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The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present | David Treuer
A sweeping history--and counter-narrative--of Native American life from the Wounded Knee massacre to the present. Dee Brown's 1970 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was the first truly popular book of Indian history ever published. But it promulgated the impression that American Indian history essentially ended with the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee--that not only did one hundred fifty Sioux die at the hands of the U. S. Cavalry but Native civilization did as well. Growing up Ojibwe on a reservation in Minnesota, training as an anthropologist, and researching Native life past and present for his nonfiction and novels, David Treuer has uncovered a different narrative. Because they did not disappear--and not despite but rather because of their intense struggles to preserve their language, their traditions, their families, and their very existence--the story of American Indians since the end of the nineteenth century to the present is one of unprecedented resourcefulness and reinvention. In The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, Treuer melds history with reportage and memoir. Tracing the tribes' distinctive cultures to first contact, he traces how the depredations of each era spawned new modes of survival. The devastating siezures of land gave rise to an increasingly sophisticated legal and political maneuvering that put the lie to the myth that Indians don't know or care about property. The forced assimilation of their children at government-run boarding schools incubated a unifying Native identity. Conscription in the US military and the pull of urban life brought Indians into the mainstream and modern times, even as it steered the emerging shape of self-rule and spawned a new generation of resistance. Photographs, maps, and other visuals, from period advertisements to little-known historical photos, amplify the sense of discovering a fascinating and heretofore untold story. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is an essential, intimate history--and counter-narrative--of a resilient people in a transformative era.
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KatieB
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I‘m struggling with this one. Finding it dry and a little boring (I‘m cringing as I right that). I‘m thinking I should just DNF but it seems like a book I SHOULD read and maybe it will get better. Anyone else with these struggles?

MsMelissa I always bail if I‘m not liking something, no matter the book. 4y
8 likes1 stack add1 comment
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goodbyefrancie
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This book is so good and very interesting, but the lists are driving me a little crazy. It's so distracting. I hope the narrator got paid per comma. 😬

#Overdrive

GingerAntics This is on my list of books to read. There are a lot of lists? Hm. Maybe in text format it‘s possible to just skip over them. 4y
goodbyefrancie @GingerAntics It's very good, it's just lots of listing items (tribes, crops, etc.). It just seems distracting. It might actually be less so if reading a print book. 4y
SamAnne It is a good overview of Native American history and present using many different Tribe examples. 4y
50 likes3 comments
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SamAnne
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Pickpick

So refreshing to read a Native American history that documents the innovation, creativity, perseverance and success stories happening in Indian Country today. Appreciated how Treuer discusses how the stories we and our communities tell ourselves are very powerful and can shape our abilities to survive and thrive. 5 stars!

aartichapati I really liked this one, too! Would also recommend this tagged book, if you haven‘t read it! 4y
aartichapati Not for young people - the regular version is what I meant to tag! 4y
SamAnne @aartichapati I‘ve heard of it but not read. I read a lot of NW Tribe histories and biographies but want to learn more about SW, Midwest tribes. Will check this one out. I really loved Thunder in the Mountains about Chief Joseph, Otis Howard and the Nez Perce War. So well written and a window into that time and place. Heading to Chief Joseph‘s country this weekend in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon. 4y
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Jgotham
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I was not aware that Cherokee were treated as “game” in the state of Georgia. Smh

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Jgotham
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I feel this. I have felt the shame and disgust for my own race and people and the despair because I didn‘t want to feel that way. It‘s hard living in such rough communities and still feeling affection towards them too and living with the trauma of being one of the smallest and unheard minorities

SamAnne I‘m reading this book now too. 4y
4 likes1 comment
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Jgotham
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Seeing this heartless disregard for my people coming from one of my very favorite authors as a child(L. Frank Baum), hurts. 😔

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e.queue
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The name! 😻😻😻

SamAnne Really enjoying this book. 5y
e.queue @SamAnne absolutely! I just started but am already loving it. 5y
4 likes2 comments
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Tamra
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Pickpick

I hate the idea of anything being “required” reading, but this is important history and a relevant present for American society. I would have loved more on Alaskan Native tribes in terms of any comparative history. Nonetheless, the main thrust is Native Americans have always been and are diverse, adaptive, and far from a lost people. We need to discard the “Indian problem” tropes based on contempt and pity.

Tamra A terrific companion to this book would be more in-depth conversations with a variety of Native Americans across the nation and across generations. 5y
SamAnne Oh it‘s on my short list. Agree that Americans should read some Native American history beyond what they may learn in school. And learn a little bit about the tribe(s) whose land you now live on. 5y
GingerAntics Sometimes things just need to be required, because sometimes certain conversations just need to be had. Anything that humanises Native Americans, I feel needs to be a thing. I‘m not happy about vandalism of any kind, but when Plymouth Rock was vandalised I really hoped it was someone sticking up for the people already here, of course it wasn‘t. Sadly. 5y
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Tamra
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Well, I can‘t appreciate Baum‘s “The Wizard of Oz” any longer. *shudder* In editorials he called for a final sweeping extermination of Plains Native Americans. There are just some personal attitudes and actions I can‘t overlook or separate from the craft.

