Dancing Warrior is the biography of Cheyenne artist Paul Flying Eagle Goodbear, born in Oklahoma on the cusp of territory and statehood, and the story of Molly Hollenbach's determined historical sleuthing to pen that biography. Goodbear was the grandson of Cheyenne Chief Turkey Legs and the great-great-grandson of Chief Whirlwind. Hollenbach became interested in Goodbear's life during visits with her aunt Marion Hollenbach, who met Goodbear in 1933 when both were students at the University of New Mexico, she in archeology and he in art. After a spring romance they went their separate ways but stayed in touch. The book begins with their correspondence. In the 1940s Goodbear made a name for himself as a Native American modernist, showing Kiowa influence but going his own way. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II. With the help of Goodbear's daughter and niece, Hollenbach was able to trace his history after the war. Although he died tragically young, Goodbear left behind a stunning collection of paintings preserved in the major museums of Southwest art. This biography enriches our understanding of one Native American artist's engagement with American modernist painting, the challenges he faced due to stereotypes and racism, and the social worlds he created.
Margaret "Molly" Hollenbach is a social-cultural anthropologist and freelance writer. She is the author of scholarly works as well as a memoir and has worked as a technical writer, reported for a weekly newspaper, and written documentary film scripts.
"As much detective mystery as family memoir, Dancing Warrior illuminates Paul Flying Eagle Goodbear's thoroughly modern twentieth-century life and his 'startlingly modern' art. Working with Goodbear's relatives, diverse archives, and her aunt Marion's stories and journals, Molly Hollenbach pieces together a compelling story of Paul and Marion's romance amid the entanglements of federal Indian policy and Native/non-Native mutual biases, prejudices, and fascinations."--K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Indigenous studies scholar and author of They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School "Focusing on Cheyenne artist Paul Flying Eagle Goodbear, Dancing Warrior is also about the processes of discovering the past. Molly Hollenbach's insightful and compassionate voice shines as she follows her subjects through the art and intellectual circles of the American Southwest."--Nicolas G. Rosenthal, author of Painting Native America: Indigenous Artists in the Twentieth Century "Molly Hollenbach's Dancing Warrior is the compelling story of a Cheyenne artist who traveled between cultures in a struggle to find a world that would see him whole. This deeply personal biography tackles sensitive cultural issues with unfailing poise and honesty."--Philip Burnham, author of Song of Dewey Beard: Last Survivor of the Little Bighorn
