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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Lame Deer mentions that sometimes the tonwan or thunderbolt hits something. What does he describe it hitting?

2. What was something that was very sacred, especially to Indians, that the clowns could give the Sioux people?

3. What did the smoke rising from the pipe represent?

4. In what year did Richard Erdoes find himself crossing the Atlantic Ocean?

5. One clown was called Heyoka Osni which means what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the great wakinyan or thunderbird of the west look like?

2. Where are the places set aside for surviving buffalo herds, and what does Lame Deer state the buffalo would say if they could speak?

3. In the story of the White Buffalo Woman, what did she say kept the tribe alive?

4. What did Richard Erdoes see when he rushed to the window and looked outside on his first day in New York City?

5. What does Richard Erdoes say he did as a child when he would attend a "blood opera" with his pals?

6. Why would it make a sick person happy to hear a heyoka tell them that they are going to die?

7. According to Sioux legend, where did the blood-red rock found in the southwest corner of Minnesota come from?

8. What did the woman look like that presented the first pipe to the Sioux tribe?

9. Because of Iktome, the spider man, what did the villagers do to Rabbit Boy?

10. How does Richard Erdoes describe the prairie of South Dakota?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe one of your favorite Indian ceremonies, rituals, or legends that you read about in the book. Why was this your favorite and what things intrigued you about this particular ceremony, ritual, or legend?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 16, Blood Turned into Stone, Lame Deer tells the story of the White Buffalo Woman. When the White Buffalo Woman met the two hunters that were scouting for buffalo, one of the hunters tried to seize her and he was destroyed. Lame Deer states that desire had killed that hunter. He goes on to say that there have been many to die because of desire and "if this earth should ever be destroyed, it will be by desire." What does Lame Deer mean by this statement? How does this statement relate to the book? Use specific examples from the book to support your thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the experiences that Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes had growing up. Explain how the two became good friends and why you think they had such a strong relationship.

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