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gemasinrock's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
4.75
“In order to maintain the cult and sanctity of the Dead Indian, North America has decided that Live Indians living today cannot be genuine Indians.”
“Dead Indians are dignified, noble, silent, suitably garbed. And dead. Live Indians are invisible, unruly, disappointing. And breathing. One is a romantic reminder of a heroic but fictional past. The other is simply an unpleasant, contemporary surprise.”
“Missionary work in the New World was war. Christianity, in all its varieties, has always been a stakeholder in the business of assimilation, and, in the sixteenth century, it was the initial wound in the side of Native culture. Or, if you want the positive but somewhat callous view, you might wish to describe Christianity as the gateway drug to supply-side capitalism.”
“Teach Indians to fish, but teach them to be Christian fishers. And then you can sell them fishing gear.”
“Racism is endemic in North America. And it’s also systemic. While it affects the general population at large, it’s also buried in the institutions that are supposed to protect us from such abuses.”
“Ignorance has never been the problem. The problem was and continues to be unexamined confidence in western civilization and the unwarranted certainty of Christianity. And arrogance. Perhaps it is unfair to judge the past by the present, but it is also necessary.”
“Dead Indians are dignified, noble, silent, suitably garbed. And dead. Live Indians are invisible, unruly, disappointing. And breathing. One is a romantic reminder of a heroic but fictional past. The other is simply an unpleasant, contemporary surprise.”
“Missionary work in the New World was war. Christianity, in all its varieties, has always been a stakeholder in the business of assimilation, and, in the sixteenth century, it was the initial wound in the side of Native culture. Or, if you want the positive but somewhat callous view, you might wish to describe Christianity as the gateway drug to supply-side capitalism.”
“Teach Indians to fish, but teach them to be Christian fishers. And then you can sell them fishing gear.”
“Racism is endemic in North America. And it’s also systemic. While it affects the general population at large, it’s also buried in the institutions that are supposed to protect us from such abuses.”
“Ignorance has never been the problem. The problem was and continues to be unexamined confidence in western civilization and the unwarranted certainty of Christianity. And arrogance. Perhaps it is unfair to judge the past by the present, but it is also necessary.”
valj's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
smittenforfiction's review
5.0
Listening on Hoopla.
“You know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try the same thing again. Sometimes the effort is called persistence and is the mark of a strong will. Sometimes it's called perseveration and is a sign of immaturity. For an individual, one of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again in the same way and expecting different results. For a government, such behavior is called... policy.”
“A great many people in North America believe that Canada and the United States, in a moment of inexplicable generosity, gave treaty rights to Native people as a gift. Of course, anyone familiar with the history of Indians in North America knows that Native people paid for every treaty right, and in some cases, paid more than once. The idea that either country gave First Nations something for free is horseshit.”
“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
“You know what they say. If at first you don't succeed, try the same thing again. Sometimes the effort is called persistence and is the mark of a strong will. Sometimes it's called perseveration and is a sign of immaturity. For an individual, one of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again in the same way and expecting different results. For a government, such behavior is called... policy.”
“A great many people in North America believe that Canada and the United States, in a moment of inexplicable generosity, gave treaty rights to Native people as a gift. Of course, anyone familiar with the history of Indians in North America knows that Native people paid for every treaty right, and in some cases, paid more than once. The idea that either country gave First Nations something for free is horseshit.”
“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
bark's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, and Colonisation
danikiomi's review against another edition
5.0
I’ll be honest, at times this was a bit confusing as he often jumps around in time or lists several examples without fully explaining them. However, the overall point made and the sarcasm used to deliver it makes this a memorable read. I think my favourite point being that instead of asking “what do native people want” we should be asking what white people want and the answer will more than often come down to land.
romyschnaiberg's review against another edition
5.0
I learned so much from this book. Written with humour and deep compassion, I found myself referring to Wikipedia to learn more about the content presented while reading. Outstanding presentation of what got us to here.
naju's review against another edition
informative
3.0
obviously a very informative and poignant read, however the writing was just not great. maybe it was because of the medium (audiobook). will be coming back to it for future research.
meagers32's review against another edition
4.0
King is incredibly talented in how he neatly crams SO MUCH information into one average length book.
I love King’s dark humour and his straight-up no eff’s given fact sharing. I had my jaw on the ground for some of the things I read in this - colonialism and white supremacy is fricken horrible y’all. We also have a lot of work to do and some heads to pull out of asses.
I give this a 4 because while the information and stories are so so SO important and well-presented, I was often wishing the book were done.
Much of this information is not new to me (Social Studies minor), though the information about American Indigenous concerns is very interesting and not talked about in any of the Canadian history courses I had to take.
All-in-all, the information in this book should be read by EVERYONE. Not just academics. Not just Indigenous people. Not just white settler Canadians / Americans. Everyone. Though prepared to be gut-punched a few times.
If I would have picked up this book and not struggled through some of it, I would have given it a 5. Though valuable information, it was a LOT, case study after case study. Some of it felt a bit repetitious. This all being said, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
I love King’s dark humour and his straight-up no eff’s given fact sharing. I had my jaw on the ground for some of the things I read in this - colonialism and white supremacy is fricken horrible y’all. We also have a lot of work to do and some heads to pull out of asses.
I give this a 4 because while the information and stories are so so SO important and well-presented, I was often wishing the book were done.
Much of this information is not new to me (Social Studies minor), though the information about American Indigenous concerns is very interesting and not talked about in any of the Canadian history courses I had to take.
All-in-all, the information in this book should be read by EVERYONE. Not just academics. Not just Indigenous people. Not just white settler Canadians / Americans. Everyone. Though prepared to be gut-punched a few times.
If I would have picked up this book and not struggled through some of it, I would have given it a 5. Though valuable information, it was a LOT, case study after case study. Some of it felt a bit repetitious. This all being said, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
selinayoung's review against another edition
5.0
So witty!! An incredibly well written and clever/sarcastic account. I learned a lot and wished the book was longer. Incredibly accessible account of Indigenous history in N. America.