Indian Old-Man Stories

The Indians of the northwestern plains always laughed at the tales aboutOld-man, heard around the lodge fire in the wintertime after sunset. For a powerful character, he was comically flawed.Old-man made the world but sometimes forgot the names of things. Victim and victimizer, he seemed closer to common experience than the awesome god Manitou. Frank B. Linderman thoughtOld-man was, under different names, a god for many Indian communities. These stories--collected from Chippewa and Cree elders and first published in 1920--are full of wonder at the way things are. Why children lose their teeth, why eyesight fails with age, why dogs howl at night, why some animals wear camouflage--these and other mysteries, large and small, are made vividly sensible.

Frank B. Linderman (1869–1938) spent his adult life in Montana, first as a trapper and then as a publisher, politician, and businessman. He lived closely with the Flatheads, Blackfeet, Crows, and other Native Americans in the region for many years. A number of his works are available in Bison Books editions, including Indian Why Stories, Kootenai Why Stories, Pretty-Shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows, and Henry Plummer: A Novel.



Celeste River is a Montana scholar, photographer, and research consultant who has lectured throughout the state on the life and writings of Linderman.