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naneereads's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an incredible read and I’ve learned so much about so many different indigenous struggles across North America. The interviews seemed to be done with so much care and respect, it’s very much felt
ktorr009's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
fireblend's review against another edition
5.0
This book simply accomplishes everything it sets out to do. The way each narrator's voice is given as much life as can be expected from the pages of a book, their powerful individual stories, all ultimately hopeful but filled with the struggle, abuse and unjust suffering that centuries of systematic neglect, racism and cultural erasure have brought upon indigenous populations, the carefully and thoroughly annotated footnotes, accompanying essays and context blurbs, and the obvious love and passion with which every sentence has been assembled all coalesce into a picture of indigenous north america, both in the US and Canada, that should be urgently seen and shared by everyone.
bbqxaxiu's review against another edition
4.0
i really liked this book. it contains a collection of interviews, essays, and a historical timeline on indigenous america.
re: the interviews - i enjoyed hearing from indigenous perspectives, and i liked that all the people interviewed were really different. one person spoke about their experience navigating the residential schooling system, another about organizing to combat the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, another about navigating the carceral system as a youth, another about their seasonal way of life (i.e. moving from place to place with the seasons, in order to live off the land) etc.
re: the essays - they covered everything from the physical and mental health of indigenous communities, contemporary issues, intergenerational trauma/historical trauma, disproportionate rates of incarceration and homelessness, etc. i found this section very informative.
re: the historical timeline - ok, this part was really cool. it was cool how the author broke down the history of indigenous america and contextualized it with treaties european colonizers coercively made with the indigenous populations in order to cement their control over the land and settler colonialism. it was cool hearing about how indigenous people view land and their relationship to the land, and how that differs from how european/white people view land...like how the concept of "owning" land simply does not exist in the indigenous belief system. which i mean, makes so much sense lmao. like "owning" land is such a colonist/imperialist/capitalist concept. u cant own nature with a piece of paper, boy bye lolz. and this also ties into the individualism of european/white cultures...like ofc in a culture where there is such a heavy emphasis on individualism, you would want to "own" something. but in a culture that emphasizes community (so like...every other culture besides western culture lmfao), there is no need to "own" something—because it is shared by and belongs to everyone.
finally, a quote that i really liked from one of the essays: "trauma is an expression on our genes.if there is something that has been tagged on our dna because of trauma, then that stress response could be tagged onto our children's and grandchildren's dna, as a trait. but i tell people that if trauma is in our genes, then so is surviving. and so is resilience. and so is healing." thats factssssss
re: the interviews - i enjoyed hearing from indigenous perspectives, and i liked that all the people interviewed were really different. one person spoke about their experience navigating the residential schooling system, another about organizing to combat the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, another about navigating the carceral system as a youth, another about their seasonal way of life (i.e. moving from place to place with the seasons, in order to live off the land) etc.
re: the essays - they covered everything from the physical and mental health of indigenous communities, contemporary issues, intergenerational trauma/historical trauma, disproportionate rates of incarceration and homelessness, etc. i found this section very informative.
re: the historical timeline - ok, this part was really cool. it was cool how the author broke down the history of indigenous america and contextualized it with treaties european colonizers coercively made with the indigenous populations in order to cement their control over the land and settler colonialism. it was cool hearing about how indigenous people view land and their relationship to the land, and how that differs from how european/white people view land...like how the concept of "owning" land simply does not exist in the indigenous belief system. which i mean, makes so much sense lmao. like "owning" land is such a colonist/imperialist/capitalist concept. u cant own nature with a piece of paper, boy bye lolz. and this also ties into the individualism of european/white cultures...like ofc in a culture where there is such a heavy emphasis on individualism, you would want to "own" something. but in a culture that emphasizes community (so like...every other culture besides western culture lmfao), there is no need to "own" something—because it is shared by and belongs to everyone.
finally, a quote that i really liked from one of the essays: "trauma is an expression on our genes.if there is something that has been tagged on our dna because of trauma, then that stress response could be tagged onto our children's and grandchildren's dna, as a trait. but i tell people that if trauma is in our genes, then so is surviving. and so is resilience. and so is healing." thats factssssss
niftypanda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
c8_19's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
What a wealth of information and voice and data—without being dry or too heavy or what have you. It was a quick read, for me, because it was so compelling, and I’d finish one essay eager to go on and hear whomever’s story was next. You see recurring themes throughout all the essays of broken homes and addiction and acts of violence just as there are threads of hope and community and goodness. I appreciate that this collection provides balance.
mayo899's review against another edition
4.0
this book gives so much context to the past and current experiences of native ppl in north america, particularly in canada. the detailed footnotes, glossary & additional essays at the end top it all off (for those who may be begrudgingly unwilling to accept and be skeptical towards these experiences without “evidence” or “research” OR for those who simply want a deeper historical understanding and context for these experiences). i didn’t even realize how much blatant racism existed towards native people in these Canadian territories, although i’m certainly not surprised. storytelling & oral history is an incredibly compelling and valuable method to share and learn from people’s lived experiences. highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get a glimpse of north american indigenous experiences. the resilience of the featured individuals and the strength they find in community is the common thread that connects each of these individual stories....great read!!!!!
stitching_ghost's review against another edition
I'm not going to rate this one because while it's not exactly a memoir it does bring together people sharing their own stories.
If you're looking for a book about current struggles and experiences of indigenous people in North America, you'll get a great overview with this collection. Sinclair never pretends to cover everything there is to cover and no one should expect that from a 320 pages book, that being said it's a very well documented book (beyond the stories) with a solid further reading section which also includes fiction titles.
I would absolutely recommend this book.
If you're looking for a book about current struggles and experiences of indigenous people in North America, you'll get a great overview with this collection. Sinclair never pretends to cover everything there is to cover and no one should expect that from a 320 pages book, that being said it's a very well documented book (beyond the stories) with a solid further reading section which also includes fiction titles.
I would absolutely recommend this book.