Tales of the Mohawks by Alma Greene (Gah-wonh-nos-doh / Forbidden Voice)
Illustrations by R.G. Miller
8vo. pp. 186. text illustrations. hardcover boards. dw. (near fine - some minor shelf wear to extremities). n.p.: J.M Dent & Sons (Canada) Limited, [1975].
ISBN-10: 046095086X
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Some of this book is myth, much of it is legend, perhaps most of it is true; all of it is genuine.
The Mohawks (in their own language, the Canienga) are the most famous nation of the famous Confederacy of the Six Nations, remembered in history as the warlike Iroquois League, but called by its members 'the Great Peace' and having as its symbol the Tree of Peace, under whose roots the hatchet is buried. They are no aboriginal museum-piece but a loving and vigorous people whose memories reach back to their ancient mythology and to the foundation of their League, perhaps six hundred years ago, but include over three centuries of close association with European friends, does, and neighbours.
Alma Greene (Forbidden Voice), a Clan Mother of the Mohawks, here recalls some of the tales that are told on the Six Nation Reserve on the Grand River in Ontario, Near the reserve is the town of Brantford, which is named after the Mohawk officer who led his people's fight for King George in the American War of Independence. These are stories that belong to twentieth century farmers, shopkeepers, and high-steel workers who have never lost their communion with the natural world, which for them is also the world of the spirit. The stories' integration of traditional and present-day realities is beautifully realized in the remarkable pencil illustrations of Gary Miller, another native of the Six Nations Reserve.