Life of Ten Bears

ISBN: 9780803285507 出版年：2016 页码：251 Attocknie, Francis Joseph University of Nebraska Press

The Life of Ten Bears is a remarkable collection of nineteenth-century Comanche oral histories given by Francis Joseph Joe A” Attocknie. Although various elements of Ten Bears life (ca. 1790;1872) are widely known, including several versions of how the toddler Ten Bears survived the massacre of his family, other parts have not been as widely publicized, remaining instead in the collective memory of his descendants. Other narratives in this collection reference lesser-known family members. These narratives are about the historical episodes that Attocknie family thought were worth remembering and add a unique perspective on Comanche society and tradition as experienced through several generations of his family. Kavanagh introduction adds context to the personal narratives by discussing the process of transmission. These narratives serve multiple purposes for Comanche families and communities. Some autobiographical accounts, recounting” brave deeds and war honors, function as validation of status claims, while others illustrate the giving of names; still others recall humorous situations, song-ridicules, slapstick, and tragedies. Such family oral histories quickly transcend specific people and events by restoring key voices to the larger historical narrative of the American West.