Description
Book SynopsisThe organizing principle for this anthology is the common Native American heritage of its authors; and yet that thread proves to be the most tenuous of all, as the experience of indigeneity differs radically for each of them. While many experience a centripetal pull toward a cohesive Indian experience, the indications throughout these essays lean toward a richer, more illustrative panorama of difference. What tends to bind them together are not cultural practices or spiritual attitudes per se, but rather circumstances that have no exclusive province in Indian country: that is, first and foremost, poverty, and its attendant symptoms of violence, substance abuse, and both physical and mental illness.... Education plays a critical role in such lives: many of the authors recall adoring school as young people, as it constituted a place of escape and a rare opportunity to thrive.... While many of the writers do return to their tribal communities after graduation, ideas about ''home'' beco
Trade Review
I Am Where I Come From teaches us that... young people, whether they come from the Pacific, from a Native American reservation, or from anywhere else, are glimmers of light in a world that desperately needs them.
-- Peter Sutoris * The Marshall Islands Journal *
This book will be beneficial to Native college students and those aspiring to college who will recognize their own stories and lives, as the contributors are unafraid of sometimes gritty, always grounded details as well as the big picture. It should prove highly useful as course learning material and a research resource. It also nicely identifies how and why university recruitment strategies, student support, and overall campus experiences frequently fail Native students and their communities.
* Choice *
[T]he writers disclose, in searingly honest and often artful prose, the obstacles that haunted them before, during and after life at Dartmouth, including but not limited to horrific abuses, family dysfunction, intentional racism and racism that was born of ignorance, imposter syndrome, depression, anxiety and coping mechanisms that veered into the realm of self-destruction.
-- Emma Jean Holley * Valley News *
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Melanie Benson TaylorPart I. Broken: Racial Mixture and Cultural Hybridity1. Seeking to Be Whole, Shannon Prince2. Bringing Back a Piece of the Sky, Blythe George3. Chahta hattak sia, "I am a Choctaw Man," Preston WellsPart II. An Indian Education: Leaving and Finding Home at Dartmouth College4. Nihalgai Bahane': A Fourth World Story, Jerry Watchman5. Bracelets Upon My Soul, Ma’Ko’Quah Jones6. My Journey to Healing, Kalina NewmarkPart III. Full Circle: Returning and Remaking Home7. Little Woman from Lame Deer, Cinnamon Spear8. Village Girl, AlexAnna Salmon9. Future Ancestor, Hillary Abe10. An Unpredictable Journey, John Around HimPart IV. Continuing Education: NADs Reflect on their Journeys11. I Walk in Beauty Davina, Ruth Begaye Two BearsFollowup: Shí Asdz Baa Davina, Ruth Begaye Two Bears12. The Good Ol’ Days When Times Were Bad, Bruce DuthuFollowup: Living Life in a Posture of Humility, Bruce Duthu13. Why Didn’t You Teach Me?, Bob BennettFollowup: To Be an Indian is a Rough Life, Bob Bennett
