AMERICAN AUTHORS CHALLENGE--JULY 2021--NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, STORIES AND THEMES

This month we are challenged to read books by and about Native Americans—stories, poems, histories. There is no shortage of material, and the variety is endless. A Tony Hillerman novel has little in common with the Song of Hiawatha.

In preparing to compose this introductory post, given the current blistering heat wave oppressing his namesake city and most of the Northwest, I was inclined to use a graphic of a well-known and widely circulated “quotation” from Chief Si’ahl which has often been taken up on posters for environmental causes. (“The Earth does not belong to us, We belong to the Earth”) I was concerned about cultural appropriation, so I did some research into the source of that quote, and found that….surprise!...Chief Si’ahl may never have said it at all. I won’t bore you with the details, but most of the profound words attributed to him (and quite possibly to many other Native Americans from the 19th century) are likely fabrications or at best paraphrases to suit white men’s purposes. There is some fascinating information here about what can be known about the man we have called Seattle.

As an alternative to a dubious, albeit appropriate, quote from a somewhat enigmatic Native American, I have topped the post with composite photos of Native American authors, some who will be very familiar, others who will be new voices you may wish to listen to. In addition to Louis Erdrich, Tony Hillerman, Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, all of whom have been individually featured in the AAC in past years, there are dozens of authors who deserve our attention. Lists and recommendations can be found easily all over the internet. This site is a great place to start if you don’t have something calling to you from your shelves already.

A list of contemporary Native American playwrights and their work can be found here.

A few non-fiction titles that may be of interest:

Our Land Before We Die by Jeff Guinn
The Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson
The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman
A History of the Indians of the United States by Angie Debo
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III

Our Poet Laureate, Living Nations, Living Words

And some books for children and young adults:

Pocahontas and Sacajawea by Joseph Bruchac
Marooned in the Arctic by Peggy Caravantes
Buffalo Bird Girl by S. D. Nelson
Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
The Sea Lion by Ken Kesey
Thunder Boy, Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson

If my OverDrive hold becomes available in time, I plan to read Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden.

Great theme! Looking forward to it!

I thought Tony Hillerman was white not Native American? His Navajo murder mysteries are great and all--am I wrong about his ancestry? I recall hearing that he was recognized by the Navajo Nation for how his novels elevated and educated about their culture...

I can heartily endorse The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. And I'll add The Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz to the nonfiction options. It's an accessible and quick read. Plus, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

If you want to try some speculative fiction, try out these anthologies:
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction
Taaqtumi; An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories

I'm going to be reading an "about" book. OOTI A Maidu Legacy by Richard Simpson. You can read more about what the book is about on this superb webpage: http://bearriver.us/ooti.php

I have New Poets of Native Nations on the go, so I will get back to that this month.

>3 justchris: I don't think Hillerman has any tribal affiliation, but he did attend an Indian school as a child, as I recall. (He isn't among those pictured above.) I included him because he writes about the culture in a way that has been acknowledged as authentic.

Braiding Sweetgrass is on my wishlist.

I will read The Night watchman by Erdrich this month, Linda, as it also fits my Pulitzer challenge!

I would like to read Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese but I also would read The Night Watchman as I am working on Pulitzer, too.

I just read The Only Good Indian by Stephen Graham Jones for Horror and I thought it was pretty good. So would recommend that one.

>8 Kristelh: I need to get to Wagamese...I haven't read any of his work so far.

>7 PaulCranswick: Great, Paul. Always good to hit two marks with one book!

I don't know if this will be accessible if you aren't a Paris Review subscriber, but it couldn't be more timely, so I am sharing anyway.

I am hoping to read something by Louise Erdrich this month, possibly LaRose or one of her earlier works.

Four stars for M. Scott Momaday with The Way to Rainy Mountain

and 4.5 for Code Talker.

>11 katiekrug: You really can't go wrong with Erdrich.

>12 m.belljackson: Bruchac's novel is Code Talker. I have that on my shelf too. Momaday's voice (his physical voice, not his narrative voice) is so impressive. I'd love to listen to him read one of his books.

>13 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you - that was the 3rd time I couldn't find it!

Which Momaday books would you recommend?

>14 m.belljackson: I've only read his poetry, and some of his essays, in anthologies published by the Library of America---American Earth and American Religious Poems. I really want to read his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, House Made of Dawn.

A full length documentary, recreating Momaday's research trip through sacred Kiowa lands in preparation for writing The Way to Rainy Mountain is available on Amazon Prime.

>15 laytonwoman3rd: I got inspired by this month and also read Leslie Marmon Silko's CEREMONY which rated a bunch of stars.

>16 m.belljackson: I read that one last year. Twice. Wasn't it powerful? I get the impression that House Made of Dawn may have similar subject matter and story elements.

>17 laytonwoman3rd: CEREMONY is definitely one to keep.

I'll be reading LaRose this month and also House Made of Dawn if I have time. Possibly some poetry too.

