Growing Up Native American: An Anthology

"Growing Up Native American" is a heartwrenching anthology of classic essays by 22 renowned Native American authors. The writers come from 15 native nations across the United States and Canada. The essays are divided into four major sections, excluding the Introduction. The editor prefaces each major section with its own brief introduction. The first section looks backward and forward at how Native nations lost their indigenous languages and with language loss their self-determination. The second section focuses on the 19th Century, especially on the devastating policies against Native Americans and the struggles that ensued. One example of devastation is given in the third section which describes policies that destroyed traditional Native American educational systems and replaced them with repressive alternatives "meant to destroy their tribal identities" (p. 116). The fourth and last section outlines the 20th Century which "has brought forth an ever-increasing effort toward self-determination by indigenous peoples", because the "vanishing American has not vanished" (p. 190). This is a hard-hitting book, meant for both the non-Natives and "Natives" who truly want to know. If you, like me, ever thought you knew the Native American story, then you ought to read this book. If you have not heard about the Native American story, starting with this book will save you from many misconceptions. A good read, indeed. Amavilah, Author Modeling Income Determinants in Embedded Economies : Cross-section Applications to US Native American Economies ISBN: 1600210465

This is an excellent book that gently and beautifully flies in the face of destructive stereotypes and any ill-conceived idea that the "American Indian" is powerless and extinct. Far from it. And for those who say the damage is "all in the past" and is not relevant today, this book also gives the lie to that mythology. Unfortunately, those aren't the people most likely to read this book. Given that, I would highly recommend making this book required reading in any literature course, history course, or humanities course in general. The writing is artful and succinct, the authors Pulitzer prize winners and accomplished in many other ways. What it means to be an Indian, Native American, in the United States of America while we are "fighting to preserve our liberty" is an incredible concept to wrap one's mind around. Stretch a little. These voices call out from history, through time, to the present to create the awareness that the world so desperately needs.

What is it like to grow up as a stranger in your own land? Of all of the emigrant groups which came to the "New World", those who were already here experienced their country being conquered and their way of life almost destroyed. All to often their stories were dismissed, forgotten or seen as exotic curiosities for the anthropologists. Riley's collection of 22 Native American writers gives voice to a group whose lives show a spirit of survival and dignity in the midst of being a "conquered" people in their own land. Using excerpts from novels, memoirs, essays and autobiographies we are given a wide range of different experiences from the people who were here before there was an America. Growing Up Native American introduces us to the various native peoples of this continent. Through those various genres, we receive a bit of insight as to what they had to endure as they grew up in a hostile land. This collection of stories spans from the 19th to the 20th centuries. Growing Up Native American is an excellent text for intoducing one to Native American history,literature, culture and Native-American authors. You immediately are transported through time with the authors and characters. You identify with their challenges and triumphs. The book is not just a collection of tragedy. You are introduced to laughter, jokes, lifestyles and the joys of being a young person. I would highly recommend this book to those of us who are ignorant about the Orignal Voices who inhabited this land