For me this was a quick fill-in as I await another book that I will pick up at the library tomorrow. These authors, one an Indigenous Canadian professor of anthropology, the other a Canadian/British researcher do a good job of introducing readers to both ancient and modern Indiginous cultures of North America, although there is nothing about the Māori cultures of Australia and New Zealand.
They document Sequoyah’s development of his syllabary in Cherokee in North Carolina in 1821, allowing Natives to record their stories of torture and displacement in detail. Pauling Johnson, of the Six Nations Reserve, in late 1800s became a remarkably famous poet and writer. The Beothuk of Newfoundland, introduced to us as murdered to extinction, may still exist or at least many of their genes may, as genetics may soon prove. The remarkable Standing Bear and Sitting Bull defeat of Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn is related by the writings of people actually on site, rather than from the viewpoint of the white man. Various other Native traditions and practices are discussed in variable detail.
The narrative is interspersed with abundant colourful photographs and artwork. This makes the pagination seem bizarre and inconsistent with many pages of narrative lacking any page numbers at all.
This culture is so foreign to me as to make me question some of its continuing value, but as one observer aptly put it one cannot discuss the future intelligently without knowing where we have been in the past.
A good intelligent discussion.
4/5
The Passionate Reader 