Play Audiobook Sample
Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.02) - 308 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Celebrated novelist David Treuer has gained a reputation for writing fiction that expands the horizons of Native American literature. In Rez Life, his first full-length work of nonfiction, Treuer brings a novelist's storytelling skill and an eye for detail to a complex and subtle examination of Native American reservation life, past and present. With authoritative research and reportage, Treuer illuminates misunderstood contemporary issues of sovereignty, treaty rights, and natural-resource conservation. He traces the waves of public policy that have disenfranchised and exploited Native Americans, exposing the tension that has marked the historical relationship between the United States government and the Native American population. Through the eyes of students, teachers, government administrators, lawyers, and tribal court judges, he shows how casinos, tribal government, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have transformed the landscape of Native American life. A member of the Ojibwe of northern Minnesota, Treuer grew up on Leech Lake Reservation, but was educated in mainstream America. Exploring crime and poverty, casinos and wealth, and the preservation of native language and culture, Rez Life is a strikingly original work of history and reportage, a must listen for anyone interested in the Native American story.
Download and start listening now!
"Rez Life is a deft, smart, thought-provoking examination of both historical and contemporary reservations in the United States, primarily told through the cultural stories of the Ojibwe of the Upper Midwest. Each chapter tackles a different issue in Ojibwe country - treaty rights, language, enrollment, criminal justice, education, casinos - tracing the historical roots of contemporary problems, challenges, and successes, and weaving the stories of individual Ojibwe throughout. The chapters are wide-ranging, which is a testament to the fact that nothing is particularly simple when talking about the history, administration, or lived experience of reservations. There's much that's heart-breaking about the stories that Treuer tells (historical and otherwise) but there are some fantastically funny moments, delicious pieces of irony, and much that's both defiant and hopeful. A great read."
— Catherine (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
Treuer's account reads like a novel, brimming with characters, living and dead, who bring his tribe's history to life.
— Booklist
Rez Life Listener Reviews
-
" It took me a while to settle into this book, and to figure out what kind of book it is. It's not a history, ethnography, or memoir, although it contains elements of all three. Treuer explains various aspects of life on the reservation, and uses those instances to help the reader understand the history of white-Indian relations. By shuttling back and forth, he ends up demonstrating a great deal about why and how treaty relations are so deeply flawed. Each chapter takes a facet of Indian life that may seem familiar to the white reader (e.g., casino gambling, poverty and substance abuse, boarding schools and assimilation) and takes apart the many misconceptions about those topics. I felt like I came away from the book with a much better understanding of how, for example, conflict over fishing rights can be traced back to treaty negotiations. "
— Laura, 2/7/2014 -
" interesting read, this author spends alot of time discussing what treaty rights mean and how that shaped the struggle of native americans. This book enlightened me; I definitely learned quite a bit. "
— Ann, 12/7/2013 -
" The subject and content were interesting to me, but I found the writer's style to be distracting. Worth reading although the book could have used more editing. "
— Beth, 11/26/2013 -
" Just read the first 20 pages or so.. but it's got a good bit of history and humor in it.. Two important H's. ;) "
— Denise, 11/26/2013 -
" Current day issues, supplemented by personal anecdotes and legal actions and legal misunderstandings. "
— Bob, 11/10/2013 -
" Just excellent. History, memoir, journal of life on and off the rez. I live 20 minutes from Squaw Lake and 30 minutes from Red Lake and I did not know even 2 % of what is in this book. A must read for those living with, near or teaching natives. "
— Janet, 11/2/2013 -
" Can't wait to get this from the Library! "
— Elizabeth, 10/24/2013 -
" A good, even-handed exploration of modern Native American life, with a focus on Minnesota. "
— Jason, 9/22/2013 -
" Really smart and funny description of serious subject matter. "
— Martha, 7/24/2013 -
" Interesting look at how Native Americans live and lived in the US. Their hardships and victories are interwoven into the narratives of the people and places known to the author. As with any book, more photos and illustrations would have been nice. "
— Mark, 7/2/2013 -
" Though my rating may be deceiving, I do recommend this book as an important read. It is, however, very heavy. "
— Avi, 9/1/2012 -
" There were many interesting anecdotes. Unfortunately, the writing was poor in my opinion (and from a college writing professor)! It reads like a writer's journal, random thoughts, missing the necessary segues. "
— Missmath144, 8/11/2012
About David Treuer
David Treuer is Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He is the award-winning author of several works of fiction and nonfiction. His acclaimed The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee was a New York Times bestseller, and his work The Translation of Dr Apelles was named a 2006 best book of the year by the Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Time Out Chicago, and City Pages. He has won the Pushcart Prize and the Minnesota Book Award. He has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate, and the Washington Post, among others. He has a PhD degree in anthropology and teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.
About Peter Berkrot
Peter Berkrot, winner of Audie and Earphones Awards for narration, is a stage, screen, and television actor and acting coach. He has narrated over 450 works that span a range of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, thriller, and children’s titles. His audiobook credits include works of Alan Glynn, Eric Van Lustbader, Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz. In film and television, he appeared in Caddyshack, America’s Most Wanted, and Unsolved Mysteries. He performs in regional and New York theaters and directs the New Voices acting school.