Bear Dancer : the story of a Ute girl
(Book)

In late ninetenth-century Colorado, Elk Dress Girl, sister of Ute chief Ouray, is captured by Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors, rescued by the white "enemy," and finally returned to her home. Includes historical notes.,This fascinating story is based on a real person, Elk Girl, who lived during a time of great upheaval and loss of tradition. Wyss describes in vivid detail life among the Ute people of the early 1860s, including their loss of hunting lands and traditional ways at the hands of white settlers and laws. During the years in which the novel is set, the teen is captured by the Cheyenne and later traded to the Arapaho for a sack of wormy treaty flour. Eventually rescued by a white soldier, she becomes Susan Carroll and is finally returned to her village to find her people preparing to resign themselves to signing the White Men's treaty. Wyss's portrayal of Elk Girl within various tribal communities gives readers an insight into Native culture and history. Most works on Elk Girl fixate on her adult life as Susan Johnson (her married name), and while her heroics during the Meeker Massacre of 1879, negotiating for the safe return of several white women and children, are noteworthy, her tribal life within the Ute culture is equally, if not more, important.

Ages 8-12. grades 4-8

Accelerated Reader,MG,BL 4.9,PT 3.0,QN - 102109

Accelerated Reader AR,MG,4.9,3.0,102109.