PIEGAN

Home on the range with the 105-year-old Chief of the Blackfoots and his son Jimmy, Richard Lancaster, a nah-pi-quon (white man) but an adoptive son, shares the tribe's life and picks up a passel of their history. His ""Look from within at the life, times and legacy of an American Indian tribe"" has the flavor of buffalo stew-- and like that, gives life to a dying culture by transcribing it. As he accepted the medicine pipes from the Chief, he could not help but think that this was probably the last time the Pipe Transfer Ceremony would be performed in fully traditional manner, and it is this sensitivity to the preciousness of the past and precariousness of the present of the Piegans that informs Richard Lancaster's story all the way.... along with a relish and respect for the life he finds. The Chief remembers back to the Starvation Winter of 1883-84, to when the Piegans captured Sitting Bull, to buffalo hunts and taking the war path. Then there are the Piegan legends, imaginative and earthy. They are heard here once more, with feeling. Authentic Americana. Sad-funny too.