O-gî-mäw-kwě Mit-i-gwä-kî (1899) is a novel by Simon Pokagon.
Published posthumously, the novel is a semi-autobiographical story of
adventure, romance, and tragedy set in the American Midwest.
O-gî-mäw-kwě Mit-i-gwä-kî reflects the themes and concerns that shaped
Pokagon's life as a writer and activist, including the devastating
effects of alcohol on Native Americans and the increasing pressures of
modernization on indigenous tradition. Both personal and political,
O-gî-mäw-kwě Mit-i-gwä-kî is a vastly underappreciated novel by a
pioneering Native American author.
"On my return home from Twinsburg, Ohio, where I had attended the white
man's school for several years, I had an innate desire to retire into
the wild woods, far from the haunts of civilization, and there enjoy
myself with bow and arrow, hook and line, as I had done before going to
school." After years of hard work at some of the most prestigious
institutions in the Midwest, Simon Pokagon longs to return to the places
and people of his youth. On his journey home, he reconnects with his old
friend Bertrand, who takes him into the woods to hunt, fish, and build a
birch canoe. Back with his tribe, Simon goes looking for his sweetheart
Lonidaw, who agrees to marry him. Together, they build a new wigwam and
live a hunter gatherer lifestyle, sustaining themselves on a diet of
fish and wild rice. While their early days together are idyllic, they
face tragedy later in life as their children--now grown--suffer from the
effects of alcoholism.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Simon Pokagon's O-gî-mäw-kwě Mit-i-gwä-kî is a classic
work of Native American literature reimagined for modern readers.
