Cheyenne Daughter

by Lori Lambert, Ph.D., and Deanne Toby
Author House (2005) 104 pages
ISBN 1-4208-7086-6
Paperback $30.60

Review by Dr. Richard Littlebear

At first, it was disconcerting to have the author thinking and musing for the two main characters: Alfred and Helene. However, later on this device lent considerable immediacy and vitality to the two characters, and it slowly became an effective story-telling convention.

This is a story of sorrow and joy and ultimately of closure that spanned decades. It began with the ominous backdrop of World War II in the South Pacific. A quiet lonely young man and an adventurous aboriginal girl met, and in the normal course of boy/girl relations, a daughter resulted.

It is this girl who is the ultimate character with her decades-long effort to find her father. It is a poignant story in that Alfred and Helene never again communicated after the war ended; instead each married, had children, and went on with their separate lives.

Dr. Richard E. Littlebear has been the president of Chief Dull Knife College for 7 years. He knew Alfred Little Sun and his brother Horace, who was adopted by Richard’s grandmother when Horace was young. Horace also fought in the South Pacific during World War II.