of American Indian Culture

FAIN: FZ-287085-22

Cynthia Ott
University of Delaware (Newark, DE 19711-3651)

Research and writing of a book about American Indians and economic enterprise in Montana from the late nineteenth century to the present, with a focus on the interaction of traditional and contemporary ways of life and the relationships between white, Black, and Native individuals.

Biscuits and Buffalo is about American Indians, including ranchers, farmers, biscuit makers, and entrepreneurs, who sustained their families and built viable economic enterprises on the Crow reservation in Montana from the late nineteenth century to the present. The book challenges persistent myths that Indians did not, or could not, adapt or succeed in the reservation era. It features Indian people who defy these myths, people who sought a viable way forward under difficult circumstances, and who did so with a strong sense of their Native heritage. They include Pretty Shield, who worked alongside white and Black women in the women’s club movement, and buffalo hunter Medicine Crow, who became one of many successful wheat farmers. Their stories revise the too simple histories that equate Indian change with defeat and Indian-white relations with antagonism. The book dismantles stark dichotomies between traditional and contemporary ways of life. It moves toward a more nuanced and inclusive view.

Associated Products

Crow Indian Virtual Archive and Musem (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Crow Indian Virtual Archive and Musem
Author: Cindy Ott
Author: Peggy WellknownBuffalo
Author: Susie Kelly
Abstract: The Crow Indian Virtual Archive & Museum (CIVAM) is a virtual repository of Crow Indian cultural items and images housed in public and private collections around the world. Its mission is: To collect, curate, and interpret digital representations of Crow materials for Crow Indians and all others interested in Crow history and culture To re-acquaint Crow Indians with materials removed from their reservation community so that these items and images can contribute to the on-going cultural life of Crow people To provide Crow elders with access to these materials so that they can explain their meaning and significance, improve the items’ attributions, and educate younger generations about them To maintain a digital storehouse of Crow family heirlooms currently held in private homes to document Crow culture all the way to the present.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://civam-mt.org
Primary URL Description: CIVAM's mission is to collect, curate, and digitize Crow materials from around the world so that these items can contribute to the ongoing cultural life of Crow people.
Access Model: open access

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