The Otter Tail Review does an outstanding job of recording distinctive, real voices from Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Particularly poignant are the stories of early hardship (teaching in a one-room schoolhouse at forty below, picking glacial rocks from a farm field), leavened by such images as a boatload of pastors' wives hanging their drenched undergarments on gooseberry bushes! It's also wonderful to see more work from Robert Bly, a master of our time.
The stories are tastefully selected and carefully, even lovingly edited. Here's hoping that Mr. Rundquist will compile a Volume Two!

All Our Relations, Winona LaDukes book about native struggles for land and life, is very informative. It tells the stories of people whom she knows, showing how her friends the political activists connect to their communities, and following their stories back to where the history books I read as a youngster left off. In addition to the stories that everybody has heard at least a little about (the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Seminole), there are some to which the book introduced me for the first time.

Winona deals with many painful topics in some detail. The activists she writes about are grandchildren or great grandchildren of the people that fought the Indian wars. The lessons these people learned about the White Man's language are shared with the reader. For example, in one chapter she explains that when the newspapers wrote "Settle the Indian question", what that meant in practice on the ground was "killing all the buffalo as efficiently as possible." In this way the book exposes many "Orwellian language games" without pointing fingers in any offensive judgmental ways. The tone is one of ongoing struggle, where understanding is the key to progress.

There are several types of struggle that occur over and over. Toxic waste stories like the one told in the movie Erin Brockovich happen to mothers in the Mohawk and Nitassinanian tribes. White mans greed for energy causes problems for Northern Cheyenne (coal on their lands) and Northern Shoshone ("good site" for a Nuclear Waste dump). Racism and extreme double standards put natives in precarious situations where they have to deal with deep poverty (Hawaii, White Earth, and Buffalo Nations).

The underlying theme of the book is hopeful progress and continuing struggle. The White Earth Recovery Project is slowly rebuilding the forests of Minnesota. The Hopi are finding much value in solar power, a White Man technology that actually makes sense in their world. Walt Bresette's Seventh Generation Amendment (The right of the citizens of the U.S. to enjoy and use air, water, sunlight, and other renewable resources determined by the Congress to be common property shall not be impaired, nor shall such use impair their availability for use by the future generations.) has given many diverse groups "a great optimism for the potential to make positive change." Reading this book gave me a deeper understanding that Green Values are profoundly useful.

Winona Laduke ran as vice president alongside Ralph Nader. It would be truly amazing if this woman had become our vice president (for many reasons). It is my hope that some day she will be our vice president (or president). Her views on the environment and its effect upon animals and people (particularly babies, children and pregnant/nursing mothers) are exactly how I feel. She expresses these views eloquently in these quotes by Lil'wat grandmother Loretta Pascal, "Where did you get your right to destroy these forests? How does your right supercede my rights? These are our forests, these are our ancestors."(p.5), by Ted Strong, "If this nation has a long way to go before all of our people are truly created equally without regard to race, religion, or national origin, it has even further to go before achieving anything that remotely resembles equal treatment for other creatures who called this land home before humans ever set foot upon it...."(p.5), and by Katsi Cook, "Why is it we must change our lives, our way of life, to accommodate the corporations, and they are allowed to continue without changing any of their behavior?"(p.12). Reading this book you will feel sorrow, and be inspired to action. Most of what was said in this book I already knew a little about, but through this book I understood the depth and complexity of all the factors. I can not recommend this book enough. She tells the truth of our world with a powerful clarity. She tells the stories of many Native American Tribes throughout North America (Canada and the United States, including a chapter on Hawaii). She ends the book with the optimism that it is possible for us to make change, but it is up to us.

To think this woman could be our Vice President today. Most people don't even know that Winona LaDuke ran for Vice President on Ralph Nader's ticket. An articulate and passionate writer, LaDuke presents an awareness of the plight of America unsurpassed by any other. She knows what's wrong. She knows what needs to be done. She knows who is doing the work, how and why. She presents her advocacy as human, heartfelt and real. I learned things about what is happening to this country that I would never have known otherwise. You certainly don't see it in the news, and you don't learn about it in school. We're in trouble, folks, and it's not too late to do something about it. With more power she could have made such a difference! But she continues to work on the issues, and it is so important that more people are aware of her work. Please, please, please read this book. It is the most important book you will read all year.

Winona LaDuke crosses the fiction threshold in her own distinctive style. Her personal & political activism recreates itself in a fictionalized history of her own tribal people. Weaving a tale connecting several generations, LaDuke probes true-to-life conflicts and situations with which most Indian tribal descendants can identify. With a somewhat staccato, yet orchestrated effect, her characters come to life; in fact, they become today's modern generation of native Americans still struggling to survive on small, troubled land bases the "powers that be" have granted back to the more persistent survivors. A must-read for any who appreciate the ancient and recent stories of the first Americans.

