Blessing for a Long Time:
The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe

Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings ingeniously adopt the conventions of Omaha oral narratives to tell the story and convey the significance of the Sacred Pole. Portions of classic anthropological texts (particularly Fletcher and La Flesches The Omaha Tribe), Omaha narratives, and other historical and contemporary accounts are repeatedeach time in a different, more enlightening contextin a circle of stories seamlessly woven around Umonhonti. The result is an innovative account that effortlessly glides between past and present. This unique blend of Omaha poetics, ethnography, and ethnohistory is a significant contribution to our understanding of the religious life of Native Americans.