By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land | 
pickAnother excellent selection from the #wpnf25 long list. Centering on the ups and downs and legal manipulations of a Supreme Court decision, Nagle explores Indigenous Land Rights in the US. It is sad and infuriating, with occasional glimmers of hope.
pickCentered around a recent Supreme Court case, this is a look at Native land rights and the myriad of ways the US government has stolen land throughout history and reneged on its promises, including some of the unbelievable current laws that try to keep Native populations powerless. Reading it made my blood boil and I kept wishing more people would read this although I fear those who truly need the history lesson never will.
The legal doctrines the US created to take Indigenous land still govern how the US treats those living at the margins...
Powerful end to a powerful book.
As recently as 2022, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Indigenous nations do not share a common political interest, because "before the arrival of Europeans, the tribes were at war with each other."
What is sad about these statements is that Supreme Court justices are no better or worse than the general public; most people don't know what a federally recognized tribe is, how jurisdiction works on a reservation...
In a personal letter to President Monroe in 1817, Jackson confessed that he had long viewed treaties with Indigenous nations as an "absurdity." Such treaties were necessary, Jackson wrote, when Indigenous nations were strong and the federal government was still weak, but now, "circumstances have entirely changed." ?
pickNagle looks at a modern day jurisdictional debate as well as the history of US government behavior regarding native peoples in this book. While I liked all the parts of it, it didn‘t entirely work for me as a whole. The current story is regarding the Muskogee reservation but much of the past history was about her own Cherokee family. I found that split a little confusing and would have liked to see one or the other as the focus. #WPNF25
I wrote this book because I believe the American public needs to understand that the legacy of colonization is not just a problem for Indigenous peoples, but a problem for our democracy.
#WomensPrizeLL25
“I wrote this book because I believe the American people need to understand that the legacy of colonization is not just a problem for Indigenous peoples but a problem for our democracy.
And, selfishly, I wrote this book because the story lived in my body and I needed it to come out.”
pickHeartbreaking, maddening, unbelievable what the white man has perpetrated against the Native American people. This should be required reading, in order to understand the systematic way people were removed from land, the way entire ways of life have been destroyed. This begins with a crime and a legal battle over tribal lands and jurisdiction which I felt was a great way to introduce the many and varied ways tribes have been denied rights.
I had two 5-star reads in November, and both tie into injustices.
The tagged book is a true crime story, but it‘s more than that—it‘s about laws and injustices against Indigenous communities. Nagle provides a history of wrongs and the constant struggle the communities face. This even involves a Supreme Court case. Be ready to be angry.
The Book Censor‘s Library was so good! Satire that is way too close to reality. #12BooksOf2024
@WildAlaskaBibliophile and I do our own jolabokaflod exchange on Christmas Eve. Here's what I got! I've been wanting to get into the Locked Tomb trilogy for a while, but I think I'm going to start with the tagged book!
pickThis should be required reading for every American. Seriously.
Part true crime and part history, Nagle writes a clear and blunt look at the treatment of Indigenous communities since the founding of the US. Nagle, who is a citizen of the Cherokee nation, reports on the sins of everyone, including her ancestors—everyone has dark secrets. There are very scary parallels to today‘s world; I‘m not sure if it was wise or prudent to read this now. 5 ✨
“The fight over truth is so bitter because power flows from the dominant narrative—the power to shape both public sentiment and public policy.”
I barely made it to page two of the Prologue and found this. It resonates so well today, and for Nagle, a member of the Cherokee nation, it speaks volumes to the mistruths about the indigenous past.
#TodayILearned #NFNovember