See above. Its a shame that more "fiction" doesn't come across as "real."

LaDuke, who has run twice (in 1996 and 2000) for Vice-President on the Association of State Green Parties ticket with Ralph Nader for President, is arguably the most important woman in North America. She often shows up in short lists of "Leaders of the Future", certainly "on the left", but yet she lives quietly on a reserve in Minnesota, and does not campaign even when she's running for Vice-President. What is going on here? Who is she?

LaDuke's novel says it all. It bares the roots of five hundred years of rather incredible history, the conflicts between cultures and peoples, the imposition of an extremely violent system of governance and retributive justice for property crime, the denigration of native peoples, application of "terra nullius", breaking of treaties, and the whole legalist campaign that put British descendants in firm control of North America.

Feminine, aboriginal, and ecological values are barely visible at the surface of this novel - there are no explicit treatises, no ideological passages. This is not "Atlas Shrugged for Greens" - you will not be sold a Green Party Card by this book. Nor is it the romanticized "Dances With Wolves" - you will not see the lives of the many diverse human beings of the native tribes of this small patch of North America as some kind of mystical journey. You will read real stories of each generation.

You will be brought up to the present.

This is the history book you were not given in school. You were, instead, taught something about military glory and how "proper" courts and "real" justice now prevail in North America west of the Mississipi River. You were taught nonsense.

You have a chance to learn the truth from a masterful author. If she someday becomes your President, and I can only hope that she will, you will understand why, and you will see why this is a necessary evolution. Women, Natives, Ecology still sound like special interest groups today. LaDuke's beautiful storytelling and poignant moments of misery and remnant pride will demonstrate better than any political speech, why they are not, and why there can be no future other than that which elevates the feminine, the aboriginal, the ecological, to their right precedence over the masculine, the colonial, and the industrial.

It is time to abandon the tribes you came with, and choose new ones. Let this book be your entry point. You will not regret it.

We chose to read this book for a group project in a class on Marxism. It's definitely worth reading if you're into Marxism, Native American issues, or radical politics. The book is set up as a collection of essays, with some critiquing previous input from other authors. Whether you end up agreeing with anything the authors say its definitely food for thought, particularly the notion raised that while Marxism does attempt to solve problems of inequity and oppression, it ultimately will do nothing for the plight of native peoples or to conserve the earth's resources. Russell Means (whose cred is very questionable)makes the claim that industrialization is the enemy more so then class conflict, which Marxism does not address. He states that Marxism will continue to see the earth and its resources as something to be exploited, with the only difference being that the wealth is distributed more equitablly. So basically the earth will continue on its downward spiral wrought on by human beings, but at least we'll all have our little piece, at least in theory.

The book doesn't get a 5 only because most of its contributors engage in the typical intellectual abstracts that "activists" with PHd's love to engage in, in order to show how down they are with revolution and radical change. But in the meantime, while another PHd sits at his computer and comes up with the newest scholarly academic interpretation of what Marx means today, the top 5% of the people in this nation own more then the bottom 95%, 30 million Americans live in complete poverty, millions more hover just barely above it but can't do anything to change it because we don't have a liveable wage, 40 million Americans are without health care, we're spending another 350 billion a year on the military, and on the verge of another imperialistic war.

PHd's, students, and activists: GET OFF THE INTERNET AND DESTROY THE RIGHT WING.

An enlightening foray into the concerns of Native Americans heretofore unknown and/or unrecognized by white Americans. Masterfully edited by Churchill, the book discusses Marxist ideology and the Native Americans' place within it. Particularly powerful is Russell Means' piece on the "European mentality". Truly an eye-opener.

I really enjoy this little gem. It met all of my criteria for valuable reading: It made me think, it increased my understanding of concepts, issues and ideas that interest me, it serves as a valuable resource that I will be able to refer to later, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy copies for friends.

