Just Too Much of an Indian: Bill Baker, Stalwart in a Fading Culture

This unique biography documents the twentieth-century life of drum-maker and singer Bill Bineshi Baker Sr., a stalwart keeper of Ojibwe traditional ways in changing times. In this rare and insightful book, Thomas Vennum captures the essence of one Ojibwe life. Through memories and letters, Bill Baker comes alive and teaches us what we have almost forgotten--the meaning and practice of Ojibwe traditions. The story unfolds in the context of many of the events and movements relevant to Indians in the twentieth century: the boarding school disasters, land allotments, world wars, AIM, the takeover of the Winter dam, the spear-fishing controversy, and the reality of tribal factions. Woven throughout are essential native practices: wild-ricing, sharing the fruits of hunts, naming ceremonies, burials, powwows, and native crafts such as beading and drum making. Especially poignant is the portrayal of reservation iife, the reality of which many Americans cannot or will never see.