Shell Shaker
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| Author | LeAnne Howe |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jaune Quick-to-See Smith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Aunt Lute Books |
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Publication date
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September 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 223 pp |
| ISBN | |
Shell Shaker is a novel written by LeAnne Howe, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The novel's plot revolves around two tales of murder involving Choctaw political leaders. It is set over 200 years apart, and connected through the Billy family who tries to keep the peace. According to the author, Shell Shaker is "a book about power, its misuse, and how a community responds. It's not for Indians only."
A "shell shaker" is a woman who participates in a specific Choctaw ceremony during which empty turtle shells are tied around a dancer's feet. The purpose of the dance is to pray for spirits to carry out a request. The Billy family featured in the novel are descendants from the first shell shaker, Grandmother of Birds.
Shell Shaker links two generations of the Billy peacemaking family. In the begginning of 1738 in Choctaw Mississippi, it tells the story of Red Shoes. Red Shoes is a historical Choctaw warrior. When his wife of the Red Fox clan of the Chickasaws is murdered, his Choctaw wife Anoleta is blamed. Her mother, Shakbatina, forfeits her life to save Anoleta and avert a war between the two tribes. Anoleta and her family attempt to move on as their tribe spends the next decade deciding actions that must be taken against Red Shoes, who plays both sides in what would become a war that devastates the people of Yanàbi Town and Anoleta's family.
The descendants of Shakbatina, live in Durant, Oklahoma in 1991. As a fire destroys the land around them, Redford McAlester (Chief of the Choctaw Nation) is murdered, and Assistant Chief Auda Billy, his lover, gets blamed. Susan Billy, her mother, confesses of the murder while Isaac Billy, her uncle, brings together their scattered family to help in the investigation. The plot involves embezzlement, rape, money laundering, and contributions to the Irish Republican Army and the Mafia. Spirits start being involved when an old woman claims to be Sarah Bernhardt.
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