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Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life (2012)

by David Treuer(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0802119719 (ISBN13: 9780802119711)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Atlantic Monthly Press

review 1: Treuer makes a good effort at conveying what life on a an indigenous reservation in the U.S. is like. Though critical of stereotypical portrayals of reservation life nowadays (contra Sherman Alexie and Louise Erdrich), my own quibble is that he somehow falls into quite similar stereotypes and tropes now and then and uses outmoded concepts (such as acculturation) without unpacking or elaborating on them. Hence, though he tries not to fall into the more obvious essentialist stances, in the end he does toe certain hard lines between ethnicity/indigeneity and what makes an indian a "real indian" (i.e. native language). These topics have all been very seriously debated in the anthropological literature of the past 20 years, so the absence of any mention whatsoever of any of the... morese debates is perplexing to say the least.
review 2: UGHHHHHH and that comes from the heart.Some good historical sections, but his analysis leaves a lot to be desired, to put it kindly. For example, to open his book, Treuer talks about real people in a small town, names names, and makes derogatory and insulting comments about at least one elder who has consistently been harassed by the feds because he exercises treaty rights and teaches anyone who asks how to rice/trap/fish/etc. Way to add to the pile with the shit talking, Treuer. Shameful. Don't act like people around there aren't going to read/haven't already read your book. I really feel like you owe him in particular an explanation, apology and/or some money from your royalties since this book is on shelves nationwide.Another big problem is how Treuer talks about boarding schools, a tool used by the US to steal away Indian children for ethnic cleansing campaigns. He comments that for some, boarding schools were not too bad. Well, that may be true for some, and even then is debatable, however this is misrepresenting the horror many experienced & intergenerational trauma people still deal with--and also obscures organizing for reparations that has happened.Yet another important rough spot is the explanation of the Red Lake - walleye - "overfishing" issue. There are environmental studies coming in saying the lakes in MN are polluted/compromised, and all over this land base the DNR restocks the lakes with walleye and other fish, this has been common practice for a long time. Even before official studies, to concede to the "overfishing" narrative is harmful, right, because this is the primary argument the State along with right wing racist groups use to undercut treaty rights/Native land claims. This narrative also covers up pollution resulting in decline of fish population/ecological health in general, caused by industrial companies dumping in rivers/lakes/streams; agribusiness, etc! So actually narratives like this are dangerous because ecological devastation caused by industry pollution into the land and waterways are allowed to go unchecked, and instead the State/DNR encourages a racist attack against Native people/traditional practices/sovereignty/land claims. Like the Lacey Act and following amendments that go after tribal sovereignty in particular were created along these very narrative lines and that is affecting people in northern MN. less

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