The secret of NO FACE (an Ireokwa epic) Paperback – 1972 [1990s new reprint by Indian Scholarship Fund]

Description

A favorite book from my youth. It was a very limited print but reprinted for the Native American Scholarship Fund over 10 years ago so I bought a bunch of copies. Now it is hard to find. ABOUT THIS BOOK: Mad Bear Anderson, the great Tuscarora leader, said “You owe this book to the dead.” It is a sincere effort to communicate a genuine Seneca legend or ‘telling’. Be thankful it’s in your hands. Many others simply cannot be entrusted to the cold hearts of the white man. It is told to you just as it told to Iroquois children, that is, in an oral fashion. It’s an attempt not only to entertain but to promote understanding of the Indian way of life. But how can it be true when the very work legend means fiction, fable or myth? As you read, seek out the many hidden meanings and separate them from the literal ones. Add the knowledge and experience of the Hageotah (story teller) in the ways of Indian values. Realize that without the written language the memory is, by necessity, a remarkable tool of accuracy. Remember that words were sacred magical utterances entrusted to only the wisest men among the Iroquois. Only those possessing the wisdom of the age and love could qualify. It’s been said that only truth survives the passage of time. This legend has been handed down for centuries prior to the arrival of the white man. And it will be recited long after his passing. After reading and evaluating this authentic account of Seneca culture, pass it along to your friends. Transferring truthful knowledge to others is wisdom in the strictest sense of the term. That is the traditional method of Indian story telling.” — Richard G. Green (Oh-neh-dah-gohl), Oneida