James Welch, Fools Crow

Ken Hada (East Central University)

Ed. by Padraig Kirwan, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.6: Indigenous Writing and Culture of North America - United States.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Padraig Kirwan (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1986

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Fools Crow

is the third novel by James Welch. Originally published in 1986,

Fools Crow

follows his 1974 novel,

Winter in the Blood.

Along with N. Scott Momaday (

House Made of Dawn,

1968), Welch is one of the first to bring Native writing into the mainstream of American literature.

Fools Crow is an epic rendering of the life of the Blackfeet people (Pikunis) living on the American plains in Montana. In Welch’s novel, readers gain insight into what traditional life was like for the Blackfeet before white settlers arrived to contest ownership of the land. Fools Crow makes a significant contribution toward understanding traditional, if not ancient, ways of Native peoples of the American plains. Setting his story in the late 1800’s, Welch also develops the growing tension that these people

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2176 words

Citation: Hada, Ken. "Fools Crow". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 August 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24942, accessed 10 May 2024.]

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