Baum‘s descendants have apologized in person. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5662524

Butterfinger Oh no. That makes my blood boil. 5y
silentrequiem Oh no. I love the Oz books but that's awful. 5y
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Tamra @silentrequiem yes, unfortunately it isn‘t remotely ambiguous or subject to interpretation either. 😖 5y
GingerAntics Ugh. That‘s been on my list of things to get around to, but I think it‘s coming off now. I can‘t with all that. That‘s all kinds of wrong. Ugh. 5y
Tamra @GingerAntics I recognize the argument that works need to be read in context, but some knowledge is incredibly off putting. Particularly for leisure/recreational reading. 5y
GingerAntics Exactly. Sometimes that context is so off putting you end up just not even reading the book. 5y
66 likes7 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

The history of the native Americans starting in the 1800s. A lot of things I have learned before, but also a lot of stories that don‘t always get told.

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aartichapati
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Pickpick

This does an excellent job of shifting perspective on American history, putting Native Americans at the center and changing the way we view America itself and how inevitable the whole takeover of the continent feels to us today. What I ❤️: Treuer makes clear that Native Americans were not passive victims, but that they have used (and continue to use) every available resource to fight for their rights.

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aartichapati

Listening to this while I cook and clean. An interesting mix of personal histories beside bigger picture histories. I am enjoying it but probably not ideal for audiobook, at least for me.

Velvetfur I love having audiobooks (and podcasts) on while doing chores, it makes it all go a bit quicker! 😁 5y
ljuliel Welcome to the gang. Good to see some more nonfiction ! 5y
aartichapati @Velvetfur same! Though I admit that sometimes I space out and then am not entirely sure what is going on 5y
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aartichapati @ljuliel thank you! Yes, as I get older, I read more and more non-fiction. Mostly history and sociology and sometimes science - what about you? 5y
Velvetfur @aartichapati Totally agree! That's why I don't listen to audiobooks while out walking anymore, far too much visual distraction! 😂 5y
ljuliel I‘d say I prefer nonfiction , but lately, I‘ve been on a fiction binge. I read almost everything , other than romance or sci-fi. If you‘re not already, give @Amiable a Follow. She picks some cracking - good nonfiction books ! 5y
aartichapati @ljuliel thanks for the tip! 5y
Amiable Thanks, @ljuliel ! And welcome, @aartichapati ! I‘m a huge nonfiction fan —about 50% of my reads every year are nonfiction. Feel free to tag me in your nonfiction recommendations! 5y
aartichapati @Amiable I would definitely recommend this one. I think especially towards the end, it is really interesting to learn about how people are keeping up their culture while working to expand their rights within the US system. Some of it did drag a bit for me in the middle, but I think that may have been because I listened on audio. 5y
5 likes1 stack add9 comments
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SkeletonKey
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Finished up Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee just in time for this hold to come in. Good timing.

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JSW
Pickpick

Thorough history, with a little memoir mixed in. It's so important to understand the ways nations have resisted, adapted, and continue to hold onto identity despite the oppression of colonialism and white supremacy. Informative and necessary reading.

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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

A thoughtful, sensitive, well-researched look at the lives and plight of Native Americans both before and after Wounded Knee. It gives a broad breadth and focuses on the reality of the untold current stories of Native peoples. I thought it was terrific—5 stars all the way.

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Floresj
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Pickpick

Interesting history and perspective of the many Indian Nations from BCE to today. The comparison of the European treatment of Natives and the American Indian‘s strategy of how to fight back was well done. Although shockingly violent and sad, the author makes a very good argument of the strength of the American Indian to survive instead of the common history many of us learned in school about that time period.

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Christine
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Pickpick

Excellent. ❤️ A remarkable amount of rich history, but super accessible and never dry. I was really moved by his argument that Native American culture and identity have been able to advance through adversity toward progress and unity - and that maybe American society overall could learn, from their example, to do the same. Loved his writing and was thrilled whenever the book took an autobiographical turn, so I must go back and read his memoir!

DrSabrinaMoldenReads Wow! I just returned this to library, having not read it. Thanks! I will certainly get it again. 6y
Christine @Joyfulmimi I hope you enjoy it when you do! It can be an emotionally hard read at times, yet a hopeful one. ❤️ 6y
DrSabrinaMoldenReads I am pretty sure I will enjoy it. Seems like we like the same kinda books. 6y
Christine @Joyfulmimi Yes, it does - so happy to meet you on here! :) 6y
DrSabrinaMoldenReads I feel the same. 🥰 6y
45 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Jocelyn73c
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Aaannnddd I did it. Bought myself new books from my local bookstore 💖📚❄️📖☕ Got some delicious pastries at the bakery next to the bookstore as well 🤗

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Ericalambbrown
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Very interesting interview with author of the tagged book on Weekend Edition this morning. Release date is 1/22. I have “indigenous author” on my reading challenge this year. After listening to this interview about the book, this may be my selection. Sharing link in case anyone is interested:

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/19/686830482/heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-demystifies-t...

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