NAHM 2023: Hodgepodge

I first abbreviated Native American Heritage Month last week, after realizing that when I was trying to search for specific posts, the opening was obscuring the relevant part.

Adding the year is acknowledging that I am trying to get to the end of this current section of writing and move on to other things, and that we are already in a new year. As it is, of the books I have not blogged about yet, the first one read was completed in March 2022.

Life circumstances put a pause on the blogging, but not on the reading, even if it slowed.

There are things that I know I still want to write about, but a lot of these don't fit into any particular theme. They had ended up on the reading list for various reasons, I read them, but even if there were strong reactions at the time they did not happen at a time when I could write about them.

Here are thirteen books in the order in which they were read, covering (but not exclusively) a period from March 2022 to December 2023.

No Turning Back: A True Account of a Hopi Indian's Girl's Struggle to Bridge the Gap Between the World of Her People and the World of the White Man by Polingasy Qoyawayma

Qoyawayma was a child when the white man started a school for white children and making attendance mandatory. She was initially hidden, but then sought out the school and eventually went away to school and became a teacher. 

The book deals with her acknowledgment of the ways in which that changed her, including disrespect for the culture of her birth, and her eventual reconciliation with that. The subtitle is overly long, but it was a real struggle for her, and I think that title felt honest for her.

Partial Recall: With Essays on Photographs of Native North Americans by Lucy Lippard 

Different writers are given historical pictures and write essays on them. The concept is interesting, and the execution fluctuates, as was practically inevitable. My favorite pieces were by Joy Harjo, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Gail Tremblay, who was new to me.

Pretty-Shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows by Frank Bird Linderman 

Pretty-Shield tells her life to Linderman, and it is really interesting and entertaining.

They were working with an interpreter and using signs, and there are times when that process leaves weaknesses, that is expressed in the text. 

The book is known for being the first of its kind about a woman. Reading it for the historical significance, it was much more enjoyable than I had any right to expect.

Trickster: Myths From the Ahtna Indians of Alaska by John E Smelcer 

This again is one that reads more smoothly than might be expected. I really appreciated the personal touch. The Ahtna are a small group, so Smelcer is working with family and acquaintances, making it very personal.

Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians by Elias Johnson

Conversely, while the tales are interesting here, there is a lot of treaty information and context, some of which drags.

That's the thing about history: things that are very important to understand can involve some very dry digging and delving. That's why when something is also enjoyable, I make a big deal out of it.

And Still the Waters Run... The Betrayal of the Five Civilized Tribes by Angie Debo

Speaking of... this book is dry sometimes, but it provided such important context for things that I read later and shed light on things that I had already read so that I can't have any regrets about reading it or surprise when other writers refer back to it. Foundational.

Raccoon by Daniel Heath Justice

This is part of a series of books about different animals, going over some of the zoological information but also lore and fashion and how the animal interacts with humans. It only ended up in this list because the writer is Cherokee, and yet that did have an influence on his understanding of the lore, and it was interesting, if a bit wandering. I would not be against checking out other books in the series, though there are lot of other books in the way.

Medicine River by Thomas King

Speaking of... I had realized at one point that as important as history is, to really have an understanding of people you need to read about them today, their fiction and memoirs and also in their own words. King is also part Cherokee.

I had read about this book in another book, and gotten it mixed up with This House of Dawn. 

I was frustrated by the inertia shown by so many of the characters. They had reasons for it, but it was aggravating.

An Act of Genocide: Colonialism and the Sterilization of Aboriginal Women by Karen Stote

This might be one of the more dry ones, technically, but there are two things that are really important about it. First of all, it is one illustration of genocide, which is real and must not be ignored. 

In addition, there is a lot to admire about how the data was compiled and reported, what the difficulties were, and what some of the solutions were. For someone taking on issues requiring research, there is some serious guidance here.

Native American Renaissance by Kenneth Lincoln

Published in 1983, it is a loving record of what is going on with art and literature and poetry right then, but it doesn't really hold up. It might be more interesting for people who were reading then, acting as a time capsule.

In the Beginning, The Sun: The Dakota Legend of Creation by Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)

This gives the feelings of the winter teachings for the Dakota. Compiled in 1939, it was only published last year, and is a valuable resource.

Aboriginal Education: Fulfilling the Promise edited by Marlene Brant Castellano

Speaking of... One of the points mentioned here is that in traditional aboriginal education, the students would be taught by people who cared for them and about them. Ohiyesa'a writing demonstrated how that would be.

The book is primarily about different initiatives, with the methods and difficulties. It is probably due for update now, but there are some good points.

Men As Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures by Sabine Lang 

Speaking of dry... this is a really exhaustive account of what anthropologists had about transgender and two spirit people up to that time. There is a great deal of time spent on terminology, and it attempts to be respectful, which I appreciate. There is no overarching theme, as there is so much difference between the different groups and time periods. Probably the most interesting thing to me was how much it related to gender roles, which seemed to be much stricter in a preindustrial society, though I also could not help but wonder about the Observer effect.