A review by ralowe
Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science by Kim TallBear

4.0

still starving for ways to whittle away at the "truth" of the nation i turn my attention to the molecule. kim tallbear is a true student of donna haraway, hoping rather lightly for a common ground between tradition and science in a thick present. this book explores the many problems of confusing DNA for blood as metaphor and material. this book was on a friend's syllabus since there are so few actual native women in genetics who go deep into the unholy mess of race and its colonial production vs the understanding of patrilineal ties of kin and sovereignty. this text never really skimps on the expected consequences of this joining, and while the social science is turned on the producers of medical science in a provocative power inversion, it doesn't quite go all the way like haraway's *primate visions* beyond low-key social-justice-centered romp