Madeline Island Book Club – Jul. 2024 – Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask

This revised edition both revisits old questions from a new perspective and expands on topics that have become increasingly relevant over the past decade, including activism and tribal enrollment; truth and reconciliation efforts; gender roles and identities in Indigenous communities; the status of Alaskan Natives and Canadian First Nations; and much more.

Treuer, an Ojibwe scholar and cultural preservationist, addresses nearly 200 questions on a range of topics—questions that are thoughtful and outrageous, modern and historical, and always interesting.

—What are we supposed to call North America’s first people?
—Can white people dance at powwows?
—What’s the point of land acknowledgments?
—Does tribal sovereignty mean that tribes can offer abortion services in states where it is now otherwise illegal?

With frank, funny, and sometimes personal prose, this book cuts through myths, guilt, and anger and builds a foundation for true understanding and positive action.