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A review by libra17
The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America by James Wilson
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.