This pioneering work, first published in 1986, documents the continuing vitality of American Indian traditions and the crucial role of women in those traditions. In her new preface to this edition, Allen reflects on the remarkable resurgence of American Indian pride and culture in the last decade.

"Allen's essays join the small number of books about American Indians which can be read again and again; as one's understanding grows, so will what one finds in this excellent volume." -- Western American Literature

"In these beautifully written essays, Paula Gunn Allen ... makes a vital contribution to American Indian and feminist scholarship ... Allen brings to vivid life America's powerful female roots." -- Booklist

"Provactive and illuminating." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"Recommended reading not only for those who want to 'remember' Native American myths and cultures, but for those interested in other non-patriarchal ways of life." -- Calyx Journal

"A landmark book which  may prove as important to American Indian women as Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex has been for Western non-tribal women." -- New Directions for Women

Paula Grunn Allen is professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an American Indian of Laguna Pueblo and Sioux heritage. She is author of many books.