Desert Indian Woman: Stories and Dreams, by Frances Manuel and Deborah Neff. Specifically, it will discuss and include Frances Manuel's tribal origins, traditions, and culture of this American Indian woman in the past, present, and future, along with contemporary issues as she functions in Tribal and non-Indian societies. Frances Manuel is a woman caught between the culture of the past and the society of the future. As she struggles to keep her native traditions alive, she watches her people change, and must change with them in order to survive.

DESERT INDIAN WOMAN

Frances Manuel is a Papago Indian (they call themselves Tohono O'odham, or Desert Indians), from southern Arizona, who was born in the Indian village of Ko:m Wawhai in 1912. She is a storyteller, a basket maker, and a woman vitally concerned with making sure the legends and stories of her people are recorded for posterity. She says," I...
[ View Full Essay]