The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

3.5, rounding up as a nudge for you to read it but with a caveat: it's dry. Less so when he focuses on individual stories, he comes alive then, but the historical background parts can be a slog to read through. Read it anyway: for the perspective, for the insight, and even for the history. There's much here to learn, including perhaps new inspiring ways to think about Native cultures and their future.

Don't expect romanticized outlook or Native Wisdom woo woo: Treuer is remarkably objective not only about the destruction wrought by whites but also by Natives upon themselves, through inter- and intra-tribal conflicts, corruption, and greed. All the parties throughout history, it turns out, have been human. And don't expect a sob story either: Treuer consistently points out instances of astounding resilience and adaptability, individual and collective, from 1493 through today.

I don't know what I'll do with all this knowledge—forget most of it, to be honest. There's so much. But some of it will stay with me, and I intend to keep reading and learning from Native sources, and over time more and more will be part of me. And maybe it'll change how I act and who I am.