Contemporary Native American Communities
1 primary work • 2 total works
Book 12
Rachel's Children is a true story, based on real events. It is an engaging and humorous account of a contemporary Ojibwa household and the woman and her children who are at its core. As their lives unfold, we understand how traditional beliefs and oral history help Rachel and her family cope as they encounter racism and educational discrimination in rural northern Michigan. When a white educator arrives in Rachel's household to learn about "Indians," she discovers the harsh reality of backwoods life. Beardslee is the queen of sucker punches-she writes in an unexpected combination of ethnography, theatrical script, and novel, echoing the Ojibwa style of storytelling. Her absorbing story about survival of the Native American family encourages a greater understanding of cultural diversity, and will be valuable for instructors in Native studies, multicultural education, women's studies, and anthropology.
In Not Far Away, a semi-fictional memoir, Lois Beardslee gives a chilling acount of racism, particularly that leveled against Native women, in language that is supple, evocative, often comical, and always incisive. Her fictional heroine, the teacher Ima Pipiig (pronounced "buh-BEEG"), endures humiliating insults from school administrators, fellow teachers, students, and callous neighbors. For years, she suffers in silence, believing that opposing bigotry would only fuel its caustic flames—but then she begins to speak out. Scattered among the chapters chronicling Ima's experiences are essays and speeches written by the author herself, blurring the line between fiction and fact and creating a kind of resounding echo of resistance that is the author's response to racism.