Add me to the Erdrich Reading Club. I wanted to read something in honor of her Pulitzer win, and have already read The Night Watchman. So I picked up a copy of The Bingo Palace, part of the Love Medicine series. I just started it last night and am getting reacquainted with the families that feature in these novels.

Not long ago I came across something Erdrich wrote about her work:

Since writing Love Medicine, I have understood that I am writing one long book in which the main chapters are also books … If you read on in the other books, you will find that the people in Love Medicine live out destinies invisible to me as I wrote this first book … That they keep returning, insistent and surprising, is a strange gift. Indeed, they have not finished with me yet.

I love that.

81. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask

This book is written in a Q&A format, and according to the author, is a collection of questions he commonly hears when speaking. Partly because of this, I would say the level is that of a young adult reader.

Treuer covers a lot of topics, from treaties to casinos. He lives near Bemidji, Minnesota, and teaches at Bemidji State University. He uses his personal experiences in answering questions.

I've heard Treuer speak, and he is an engaging speaker. There is a newer, revised audiobook that he reads, and if you are interested in the topic, it's very easy to listen to.

I've read quite a bit on this topic, so there wasn't a lot of new information for me, but this is a great starting point for people interested in the topic. Treuer also includes a list of resources at the end of the book.

One of his answers that did surprise me and made me laugh was the answer to the question: "Are there any good Indian movies?"

Treuer: " I like some of the old spaghetti Westerns because the Navaho extras they hired spent the entire time talking smack about the actors in the Diné language. With proper translation, it's incredibly entertaining."

It does pay to speak more than one language. :)

BTW: Anton and David Treuer are brothers. I highly recommend Rez Life and The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee if you are looking for additional resources about indigenous life.

>21 BLBera: That sounds like an excellent primer and I hope my library has a copy.

>22 laytonwoman3rd: I have a copy, what I am reading for the challenge. You can borry it when I'm done, if that suits ya.

>23 lycomayflower: Yes, please!

>6 laytonwoman3rd: Fair enough. I don't pretend to know, just mentioning what I recalled reading in the past.

Another indigenous speculative fiction author I forgot to mention:
Rebecca Roanhorse. Her books are getting a lot of praise. The first is Trail of Lightning. I liked it well enough. The books are post-apocalyptic on the Navajo Reservation. However, Roanhorse's books have generated some controversy: https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-dangers-of-the-appropriation-critiqu...
(this think-piece does mention Hillerman as a white author who was designated Special Friend of the Navajo Nation).

Thanks for mentioning Roanhorse, Chris. She was highlighted on the Wild Card thread in the AAC last year, and I believe you posted another interesting link there at that time. The thread is here, for anyone who didn't visit it in 2020, or who wants to take another look.

I'll be starting this one as soon as my library gets it for me: Making a Difference: My Fight for Native Rights and Social Justice by Ada Deer.

Lots of good ideas for future reading on this thread!

Karen O.

I decided to read There There for this challenge. The book does an excellent job introducing a reader to the problems Native Americans deal with. I did this book as an audio one and for some reason I struggled to follow the transition from one character to another. I'm not sure if this was because I listened to the book or if this is not the type of writing that works for me.

My social justice book club is going to read something by Louise Erdrich for our next meeting. So I guess that's what I'll be doing for this theme.

The Bingo Palace ()

Louise Erdrich’s early novels are set in and around a Native American reservation in North Dakota, and are often compared to Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha. Her characters bring the culture to life while also showing the impact of government policy and discrimination. The Bingo Palace is set in contemporary times and is primarily the story of Lipsha Lamartine, a young man abandoned by his mother in infancy. His father has long been in prison, and Lipsha has few role models. When he is summoned home by his grandmother, he almost immediately falls for Shawnee Ray, who unfortunately for Lipsha is in a relationship with Lipsha’s uncle, Lyman Lamartine. Lyman is older, wiser, and more prosperous. He is also the father of Shawnee’s son. But Shawnee has ambitions of her own: to further her education, start a career, and make an independent life for herself.

Lipsha gets a job working for Lyman at his gambling establishment. He also plays a bit of bingo on the side, and between paid work and gambling manages to improve his finances somewhat. Lyman sort of takes Lipsha under his wing and Lipsha values their relationship, even as he is sneaking around wooing Shawnee behind Lyman’s back. Lipsha tries hard to make himself a better man, but as a man with limited education and job prospects, the odds are stacked against him. Ruled by his desires, he fails to read Shawnee’s signals even when she is fairly direct with him. And then Lipsha’s father re-enters his life, with dramatic consequences.

At first I thought The Bingo Palace might be a "beat the odds" kind of story and was really pulling for Lipsha, but Erdrich doesn’t write that kind of fiction. I enjoyed seeing a few of Lipsha’s ancestors return, much older and sometimes wiser than in previous books. Some earlier events were also described more fully. So once again, I am left with a deeper understanding of this community, but also a desire to read more.

I finished Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman.

