The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An amazing book written by an amazing essayist and thinker. Funny, scathing, sarcastic, dead on, precise, and unforgiving. Thomas King (Cherokee) unpacks five centuries of Indian-White relations, a history where the goal seems to be to deprive Native Americans of their land base through the off-hand, casual breaking of treaties they have signed with the US and Canadian governments. It is especially funny to read this book in light of the inspirational speeches one hears occasionally during this electoral season, so rife, on one side, with lofty ideas of equality, compassion, respect of other cultures… and so poisoned on the other with hateful racism, violence, and xenophobia. Read more →