Wolf That I Am: In Search of the Red Earth People

Rating:
Summary: The Search for Wisdom Begins Within
Review: Wolf That I Am is both a lyrical account of a white mans struggle to understand American Indian culture and an intense personal journey of self-discovery and wisdom. The book recounts Fred McTaggart's experiences among the Fox tribe--Sac and Fox as they are commonly known--of Iowa in his attempt to collect and record folklore for his dissertation.

During this process, McTaggart slowly comes to the realization that Indian communities, due to a long history of all manner of abuse, are not always eager to become the object of academic study, regardless of the "good" intentions involved. Wolf That I Am should be standard reading for anyone planning research in American Indian communities or interested in American Indian studies in general.

Indeed, this book should be required reading for all Americans, many of whom continue to hold to fanciful idealizations, which not only dehumanize and demean the very people they purport to describe, but reinforces the Noble/Savage binary that has defined the relationship between Euro-Americans and Indians, which makes a free exchange of ideas all but impossible. As McTaggart shows, it is only through getting to know people of different cultures in an intimate and involved way that we can ever hope to truly understand and appreciate the great value of human cultural diversity. However, he could not achieve this subjectivity until he opened himself to the realities of American Indian life that is only attainable through a great deal of determination and care, which also allowed him to see the subtle prejudices with which he, and most Americans are raised.

While the path to understanding is often a difficult one, McTaggart demonstrates that such a holistic consciousness, free of heirarcical divisions and value judgement can be achieved if only we are willing to reassess our own beliefs. For as long one promotes in the self a willingness to open one's mind and heart to the sacred ways of others--in a way that grants their beliefs the respect and dignity that we would require for our own--the way to knowledge and wisdom will remain open to us.