MOUNTAIN WOLF WOMAN

Forty years ago the anthropologist Paul Radin published the first full-length autobiography of an American Indian. That volume, Crashing Thunder, was later revised and has taken a prime place among literature of its type. Now Dr. Nancy Lurie, after many years of research among the Winnebago Indians, has (with the aid of a tape recorder) evoked and edited the autobiography of Crashing Thunder's younger sister. Mountain Wolf Woman's story is far from merely a parallel of the earlier work. Her acculturation covers a wider range of interests and activities than his -- for example, she was one of the first Indian women to drive an automobile. The peyote religion, to which Mountain Wolf Woman subscribes, is a widely misunderstood topic that falls informally into place under Dr. Lurie's deft editing. Mountain Wolf Woman's advanced years and relatively cosmopolitan personality contribute to the effectiveness of her narrative, from which the modern Indian emerges as a sensitive individual even more subject than his white contemporaries to the vagaries of progress. Dr. Lurie has specified the details of her research methods, and has provided excellent footnotes for all obscure references.