Native American Testimony by Peter Nabokov

Goodreads Synopsis:
In a series of powerful and moving documents, anthropologist Peter Nabokov presents a history of Native American and white relations as seen through Indian eyes and told through Indian voices: a record spanning more than five hundred years of interchange between the two peoples. Drawing from a wide range of sources - traditional narratives, Indian autobiographies, government transcripts, firsthand interviews, and more - Nabokov has assembled a remarkably rich and vivid collection, representing nothing less than an alternative history of North America. Beginning with the Indian's first encounters with the earliest explorers, traders, missionaries, settlers, and soldiers and continuing to the present, Native American Testimony presents an authentic, challenging picture of an important, tragic, and frequently misunderstood aspect of American history.


My Review:
This book took awhile for me to finish. And not because it wasn't interesting or relevant, but because the material was heartbreaking. The book is broken up into short 2-3 page accounts. In these accounts you get a very personal glimpse into the life of members from different tribes. Spanning from 1492 to 1992, this book delivers scope. This is not a history book written from a Eurocentric mindset where the telling of events become skewed through the eyes of the victor. This is straight from the underdog's mouth and it's powerful. I wish this were required reading in high schools because young Americans would benefit from native perspectives. I'm so glad I bought this book. Definitely something worth reading again in five years.

The editor, Peter Nabokov, sets up each chapter with a brief overview of what was going on during that particular time period. Then each chapter is broken down into 5 or 6 personal accounts from Native Americans. And he doesn't focus on just one tribe. You really get a feel for what people were going through across the country.

There is, however, some controversy over one of his more recent publications, "The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo." Nabokov promised to consult with the Acoma Tribal Council before publishing the book as it discusses sensitive cultural and religious information, but he failed to do so. You can read more about this here: Acoma Pueblo vs. Peter Nabokov

The Editor

About the Editor: Peter Nabokov is an anthropologist, writer, and professor at UCLA.

Favorite Quote:

"The old people came literally to love the soil," wrote the Sioux author Luther Standing Bear. "They sat on the ground with the feeling of being close to a mothering power. It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with their bare feet on the sacred earth. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing."

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Book Synopsis from Goodreads:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger...
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way...
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job...

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

My Thoughts:
So I'm a little late on the take with this one. This book was all the rage at my bookstore awhile back. Working in a bookstore, I try to also read the titles that are crazy popular with customers so that I can stay in the loop. But there have been a few duds that have made it to the bestseller list. I read "Twilight", "50 Shades of Grey", "Water for Elephants" and others....and by the end of each book I couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. Don't get me wrong, "Water for Elephants" was a good book but the hype it received swelled my expectations of it and I was left a bit disappointed. Finally, I found one that deserved every ounce of hype it got! 

I finished this book in 3 days which, for me, is an endorsement right there. I like to take time with each book I read but sometimes the book leaves me no option but to DEVOUR it. I give this book the highest rating I can because of 3 reasons:

1. the characters grab you and don't let go
2. the language is not flowery but it is full of emotion
3. the subject matter is RELEVANT & IMPORTANT

So the characters. Can I just give a shout out to Aibileen?! Minny was hilarious and Skeeter played an important role but Aibileen was hands down my favorite. If she doesn't grip your soul then you better check to see if you have one. Her determination to build the self-esteem of the little girl she takes care of is something that sticks with you even when the book is over. Despite all of the crap she has to go through every day she still worries about that little girl not being loved. Add to that the bravery of recounting her experiences as a maid to white people at a time when that would have easily been met with violence. Although Aibileen was my favorite, when the book switched to Skeeter's narrative or Minny's, I became just as absorbed in their stories as I did Aibileen's. And that's a sign of good writing. 

The language, like I said, is not flowery but there is something about the way Kathryn Stockett writes this that makes it special. It's almost as if she bypasses the lyrical side of writing and gets straight to the heart of what she wants you to feel. It's the type of writing style that could appeal to both readers and non-readers. And she does a remarkable job shifting her tone from one narrator to another without it sounding like it's just the same person.

And, of course, the subject matter is why this book should be read. It gives you a unique perspective of a critical time in American history. One that probably won't show up in high school textbooks. I think this sort of perspective gets lost because the women telling the story weren't marching or rioting. What these characters were doing was behind the scenes, but it was just as important. And the issues they faced (silently) and the relationships they had with the families they worked for ought to be known. I think this book will always be relevant....plus how can you top Minny's famous chocolate pie???

The Author

Author Tidbit (and hope for all unpublished authors out there): "The Help" was rejected by 60 literary agents before agent Susan Ramer agreed to represent Kathryn Stockett. Oops.