Shell Shaker facts for kids
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| Author | LeAnne Howe |
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| Cover artist | Jaune Quick-to-See Smith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Aunt Lute Books |
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Publication date
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September 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 223 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-879960-61-9 |
Shell Shaker (2001) is a novel written by American author LeAnne Howe. She is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The story tells two tales of murder involving important Choctaw leaders from history. It takes place over 200 years and follows several generations of the fictional Billy family. They try to keep peace in their community. The book won the 2002 Before Columbus American Book Award.
LeAnne Howe said that Shell Shaker is "a book about power, its misuse, and how a community responds. It's not for Indians only."
Contents
What "Shell Shaker" Means
A shell shaker is a woman who takes part in a special Choctaw ceremony. She wears empty turtle shells tied around her feet while dancing. This dance is like a prayer to spirits, asking them for help or answers. The Billy family in the novel are descendants of the very first shell shaker, who was called Grandmother of Birds.
Story Plot and Characters
Shell Shaker connects two different time periods for the Billy family.
Old Choctaw Times: 1738
The story starts in 1738 in Choctaw Mississippi. It first focuses on Red Shoes, who was a real Choctaw chief. He had two wives: one was Choctaw and the other was Chickasaw, from a nearby tribe. When his Chickasaw wife is found murdered, his Choctaw wife, Anoleta, is blamed.
Anoleta's mother, Shakbatina, gives up her own life to save her daughter. This act also helps stop a war between the tribes. For the next ten years, the Choctaw people try to decide what to do about Red Shoes. Meanwhile, Anoleta and her family work hard to survive. Red Shoes causes more trouble, leading to a war that harms the Choctaw town of Yanàbi and Anoleta's family.
Modern Choctaw Times: 1991
The novel then jumps to 1991. By this time, Shakbatina's family lives in Durant, Oklahoma, after the Choctaw people were moved from their original lands. A wildfire is burning around them when the Choctaw chief, Redford McAlester, is murdered.
Auda Billy, who is the assistant chief and also Redford's girlfriend, is blamed for the murder. Auda's mother, Susan Billy, says she did it. Isaac Billy, Auda's uncle, brings their family together to help find out what really happened. The story involves problems with money and power. An old woman in the story even claims to be the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Main Ideas and Messages
The novel explores several important ideas. It looks at how time might be like a circle, not just a straight line. It also explores what it means to be a Native American.
Time and Family Connections
The book shows time as circular, meaning the past and present are connected. It suggests that if a shilombish (which is like a soul) is troubled in life, it can affect a family for many generations. This shadow stays until the problem is solved.
LeAnne Howe also explores ideas from Choctaw traditions and legends. The novel uses old Choctaw burial customs to show how people are connected to the land. Howe explained that "Native stories... connect these [elements] in past, present and future milieus." This means stories bring together people, land, and characters across different times.
Identity and Strength
The novel also looks at identity. Howe has been praised for showing the Billy sisters as strong, "real" Indian women. They have their own careers and make their own choices. They are not shown as weak or as simple "Indian princesses."
Other ideas in the book include the power of words. The novel suggests that words can become real if they are spoken. It also looks at how the Choctaw tribe has changed over time due to American culture.
Repeating Ideas and Pictures
The novel uses several repeating ideas and images. For example, both murders happen during the autumn equinox, which is when day and night are equal. Burial traditions also connect the two time periods in the story.
Smoke acts like a screen between the different eras, getting thicker as the stories come closer together. Birds appear throughout the novel. The story of the Grandmother of Birds, who becomes a bird to punish Spanish invaders, is also told.
How People Liked the Book
Shell Shaker has been praised for showing how important history is to Native American groups. It shows how they deal with changes and challenges. Scholar P. Jane Hafen said in 2002 that Howe "seamlessly integrates a history of desperate and gruesome fights for survival with modern Faustian pacts with materialism and wealth." She added that the story is about generations of Choctaw people who keep their traditions alive.
This novel is special because it focuses on Choctaw history from the view of a native author. Ken McCullough noted that few other books of this size have explored this historical period from a native perspective. The novel also shows its characters in new ways. It challenges old ideas about Native Americans, which can help all readers understand more.
Writing Style and Techniques
The novel starts from the point of view of Shakbatina, who describes her own death. After that, most of the story is told by a narrator who is not a character in the book. This change in viewpoint is part of traditional Choctaw storytelling. It gives voices to the characters instead of just describing them.
The book uses repetition a lot. Similar situations and quotes appear again and again to connect the different generations. For example, a phrase about "ten thousand feet of intestines hanging from trees in Yanabi Town" is repeated and finally explained at the end. Objects like a porcupine sash and turtle shells are passed down, along with their meanings, from one generation to the next. This repetition of images helps show the idea of circular time and how people are connected.
Memories and flashbacks are also used. They become longer and happen more often as the Billy family tries to understand its past. Writer Lucy Maddox said that memory in the novel "alternates scenes from present and the past, conflating ancestral lives and contemporary ones." This helps show how identity is built and understood within a tribe, where memory is more important than just a timeline.
The Choctaw language is also used in the book, starting with the very first lines. The main ideas of the novel are often expressed in Choctaw words. These include the "bloodsucker" (osano) and the search for the "Greatest Giver" (Imataha Chitto).
Grandmother Porcupine is a trickster character who brings humor to the story. She shares her wisdom with characters like Isaac, Hoppy, and Nick. She claims to be an animal spirit over 400 years old and a protector of the family. She represents being open to life's many different and sometimes confusing parts.
What Critics Said
Shell Shaker has been praised for showing its characters in a lively way, without using old stereotypes about white people or Native Americans. In the parts of the story set in the 1700s, white people are sometimes called the enemy. They are called "inklish okla" (English people) or "filanchi okla" (French people), which matches historical records.
In the modern parts of the story, some white characters are shown as kind and well-rounded people. This includes Borden, who is married to a Native American woman. Howe has said that problems like corruption are not just for Americans. She noted that if corruption exists, then American Indians can also be involved. The novel does contain scenes of conflict, but it avoids gruesome details.
Images for kids
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The cover of the novel Shell Shaker
