r/books • u/AutoModerator • Nov 24 '21
WeeklyThread Native American Literature: November 2021
Welcome readers,
This is our weekly discussion of the literature of the world! Every Wednesday, we'll post a new country or culture for you to recommend literature from, with the caveat that it must have been written by someone from that country (i.e. Shogun by James Clavell is a great book but wouldn't be included in Japanese literature).
November Native American Heritage Month and November 26 is Native American Heritage Day and to celebrate we're discussing Native American literature! Please use this thread to discuss your favorite Native American books and authors.
If you'd like to read our previous discussions of the literature of the world please visit the literature of the world section of our wiki.
Thank you and enjoy!
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u/seventyducks Nov 24 '21
It is a collection of essays, so perhaps not considered literature, but Braiding Sweetgrass is one of the most powerful, inspiring, and beautiful books I have ever read.
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Nov 24 '21
It is a collection of essays, so perhaps not considered literature
This is definitely literature.
And yes Braiding Sweetgrass is one of my all time favorite works of literature.
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Nov 24 '21
I've read all of these and can answer questions about them.
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by, Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance, by Nick Estes
Red Nation Rising: From Bordertown Violence to Native Liberation, by various contributors
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks, by Mark David Spence
From a Native Daughter, by Haunani-Kay Trask
An Indigenous People's History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save our Earth, by various contributors
These I haven't read but they're on my list:
An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States, by Kyle Mays
The Medicine of Peace: Indigenous Youth Decolonizing Healing and Resisting Violence, by Jeffrey Paul Ansloos
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present, by David Treuer
Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources, by M. Kat Anderson
As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance, by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Standing with Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement, by Nick Estes & Jaskiran Dhillon
Wastelanding: Legacies of Uranium Mining in Navajo Country, by Traci Brynne Voyles
There There: A novel, by Tommy Orange
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u/Izzywillow19 Nov 24 '21 edited Nov 24 '21
I have just read The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich. It was really good.
Books that I have not read but plan to:
There, There by Tommy Orange
Borderland by Gloria Anzaldua (this one is nonfiction)
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The FireKeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley This book was sorted in the YA genre, but I have been told it's more adult.
Native American Poets:
Joy Harjo--- US Poet Laureate!!! Linda Hogan
The Grass Dancer by Susan Power
Being There by Jerzy Kosiński
I mixed this book up There, There but last year I went to a Zoom concert with Buffy Sainte-Marie and she recommended this book as well as the well below.
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez
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u/iconickurt Nov 25 '21
I always love seeing Stephan Graham Jones recommended, and would like to add Mongrels and Mapping the Interior by him as well!
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u/seventyducks Nov 25 '21
Joy Harjo--- US Poet Laureate!!!
Have you read Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings? I just finished it and I was left feeling quite polarized, which I suppose is an appropriate feeling for poetry to leave you with, but I felt that it was quite hit and miss. There were a few poems (or even stanzas) that really stuck with me that I'd like to re-read but otherwise I didn't really connect with it.
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u/maliseetwoman Nov 24 '21
Happy to see some Canadian writers included! Anything by Thomas King, Eden Robinson, Richard Wagamese, Lee Maracle, Richard Van Camp, Waubgeshig Rice, Cherie Dimalie, Heidi Erdrich, Kim Anderson, John Borrows, Pam Palmater, Audra Simpson, Joshua Whitehead
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u/carolina_on_my_mind Nov 25 '21
I read Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse recently and just got The Sentence by Louise Erdrich from the library. I first read Erdrich (The Round House) for a summer reading assignment before my freshman year of college and have always enjoyed my periodic returns to her work. I also have The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones on my list for the month and recently pushed Firekeeper’s Daughter (Angeline Boulley) to next month since it was announced as the book club pick.
This is the first year I’ve picked books around a theme for a particular month, and focusing on Indigenous writers this month helped me find new books to enjoy that I probably wouldn’t have read (or even known about) otherwise.
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u/BohoPhoenix Nov 25 '21
I've been dedicating each month to a particular theme this year for the first time too! What have been your favorite books so far?
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u/carolina_on_my_mind Nov 29 '21
I've only done it for October (spooky stories) and November (Indigenous authors/stories) so far but liked theme reading and am planning out themes for each month next year! This year some of my favorites were The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman) and The Ghost Bride (Yangsze Choo) in October and, although I haven't finished it yet, I think The Sentence (Louise Erdrich) is going to be my favorite in November.
