The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo Audiobook By Kent Nerburn cover art

The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo

A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky

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The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo

By: Kent Nerburn
Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
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About this listen

A haunting dream that will not relent pulls author Kent Nerburn back into the hidden world of Native America, where dreams have meaning, animals are teachers, and the "old ones" still have powers beyond our understanding.

In this moving narrative, we travel through the lands of the Lakota and the Ojibwe, where we encounter a strange little girl with an unnerving connection to the past, a forgotten asylum that history has tried to hide, and the complex, unforgettable characters we have come to know from Neither Wolf nor Dog and The Wolf at Twilight.

Part history, part mystery, part spiritual journey and teaching story, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo is filled with the profound insight into humanity and Native American culture we have come to expect from Nerburn's journeys. As the American Indian College Fund has stated, once you have encountered Nerburn's stirring evocations of America's high plains and incisive insights into the human heart, "you can never look at the world, or at people, the same way again."

©2013 Kent Nerburn (P)2018 Tantor
Fiction Historical Fiction Indigenous Peoples Indigenous Studies Metaphysical & Visionary State & Local Travel Writing & Commentary United States World Literature Dream Thought-Provoking Mystery Wolf Native American Historical Fiction
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What listeners say about The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good look at Native Spirituality

I almost gave up half way through. sometimes it was predictable. It seem to end rather than finish.

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fantastic read!

Loved the story. I wish Nerburn's books were required reading. So much heart in this journey.

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Excellent! I highly recommend these 3 books!

Respectfully done and important for all of us to learn. I admire the balance achieved between very difficult and dark subjects, native spirituality and lightness and humor.

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Such a gift

Kent Nerburn books are a true gift.

I’ve enjoyed spending 50 hours with these stories on audio book

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WOW! great appreciation for allowing me in!

Very powerful and very authentic book by a great story teller. Not sure I've experienced that many different emotions all from one book. Anger, rage, out loud laughter, tears (lots of tears), gratitude, appreciation, respect, joy, humility, shame, fear, pride, connection, dropping to my knees.

If you've ever spent time on a reservation and count your native friends as blessings, you'll immediately connect with Grover, Dan and Jumbo's humor. If you've ever felt Creators presence in the wild or connection with animal teachers, then you'll immediately connect with Nerburns experiences with Festus and the Buffalo. If you have kids, you'll connect with Zi and Ramona, and if you've ever spoken with a true Elder, you'll love Dan!

Criticism (but not really) why would Nerburn doubt ANYTHING he saw, heard or experienced? He's spent way too much time in "Indian Country" to doubt ANYHTING!!!

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2 people found this helpful

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I always love when the author narrates

I learned a lot from this book, and so many things in my own life began to make sense. I'm grateful to Mr. Nerburn for his work, and more grateful to the Native Americans who allow him in to share their stories. There's so much we don't know about the treatment of these people when the whites were clamoring to take over this country... and so much history and heritage being lost.

Hearing the author narrate his own work gives us a greater insight to his own connection to the work and the people.

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1 person found this helpful

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A honest reminder of what’s true

There’s a lot of wisdom and honesty that is important for all to hear. Some great humor as well.

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This gave me words I could never find.

I absolutely LOVED this. I felt so connected to the Native American culture and beliefs. I even bought the paperback so I highlight some of the deeply moving thoughts and conversations. This book changed me. The heartbreak of how they were mistreated. How wise they were are with their respect for Mother Nature and Creator. I look forward to my next Kent Nerburn books.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Thought-provoking, though flawed

I'm a bit conflicted about this audiobook. Ultimately, I feel like it was a positive experience. I enjoyed the parts of the book very much, particularly the interactions with the various native characters and having their thoughts, fears and angers portrayed. Unfortunately, those are few and far between. The title character is really little more than a literary device that leads to the finale. But, I enjoyed moments of the journey. I kept hoping there would be a theme to give the book some grounding. But it is neither committed enough to a "magic realism", for example, on one hand, or deeply allegorical insight into spirituality on the other. Native spirituality is treated with a fawning reverence, but yet uncomfortably, as yet another example of native wisdom through white men's eyes.

If this book were written by a native person, it may have had more resonance. It may still have been a bit sentimental and overwrought. But this book adds a level of righteous indignation that can only be achieved by a well-meaning outsider. The author is quite defensive in the foreword of the book, detailing what is and isn't accessible to outsiders, but I feel that he misses the irony of self-servingly painting himself as "one of the good ones".

I am very sympathetic to native stories and history of injustices toward native peoples, so that's why this book interested me. I think I need more access to the author, perhaps to learn more about his experiences and conflicts (it seems clear that he has received blowback in the past, judging by his defensiveness). The book made me think more, so ultimately, I'd call it a success, even with its flaws. I'm giving 4 stars, not because it's great, as the guide indicates (I'm more inclined to say it's "pretty good", which is 3), but I feel the intention of the book was honest, if not fully realized.

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12 people found this helpful

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Can’t say enough about this book!

Wonderfully descriptive full of faith in the old ways, love and laughter I read neither wolf nor dog and the wolf at twilight but this is Kent’s crowning glory,suffice it to say I sent out four copies already!

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