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Bunny McBride. Molly Spotted Elk: A Penobscot in Paris. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1995. 360 + xx pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth, $24.95.
In 1903, the year Molly Spotted Elk was born on Indian Island, Maine, African American scholar W. E. B. DuBois wrote, "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line." As a Penobscot intensely proud of her Native heritage, and acutely aware of the prejudice it aroused, Molly would have confirmed DuBois's predictions. Author Bunny McBride sensitively presents Molly's dramatic story, highlighting the cultural and political context of her life as an woman artist whose experiences sometimes uncannily echoed those of her African American contemporary, Zora Neale Hurston.
Molly Spotted Elk devoted her life to demolishing the color line-and cultural line-that defined Indians as stereotypical Plains savages and demeaned their dances. A widely recognized professional dancer committed to making her performances emotionally charged and culturally authentic, Molly stepped out from Prohibition-era chorus lines and Wild West shows to challenge the expectations of her audiences, eventually winning the respect she sought in Paris in the 1930s. Her artistic struggle was complicated by her economic need not only to support herself and finance her dream of completing college (she spent...