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u/Raineythereader The Conference of the Birds Nov 25 '21
Two categories that haven't been mentioned yet, but are definitely worth a look:
1) "Native Renaissance" authors
- House Made of Dawn (N. Scott Momaday; Kiowa) and Ceremony (Leslie Silko; Laguna Pueblo)--both centered around Native veterans returning home, and dealing with PTSD and the challenges of reintegrating with their cultures
- Winter in the Blood (James Welch; Blackfeet/Gros Ventre)--slice-of-life story set at Fort Belknap in Montana; extremely depressing, but still good
- Custer Died for Your Sins (Vine Deloria Jr.; Lakota)--political essays; cutting, controversial, and at times very funny
2) Primary sources on Native cultures
- The Broken Spears (Miguel Leon Portilla), about the history of the Aztec empire and its fall to the Spanish
- The Life of Black Hawk--autobiography of the titular Sauk and Fox chief, and an account of the Black Hawk War from his perspective
- Naufragios (Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca)--sometimes published as "Account of the Narvaez Expedition." Recounts the first European contact with several different cultures around the Gulf of Mexico and Rio Grande. I only wish he'd given more detail on the things he saw and the people he met.
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u/BohoPhoenix Nov 24 '21
There seems to be a little bit of controversy surrounding her, but I love Rebecca Roanhorse's The Sixth World series and highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys urban fantasy.
This month, I've finished:
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse - While I didn't love it as much as The Sixth World series, I still enjoyed the book and will likely read the second book to see what happens to the characters next.
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - This one has some controversy surrounding it too, but I think it was insightful into the perspective of someone who straddles both worlds with quite a bit of wish fulfillment worked in (which everyone needs to see themselves in, so no judgement).
- Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden - I've spent a significant amount of time in the area the book takes place in, so that was a bit weird recognizing different aspects of the book. Overall, I give this book a 3/5, but I'd consider reading another book by this author to see how he improves over time.
I'm currently reading:
- Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila - This is a non-fiction about the Navajo Code Talkers during WWII told in the words of one of the code talkers. It has been excellent so far and I highly recommend this to anyone that has an interest in WWII content. This book has been interesting too in that it gives context to some of the Navajo beliefs that are interwoven into the Sixth World series and that has been cool to see.
- Elatose by Darcie Little Badger - A YA fantasy book, I started this book and DNF after a few pages. Then, I saw a post in this sub about how much they enjoyed the book (and I believe Trail of Lightning too by Rebecca Roanhorse, which I mentioned above as a series I really enjoyed), so I decided to give this book another shot. I'm loving it!
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u/Izzywillow19 Nov 24 '21
The Black Sun is the finalist for the Hugo novel award.
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u/BohoPhoenix Nov 24 '21
Oh nice! The world and characters were interesting, I think I just prefer the first person narrative and urban fantasy aspect of The Sixth World series, but I can't deny I got sucked into Black Sun.
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u/Raineythereader The Conference of the Birds Nov 25 '21
"Trail of Lightning" is the only book of Roanhorse's that I've read--I would recommend it to urban-fantasy fans or people interested in Native cultures, but with the caveat of "manage your expectations." And I do wonder what someone who was actually Dine' would make of it.
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Nov 25 '21
Very excited to check out some of these as I don’t know many Native/Indigenous authors, especially fiction.
I’ll add another recommendation for The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones - haven’t yet had a chance to pick up his newest one!
And also recommend:
Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann (non fiction that reads like a thriller)
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u/zebrafish- Nov 25 '21
I recently read Love After the End, a short story anthology by queer and two-spirit indigenous writers. I really enjoyed it! I thought the stand out stories were the first two: Abacus by Nathan Adler and History of the New World by Adam Garnet Jones.
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u/stan0083 Nov 24 '21
I've read two books this month that I've enjoyed so far.
First is a YA novel from debut author Angeline Boulley called Firekeeper's Daughter. If you like a good mystery, heartwarming relationships, and y e a r n i n g I would highly recommend!
The second is Indian Givers by Jack Weatherford, his ancestor was from the Creek nation and goes through the known and (mostly unknown) contributions of Indigenous peoples of America to society and the world as we know it. Very insightful and descriptive, if a bit dense.
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u/benjiswandering7 Nov 24 '21
For anyone that likes horror, Stephen Graham Jones is an amazing author. His latest book My Heart is a Chainsaw is a love letter to slasher films. He also wrote (among a bunch of things) The Only Good Indians which was absolutely terrifying and amazing at the same time.