The Legends of the Mighty Sioux - A WPA book...

I wish I had a better technique with my camera... but...

This particular book is one that was published as part of the WPA -- if you've never heard of it, that's the Works Project Administration which was founded by Franklin Roosevelt during his administration to help alleviate some of the unemployment due to the Great Depression (which some folk are considering starting up again to help with out current "recession"). At any rate, one of the sub groups of the WPA was the Writers' Project (which actually included photographers, writers, editors, artists, painters, etc...).

This book was a product of the Workers of the South Dakota Writers' Project (no citation for an actual author, though I found, through a tiny bit of research, that the Library of Congress is going through & matching authors with unattributed material even as I write this...) and illustrated by "Sioux Indian Artists" (again, mostly unattributed). This book compiles forty-five legends of the Sioux Indians of South Dakota -- "Much of the material was narrated to Project members when the Indians were assembled for pow-wows, or at church meetings. There were separate meetings between the old and young men as well." (from the front blurb material on the dust jacket).



While the WPA Writers Project is mostly known for its state guides (for more information see: Works Progress Administration ), there were a number of other books done, most of them on very specific subjects, like this title.

This is a wonderful book.

I hope you enjoy it.