Dance House

Stories from Rosebud

Dance House contains essays and short stories that are based on events of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It discusses mystic experiences, Native American cultures, and the Federal Government.

Reviews

"Lakota Sioux historian and novelist Joseph Marshall (Winter of the Holy Iron) proves himself a triple threat with these powerful essays and short stories. As the subtitle suggests, the nine pieces collected here all deal with life on the author's home reservation of Rosebud in South Dakota, and it is a credit to Marshall's ability as a storyteller that the fictional stories are nearly indistinguishable from the factual essays. Subject to changes brought in by the Euro-American culture that surrounds it, Marshall's Rosebud is nevertheless a timeless place where the Sioux insist on maintaining their identity. In the title piece, when the federal government seeks to break up the reservation, the old dance house is burned, but a new one replaces it 'as a place to be happy' and remember 'the old days and traditional ways.' Readers will be grateful to Marshall for building a dance house of the mind, one that draws on autobiography, nature writing, legend and the day-to-day adventures and misadventures of his own family and neighbors."
-Publishers Weekly

Reviews

"Be prepared for some terrific storytelling. A member of the Sicunga Lakota Sioux, Joseph Marshall lends his poetic voice to stories and essays of courage and survival on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. His characterizations and his depiction of the natural world go far beyond stereotypes and popular movie concepts of Native American life."
-Amazon.com Editorial Review