Embracing Fry Bread: Confessions of a Wannabe

When he was out playing Indian, enacting Hollywood-inspired scenarios, it never occurred to the child Roger Welsch that the little girl sitting next to him in school was Indian. A lifetime of learning later, Welsch's enthusiasm is undimmed, if somewhat more enlightened. In Embracing Fry Bread Welsch tells the story of his lifelong relationship with Native American culture, which, beginning in earnest with the study of linguistic practices of the Omaha tribe during a college anthropology course, resulted in his becoming an adopted member and kin of both the Omaha and the Pawnee tribes. With requisite humility and a healthy dose of humor, Welsch describes his long pilgrimage through Native life, from lessons in the vagaries of "Indian time" and the difficulties of reservation life, to the joy of being allowed to participate in special ceremonies and developing a deep and lasting love of fry bread. Navigating another culture is a complicated task, and Welsch shares his mistakes and successes with engaging candor. Through his serendipitous wanderings, he finds that the more he learns about Native culture the more he learns about himself—and about a way of life whose allure offers true insight into indigenous America.   

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments 1. First, a Story 2. Introduction 3. A Beginning 4. Beyond the Handgame 5. History, Long and Short 6. Who Are We? 7. The Call of Curiosity, Keep the Change 8. Enter the Wannabes 9. What's in a Name 10. Who Is "The Indian"? 11. Who Is the Wannabe? 12. The Contrary Lesson of the Prime Directive 13. First Steps 14. The Fix Is Out 15. Indian Wannabes 16. Gottabes 17. Becoming New 18. How It Goes, How It Went 19. The Plot Thickens 20. Why? 21. Gottabes Again 22. The Ways of Foodways 23. Carnivores Forever 24. Another World 25. The Consequences of Incuriosity 26. Symbols and Realities 27. Indian Humor 28. Names and Naming 29. The Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger of 1877 30. Names ... and Names 31. Matters of Faith 32. Deduction/Induction 33. What Is Indian Religion? 34. The Sun Dance 35. The Native Church 36. Inside Native Religion 37. Knowing What We Don't Know 38. What History Teaches Us 39. The Empty Frontier 40. Indians Today 41. Indians as Americans 42. The Land 43. The Real Wonder of It 44. Eloquence 45. From Presumed Inferiority to Rampant Egalitarianism 46. Time 47. Property and Gifts 48. The Gift of Giving 49. The Fabric of Sharing 50. The Spirit of Giving 51. Squaring the Circle 52. So, How Different Are We? 53. What We See 54. Indians and Deeper Truths 55. Conclusions 56. Repositories of Wisdom 57. What's in It for Indians? 58. So You Wannabe a Wannabe?

About the Author :
Roger Welsch is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the author of more than forty books, including Touching the Fire: Buffalo Dancers, the Sky Bundle, and Other Tales and My Nebraska, both available in Bison Books editions.

Review :
"If it can be said of anyone who is not an Indian (Native American, American Indian) that he or she has the 'soul of an Indian,' it has to be said of Roger Welsch. He offers the one thing that diverse groups of people, indeed the world, need to get along: understanding." - Joseph Marshall III, author of The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Learning "Welsch, a prolific author and anthropology professor, here offers an honest, self-effacing memoir of his years spent as "a mainstream, middle-class, educated white man" who was also a "wannabe" Native American... Though an anthropology scholar, Welsch is never pedantic or preachy. Instead, this is a heartfelt and very personal story, rich in wry and self-deprecating humor." Deborah Donovan, Booklist, November 15th 2012 "We can all enjoy the wit and humor of my long-time friend and Native rights colleague Roger Welsch. He presents an important message, as we strive to live together as one great people joined together on the same land by a common heritage." - Walter R. Echo-Hawk, author of In the Courts of the Conqueror: The Ten Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided "A self-described wannabee, Roger Welsch has over many years absorbed a deep knowledge and appreciation of the Indian tribes of the Northern Plains. His writing, sincere and often humorous, reveals a personality that many Indian people and even one tribal council have come to trust, love, and adopt into their circles." - Charles Trimble, Oglala Lakota journalist and author "Once again my Heyoke friend, Roger Welsch, has captured the true essence of being a 'wannabe,' not afraid to take risks, staying close to the fire but not too close. Like our people, he understands what it means to live in two worlds. He does so with humor, gusto, and fearless dignity." - Judi M. Gaiashkibos (Ponca), executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs "Embracing Fry Bread is quintessential Welsch. Roger hooks the readers with a title about a tantalizing culinary delight, then reels 'em in to the deeper heart of the book. This is a watchful, thoughtful man's memoirs of how he has been drawn into three Indigenous families and communities through no particular volition of his own. This is the story for anyone who wakes up one morning and realizes he or she has somehow become something beyond what nature and nurture had originally provided ... And is the better human for it. Welsch writes a compelling personal account that can resonate with us all. As Welsch would say, it is not so much about being a WANNAbe as a GOTTAbe." - Mark Awakuni-Swetland, author of Dance Lodges of the Omaha People