PAUL GOBLE GALLERY : Three Native American Stories

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Summary: Three Native American tales told & illustrated by Paul Goble
Review: The "Paul Goble Gallery: Three Native American Stories" presents a trio of choice retellings of old stories of the Plains Indians adapted and illustrated by Paul Goble. Each demonstrates the power of these ancient tales and Goble's illustrations engender an appreciation of the Native American art style that he emulates.

"Her Seven Brothers" opens the minds of young readers to the intriguing idea that different people look up at the same stars in the sky and see different things. In this case the story is about the seven stars that form the Big Dipper, the most recognizable constellation in the northern night sky. "Her Seven Brothers" retells the Cheyenne legend of a girl who was taught how to embroider with dyed porcupine quills onto deer and buffalo skin robes and clothes. One day she begins making sets of clothes, a shirt and pair of moccasins, explaining she has seen in her mind seven brothers who live by themselves far in the north country where the cold wind comes from. She is making them clothes because they have no sister, and when she is done she will find their tipi and ask them to be her brothers.

However, how the young girl made the clothes and found the seven brothers is only the first part of the story. Once she is there the story takes an interesting turn when the chief of the Buffalo Nation demands that the seven brothers send their sister to him. If they do not obey, then the whole Buffalo Nation will come to get her and the brothers will be trampled. How the seven brothers and their sister get out of this situation will explain how the Big Dipper was created. Young readers will be interested to learn that there are really eight stars in the Big Dipper and what the tiny star means in the context of this legend. "Her Seven Brothers" also speaks to the birds, animals, and flowers that share the earth with us as reminders of the generosity of the Creator, reflecting the strong Native American tradition of living in harmony with nature.

One things young readers will appreciate in "The Gift of the Sacred Dog" is the idea of how something that they taken for granted, such as the horse, would look to people who had never seen one before. The Spanish brought the first horses to North America and for the tribes of nomadic buffalo hunters of the Great Plains there were the most miraculous of creatures. Various tribes called the horse similar names: Sacred Dog, Big Dog, Elk Dog, and Mysterious Dog. Keep in mind that these tribes used dogs to carry and drag burdens, and a horse could not only carry and drag heavier burdens than dogs, but could also carry a rider and run really fast.

"The Gift of the Sacred Dog" tells the story of the first encounter between these native tribes and these wild horses, now told in a way that treats the "Sacred Dogs" as gifts given by the Great Spirit. In this telling a young boy prayers for help for his people, who have grown hungry, and the Great Spirit responds by sending the gift of the Sacred Dogs down from the sky, which allow the tribe to hunt for buffalo. After their arrival, life becomes good for the people and they live as relatives with the Sacred Dogs and other living things, as the Great Spirit wishes them to live. Consequently, "The Gift of the Sacred Dog" sounds some of the environmental themes we associate with the Native American culture in addition to providing their perspective on how they came to be the great horse people of the Plains.

"The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses" does not folllow any one story exactly but is put together from a great number of stories belonging to the peoples who lived on the Great Plains that Goble had read or listened to over the years. This story is also premised on the importance of horses to these peoples. The title character is a girl in the village would loved horses so much that she would led them to drink at the river and when she spoke softly to them they would follow her. Her people recognized that she understood horses in a special way, which explains why this story ends the way that it does.

Every day after doing her chores the young girl would run off to be with the horses. One day there is a great lightning storm that drives the horses, carrying the young girl, over the horizon to a land she had never seen before. There she finds a beautiful spotted stallion, stronger and prouder and more handsome than any horse she had ever dreamed of. He is the leader of all the wild horses who roamed the hills and he welcome her to live with them. But a year later two hunters from her people discover her in the hills where the wild horses lived and they will try to bring the girl back to her parents. The question is whether the girl can be happy back with her people now that she has lived with the wild horses.

Goble's distinctive artwork, which recalls the art of the Plains Indians of the 19th century, is particularly well suited to these stories. The artwork also represents authentic Native American designs with regards to dress and tipis. It is also clear that Goble likes to draw horses and in these stories he has ample opportunity to draw dozens of them. But pay attention to how he draws the plant life in these stories as well. No wonder "The Girl Who Loved Horses" was the winner of the Caldecott Medal.