The overall strength of this book undoubtedly rests in the way it exposes the cultural blinders with which so many "Europeans", with a special emphasis here on marxists, regard indigenous cultures, essentially any non-European peoples. Grounded in an unapologetic Native American skepticism of marxist ideology and intent, the book consists of a series of essays, alternating between American Indian and marxist contributors, where the onus is placed on the latter to "respond to critique by defining its (marxism's) utility and potential to Indians." Although there are a lot of brilliant and thought-provoking opinions and statements generated throughout, the most insightful analyses remain on the part of the Native American contributors and the editor, Ward Churchill. Debunking the claim that marxism represents the epitome of original and superior analytical insight into the "humanization of society", essays by Russell Means, Vine Deloria Jr., Frank Black Elk, Dora-Lee Larson and Churchill offer very lucid observations and suggestions while providing a fascinating evaluation of what is probably the most influential European ideology from a non-euro perspective. Nowhere is this more evident than in the discrepancy between world views, pitting an all-encompassing integration with nature and its importance for human survival against the European stress on production and control over nature.The writings of the marxist contributors provide some astute summations of, primarily orthodox, marxism and how it might apply to socio-cultural problems in non-euro societies, though in the end they do a better job of revealing an underlying cultural chauvinism, illustrating once again how easily doctrine leads to dogma. This is most evident in the insignificant contribution of the Revolutionary Communist Party, interesting only in that it verifies how ideology inevitably encourages ignorance and arrogance on the part of its fanatics, and certainly dispelling even the notion that communism should be seen as the culmination of progessive socialization.

Another major strength of this book is its readability. Though it covers some heady ground, it is presented and always written in a very accessible manner, never floating off into verbose, over-intellectualized abstractions. A background in marxist theory is not necessarily required, as the essays themselves do a great job of covering the core framework and concepts, while the main themes addressed are done so in a manner that anyone should automatically be able to relate to. Credit much of this clarity to the cogency of the Native American mind. Churchill ends the book with a characteristically direct and wise summary of how marxists can benefit from this type of critique, which is not unique, by the way, to the American Indian perspective, and how everyone benefits from working as allies. To close, Churchill outlines a " rudimentary crash course" for acquainting oneself with the Indian experience in America, with a useful bibliography and a call to action for those who understand that the future of the Native American determines the future of everyone on this planet. A powerful message of utmost exigency, as relevant now as when originally published.

Al Gedicks' The New Resource Wars is an insightful read on the new threats facing Native lands. Gedick delivers extensive research as well as first-hand accounts from the battles with multinational corporations to prevent them from plundering the homes and land where indigenous peoples have settled. The only criticism I would level on the book is the way it's organized.

What I valued the most from reading this book, is when these resource wars were analyzed in a broader light (putting on the old wide angle lens). The wide-angle views really struck a cord and provided the motive and reason why more and more of these resource wars are breaking out all over the world. In a nutshell, the lands indigenous people have settled or in the case of North America been given by treaty hold some of the largest remaining mineral deposits.

Using case studies such as the Chippewa's battle with Exxon, the book makes a strong argue that environmentalists and indigenous people want the same outcome. This outcome simply being the preservation of natural resources. An alliance, however, doesn't come without some baggage. With Gedick's personal involvement in alliances between environmental and indigenous groups, he spells out the ups and downs of the relationship.

At the end of the day, its clear that combining the legal, political, and research activities of both groups is essential to gaining the high-ground over giant energy corporations that are fixed on exploiting our natural world in exchange for a one time monetary profit.

Where do I begin with this book, littered with writings by second-hand-dealers of information from holders of glorified government jobs (academics)? Armchair leaders, who would perish without the comfort of the Ivory Tower (Noam Chomsky). I should start by saying that such foolishness could only come from a university setting. In no other case would people spend so much time trying to talk away things that have been demonstrated to be foolish by the experience of others.

A few examples:

1. Manning Marable's article compares Booker T. Washington to Louis Farrakhan? Huh? Huh? Huh? This person is selling himself as a professor of history, yet he doesn't know that the main idea of what Washington said was to AVOID trying to find a political resolution to every single problem? Louis Farrakhan generates lots of heat but doesn't shed very much light on what would be *realistic* solutions to the problems in black America.

2. Empty Phrases used every third page or so, like "People of Color." Anyone who can read the Statstical Abstract of the United States knows that peole of color have nothing in common other than being non-white. The similarities stop right there in terms of income, incarceration rates and representation in "higher" professions. Everyone seems to have looked right past this in their quest to have some subjects to generate a leadership position for himself.

3. There are almost no specific numbers or studies here. So Howard Zinn will say things like: "We are wealthy enough for full employment and free education as well a free health care for everyone." But other countries (i.e., Canada and Britain) have found out that it is one thing to promise something and then quite another to support the bureaucracy that will carry this out. A systematic study of what has really happened in other countries that have tried these grandiose ideas might change the minds of these academics. But, as always, evidence is neither mentioned nor presented. But these articles are ALL very light in terms of their analytical gravitas.

Bottom line #1: Black America has been set back a good long way by relying on arguments like these presented in this book. If anything, reading this book has made me even MORE conservative. Bottom line #2: The government cannot legislate every problem out of existence. (See Sub-Saharan Africa/ China for textbook examples.)

This slim book is a nice introduction to a lot of amazing political writers. It is just an introduction and does not go into any real depth. At the cost, it is not worth it to get the hardcover. Get the paperback.