As a white, non-Native person in the US, I have been reading and watching films to educate myself better about Native history and culture in the US. I feel that it’s my responsibility to try to fill the giant gap in my education about people with millennia-long history on this continent, displaced by settlers in the past 500 years, who continue to live and thrive and fight.
I had learned about the US Government’s action of “Termination” of many Native American tribes in the mid-twentieth century. I had also learned about some tribes’ long fights to reestablish recognition of tribal land, government, and existence from the US government decades after termination.
When I heard about a new book of fiction by author Louise Erdrich (one of my father’s favorite authors) that tells a story based on Erdrich’s own family’s experience fighting Termination, I put it on my summer reading list. I don’t read a lot of fiction these days, but I gave it high priority and even bought a paper copy of the book.
Because I study racism and regularly read about US history, I am familiar with the ways policies and have unequal or racist effects. I thought Erdrich’s book would be an enjoyable and informative read about this part of history, and it was!
I was not prepared for how moving the story would be, how engrossed in the drama I would get, or how much I would be drawn to all of the story’s many characters. I forgot how incredible a beautiful work of fiction could be! The story follows elders, young people, and families through rural land, reservations, small towns, and big cities. I found myself rooting for the characters on their many adventures, and their challenges, large and small.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a great story, and learn some things along the way.