"This lively biography pays long overdue tribute to a forgotten star of the silent era while celebrating Native American contributions to the motion picture industry."—Kirkus Reviews
"Although Waggoner herself suggests Starring Red Wing! is not an academic text, scholars of Native studies, film studies, women's studies, and beyond will find St. Cyr's biography and filmography . . . a valuable contribution to scholarship in their fields."—Amy S. Fatzinger, Native American and Indigenous Studies
"Relying on careful and copious research, Waggoner skillfully weaves St. Cyr's story with that of early American film and Native American history. . . . Too few people know St. Cyr's name—Waggoner rectifies that wrong, training a spotlight on an icon of early film who broke through barriers."—Carolyn M. Mulac, Library Journal
"Building on her expertise in Ho-Chunk history, Waggoner paints an intimate portrait that also successfully illuminates the worlds Red Wing (1884–1974) inhabited as a pathbreaking Indian celebrity."—Andrew H. Fisher, New Mexico Historical Review
"Linda Waggoner's biography takes us on a journey through the life of Lilian St. Cyr and shows the reader how this innovative woman reinvented herself repeatedly, during an era when not even white women exercised complete agency over their lives. In becoming Red Wing, she managed to free herself of her "Indian place" and her feminine limitations. She traveled, performed, produced, and made a name for herself, both with and without a husband. She was the remarkable heroine of her own life."—Noemi Hernandez Alexander, California History
"Linda Waggoner provides us with another splendid biography of a Ho-Chunk woman."—Liza Black, Western Historical Quarterly
"For a vivid portray of early filmmaking history and a groundbreaking Native Nebraska-born actress’s role in it, this is a worthwhile read."—Andrea I. Faling, Nebraska History
“This life of the groundbreaking Winnebago actress, the first Native American film star, joins staggering research with a story full of ambition, courage, and true grit. Linda Waggoner’s smartly written book recounts the early history of racial representation on the silver screen before Hollywood became a household word. Her story of a talented Native actor, along with a vivid portrayal of the silent film era, make this a probing, satisfying, and utterly unique read.”—Philip Burnham, author of Song of Dewey Beard: Last Survivor of the Little Bighorn
“In this profoundly thoughtful biography, Linda Waggoner reveals how Lilian St. Cyr’s astonishing life as a performer and activist helped to shape Native identities in modern America. Waggoner’s deeply researched and carefully written account reminds us that if St. Cyr was best known as an early Native film star, she was also fiercely devoted to Indigenous causes and spent decades defending and promoting Native interests. This nuanced book recalls the enormous importance of one of the twentieth century’s most important Native women.”—Clyde Ellis, professor of history at Elon University and author of A Dancing People: Powwow Culture on the Southern Plains
