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morningtide's review
this is just too dense for my brain to process right now. i’ll be back.
annab05's review
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Basically, the whole book follows the lives of the Native Americans since their land was settled by other nations. And goes further into depth of the effect these aliens had on their culture, language, land, livelihood, and way of living. Really good book if you would like to learn more about racial stereotypes and the true poison American culture is for other peoples.
apworden's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic! Well organized and very informative overview.
libra17's review against another edition
5.0
In 1986, the Onondaga traditional chief, Oren Lyons told a conference: We will determine what our culture is. It has been pointed out that culture constantly changes. It is not the same today as it was a hundred years ago. We are still a vital, active Indian society. We are not going to be put in a museum or accept your interpretation of our culture. I hope that what I have said will be taken with the respect with which it was presented...we continue to survive. Our chief council is composed of respectable and dignified men. They are profoundly endowed with the spirit of nationhood, freedom and self-determination. When we travel about and meet with the elders from the other different nations and peoples, we find our friends. I cannot speak for anybody but the Six Nations of Iroquois, but I can tell you that we have children who believe that they are Onondagas. We have longhouses that are full of our young people. We have a lacrosse team called the Iroquois Nationals that competes with Canada, the United States, England and Australia. It is a fact that a small group of people in the northeast have survived an onslaught for some 490 years. They continue their original manner of government. They also drive cars, have televisions, and ride on planes. We make the bridges that you cross over and build the buildings that you live in. So, what are we? Are we traditionalists or are we assimilated? If you can get away from your categories and definitions, you will perceive us as a living and continuing society. We believe that the wampum and the ceremonial masks should be at home. We will continue our ceremonies. We have the right to exist and that right does not come from you or your government. [From The Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson, Epilogue]
The Earth Shall Weep is a relatively old book - it was first published in 1998, making it over two decades old at this point - but one that excellently written, poignant, and speaks plainly about truths that still shape current affairs. Presented in three broad sections - Origins (on precontact north America and precolonial contact), Invasion (on contact in the context of white settlement, presented by region), and Internal Frontiers (on different ways in which native populations and individuals have tried to deal with forced assimilation and continual abuse from the wider population and government) - the history recounted in this text is nothing short of horrifying. Usually I try to read a book steadily - especially when reading for a challenge, as I was with this book - but with The Earth Shall Weep there were many times that I needed to take a day or two off of reading to properly reflect on what I had read. The last time I had this much difficulty reading a book it was Andrea Pitzer's One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. Still, this was a book worth reading and one that I will recommend to others both for the writing - clear, with no exaggeration, and extensive quotations from native sources where it is available - and the information. This isn't the kind of book you read for warm fuzzy feelings but is the kind of book that must be read to make sure that the realities of history aren't airbrushed and forgotten. Refusing to acknowledge and discuss things that happened, even when they make you feel uncomfortable (and damn did this make me feel uncomfortable), allow for people to craft narrow, politically motivated historical fictions and pass them off as fact. Overall, The Earth Shall Weep is a five star read and one that I highly recommend.
The Earth Shall Weep is a relatively old book - it was first published in 1998, making it over two decades old at this point - but one that excellently written, poignant, and speaks plainly about truths that still shape current affairs. Presented in three broad sections - Origins (on precontact north America and precolonial contact), Invasion (on contact in the context of white settlement, presented by region), and Internal Frontiers (on different ways in which native populations and individuals have tried to deal with forced assimilation and continual abuse from the wider population and government) - the history recounted in this text is nothing short of horrifying. Usually I try to read a book steadily - especially when reading for a challenge, as I was with this book - but with The Earth Shall Weep there were many times that I needed to take a day or two off of reading to properly reflect on what I had read. The last time I had this much difficulty reading a book it was Andrea Pitzer's One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. Still, this was a book worth reading and one that I will recommend to others both for the writing - clear, with no exaggeration, and extensive quotations from native sources where it is available - and the information. This isn't the kind of book you read for warm fuzzy feelings but is the kind of book that must be read to make sure that the realities of history aren't airbrushed and forgotten. Refusing to acknowledge and discuss things that happened, even when they make you feel uncomfortable (and damn did this make me feel uncomfortable), allow for people to craft narrow, politically motivated historical fictions and pass them off as fact. Overall, The Earth Shall Weep is a five star read and one that I highly recommend.
emilysquest's review against another edition
5.0
This book was clear, well-written, and utterly horrifying. I think it's information all Americans should have, and are unlikely to be taught in public school. Made me realize a number of things, including how uneven "traditional" education is, even about distributing MISinformation about the story of American Indians. I never knew, for example, what a galvanizing and controversial time the New Deal in the 1930's was for many tribes, nor had I heard about the fish-ins in the 1960's, which took place right in my back yard.
I didn't consider myself a wide-eyed innocent about the relationship between white folks and Native Americans, but this book was truly shocking to me, and also fascinating and seemingly well-balanced. I highly recommend it. If nothing else, it will leave you flabbergasted that we still encourage gradeschool children to dress up like Pilgrims.
I didn't consider myself a wide-eyed innocent about the relationship between white folks and Native Americans, but this book was truly shocking to me, and also fascinating and seemingly well-balanced. I highly recommend it. If nothing else, it will leave you flabbergasted that we still encourage gradeschool children to dress up like Pilgrims.
liesjeleest's review
5.0
The Earth Shall Weep tells the history of North American tribes after the arrival of the European settlers. The book is dived in sections that talk about different areas of what is now the US. Because of this the book makes the differences between the cultures of the tribes very clear. It also makes it clear how many people where effect, lost their lives, how many cultures were destroyed. A very sad book.
The book also dedicates a chapter to the lived of Native Americans in America today. The chapter was a bit less interesting to read because a lot of it is about government legislation and doesn't make for the most captivating reading materiel. At the same time it is a subject that is often forgotten of ignored so it's a good thing the book does speak so much about it.
I would have liked to book to have some maps because I am not too familiar with the geography of the US and sometimes the lack of maps made things a little confusing for me.
Overall this is a great book that touches many subjects and a long period of history, a must read if you want to know more about the history of the US.
The book also dedicates a chapter to the lived of Native Americans in America today. The chapter was a bit less interesting to read because a lot of it is about government legislation and doesn't make for the most captivating reading materiel. At the same time it is a subject that is often forgotten of ignored so it's a good thing the book does speak so much about it.
I would have liked to book to have some maps because I am not too familiar with the geography of the US and sometimes the lack of maps made things a little confusing for me.
Overall this is a great book that touches many subjects and a long period of history, a must read if you want to know more about the history of the US.
turnercampbell's review
5.0
Really incredible research. The book breaks down the interactions between Europeans and North Americans natives by location. Where most public school education downplays the atrocities of European settlement, Wilson gives a depth to the amount of suffering while refusing to conflate the different communities already present on the continent. The telling is unsentimental and frank, but the content is heartbreaking. Everyone who lives in the United States needs to read this book. Know your history.
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