Joe Leaphorn needs to find out why an old man who may have held sacred secrets was brutally murdered, and whether it could possibly be connected to an unsolved armored car robbery that left the FBI mystified. Most of Joe's "detecting" occurs in his head, and he becomes a one man search party whose quarry is determined to leave him dead in the isolated caves and canyons of the Navajo Nation. But it isn't his own life Joe is trying to save; a van full of kidnapped Boy Scouts have been taken hostage in an apparent re-creation of a long-ago massacre of the same number of Indian children. Joe doubts the legitimacy of the kidnappers' devotion to any "cause", but not their willingness to kill. He needs every ounce of intuition, resourcefulness and physical strength he can muster to survive and prevent another tragedy.

I have also been dipping into two Library of America volumes about the War of 1812 and the lead-up to it, which is a prime example of how the US government treated the native population at that time. But I picked up the 3rd Foggy Moskowitz outing for a quick and engaging read before plunging back into the non-fiction. I hadn't really forgotten that Foggy has a Seminole Indian friend, but it wasn't up there in the conscious level of my brain when i chose to read Icepick right now. But as it turns out, this story involves two Seminole children looking for their missing mother in 1976 Fry's Bay, Florida, and there is a lot of Indian history and lore tucked into the fast-paced narrative as Foggy takes any opportunity to correct stupid white people's prejudices and misunderstandings. Foggy's wise-guy wit tempered with true compassion is exactly the spoonful of sugar needed to make his medicine go down. I love this series.

I finished Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden this evening. The description sounded like the kind of crime novel I usually avoid, but I'm really glad I gave this one a chance. I enjoyed it, and the ending leaves open a possibility of more books featuring Lakota justice enforcer Virgil Wounded Horse.

>32 cbl_tn: Hmmm.... adding that one to the list.

I finished Crazy Horse: The Lakota Warrior's Life & Legacy. For many years, the members of Crazy Horse's family kept their relationship with him secret, because they feared retribution from the federal government, especially after Crazy Horse himself had been tricked into surrendering, and brutally murdered. This book is the result of their decision that the time was right to set the record straight, and to let the world know that Crazy Horse's family still lives. The narrative is rich with detail about the Lakota way of life, and the ways in which westward expansion by white men eroded the natural order of that existence. It also presents a vivid picture of a complex man whose primary motivation always was the safety and welfare of his family and his tribe. Floyd Clown, Doug War Eagle and Don Red Thunder told their family stories to William Matson, who is a documentary film maker and not a professional writer. It occasionally shows in some stylistic awkwardness, but for the most part the story-tellers' rhythm and flow seems to have been preserved on the page. Genealogy records appended to the the main text bring the family history well into the 21st century, and add historical context. Recommended.

I'm putting the August thread up a bit earlier than usual, as I don't expect to be posting much next week. Join us for Connie Willis, if you will.

I've started Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction. Plus, I'll be borrowing LaRose from the library book club kit.

I had planned on reading LaRose for this challenge, but instead am reading The Night Watchman. I'm also almost finished with Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which has been an amazing read. My daughter recommended it to me earlier this month, and I thought it would fit well into this challenge.

Once again I am not going to get to Indian Horse but I am reading The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich which I am really enjoying.

>38 Kristelh: That was a wonderful novel. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

I finished Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead.

Loved it. Only 9 stories yet all quite memorable. Protagonists are a mix of lesbian, gay, trans, nonbinary, and unknown queer-status folks, mostly young, and from Ojibwe, Cree, Anishinaabe, Mi'kmaq, Navajo nations, though some stories did not indicate any specific tribal heritage. One protagonist was white yet focused entirely on her Cree love interest. These dystopian stories include colonies out in space, either spaceships heading out from Earth or long since settled, alternate/virtual reality via cyberspace, colonizing a world via a portal, either increasingly totalitarian government and scarce resources for survival or turtled-up communities keeping the chaos outside at bay, cyborgs, time travel through the spirit realm, but also thriving after the collapse of civilization, and keeping oral history and the relics of writing alive.

Definitely worth checking out if you want to experience an indigenous spin on common science fiction tropes.

>39 laytonwoman3rd: I finished The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich and I loved it. So very good. Minnesota author from Little Falls, not far from where I live.

>41 Kristelh: Have you read other Erdrich novels? They are a treasure trove. She also owns a bookstore I'd love to visit, Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. I've been pre-ordering signed copies of her new releases directly from there for the last few years. Her next, The Sentence will come out in November.

>42 laytonwoman3rd: Yes, Love Medicine and The Round House and I liked both but this might be my favorite.

Birchbark Books is great! I've had some wonderful LT meet ups there, too.

>43 Kristelh: Yes, mine too.

>44 BLBera: I have a cousin who lives in Roseville and works at the U of M. If there's another LT meet-up at Birchbark Books, I am going to INSIST she join LT and get herself to it. She reads a lot, and we share book recommendations, but she's a mighty busy woman and hasn't yet caught the LT bug.

Well, due to COVID, it might be a while before another meet up, Linda, but the more the merrier!

I haven't been to the bookstore. I wonder how it is doing through the covid shutdowns.

Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac - great for a scary Halloween story.

Skeleton Man https://www.librarything.com/work/579684. Great scary story for Halloween.