A Face in the Rock: The Tale of a Grand Island Chippewa

by Loren R. Graham

Book Overview

Eight miles long and four miles wide, Grand Island lies off the south shore of Lake Superior. It was once home to a sizable community of Chippewa Indians who lived in harmony with the land and with each other. Their tragic demise began early in the nineteenth century when their fellow tribesmen from the mainland goaded them into waging war against rival Sioux. The war party was decimated; only one young brave, Powers of the Air, lived to tell the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520215672
• ISBN13: 9780520215672
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

You just have to go there.

This was an interesting historical account of the original Indian inhabitants of Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A Face in the Rock is more meaningful for those who have made the trip to this beautiful island. The water is crystal clear and the lack of tourists are surprising. Kyle and I actually took a kayaking trip to near by Pictured Rocks which provides breath-taking sites all along the coast of Lake Superior. If you are interested in the outdoors or just love to go to the beach this is a wonderful location for you.

You can't judge a book by it's cover.

I came across A Face in the Rock in a bargain bin and picked it up because 1. it was so [inexpensive] and 2. it was local history. In truth, I didn't expect much from it---the edition that I bought had a badly designed cover---and it ended up sinking down my pile of "to read" books. I finally got around to it months later on a rainy, dreary, ... autumn day and, lo and behold, got totally sucked into it. A Face in the Rock as a book does everything a history should do: it captures the inherent drama, maintains an intimate, personal approach, sets the story against the framework of forces at work on the larger stage. It's also fairly short and to the point---the author keeps things moving nicely. It's nearly perfect, and a remarkable and poignant tale. Recently it has been reissued in a snappier edition (with praise from the NY Times and Louise Erdrich, among others) and, hopefully, this will help it find a wider audience. If you're at all interested in the history and development of the Great Lakes region, in native American history, or in sweeping dramas, get this book.

I thought it kept you interested throughout the whole book.

I thought this book was very good.I read it as a class project, and I thought it would be very very boring at first.Like oh yeah A Face In The Rock sounded really interesting to me!I think Powers of the Air was a very brave Grand Islander.He stood up for what he believed in.I thought Loren Graham wrote this book very well.I also thought it was interesting how he got his resources.Overall i think the book was very good.I will probably read it again.I would reccomend it to everyone because it is a good book for children because they can learn about the Grand Islanders and some of their legends.Thank You!

A fine book about a beautifual people and place.

I found this book very enjoyable reading. Being of Northern Michigan Anishnabe descent, it was a pleasure to read about the area where I grew up. This book is a genuine read about the Grand Island experience of the past. Munising, AuTrain and Grand Island are beautiful places to be and this is a must read about the history of the area, about a single life more or less, about an original people that the tourists in the area really don't get enough info about.