| Title | : | Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0553387316 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780553387315 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | Expected publication April 22, 2025 |
From the mid-19th century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their families to attend boarding schools that claimed to help create opportunity for these children to pursue professions outside their communities and otherwise "assimilate" into American life. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the US Government but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were an insidious attempt to destroy tribes, break up families, and stamp out the traditions of generations of Native people. Children were beaten for speaking their native languages, forced to complete menial tasks in terrible conditions, and utterly deprived of love and affection.
Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother was forced to attend one of these institutions—a seminary in Wisconsin, and the impacts of her experience have cast a pall over Mary's own childhood, and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark portrait of communities still reckoning with the legacy of acculturation that has affected generations of Native communities. Through searing interviews and assiduous historical reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of a culture whose country has been seemingly intent upon destroying it.
Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools Reviews
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This book is an important one in the sense that it provides a detailed historical perspective on Indian boarding schools and their impacts upon native Americans. It's clearly a very well researched endeavor. The tone is very academic though despite the fact that a significant part of the book is personal. I was anticipating a book more like
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City which addresses a social justice issue and uses storytelling to bring it to life. The first 10 or so pages of this book lived up to that promise, but unfortunately after that, it seemed more like a doctoral dissertation. Some extremely harrowing scenes are described in the book, but they are written in an arms length way, as if by an outsider. It just didn't feel like a memoir where the reader can literally feel the depth of the emotion. That being said, if you are a lover of history, this book does an excellent job of explaining the scope and depth of the injustices perpetrated against native American Indians in a factual manner with tons of footnotes so it's clear where the information originated. -
This has only a few ratings so far but it seems I’m an outlier. I had mixed feelings about this book. I’ve read a little about the horrible mission schools over the years, including a bio of Jim Thorpe and I find that too many statistics can be meaningless but the personal stories are priceless since this book is a mixture of the personal and historical I found that the sections about her families stories and the stories of others were very powerful but there were times that I felt the author wanted to name every activist, every treaty and too many details because she had done all the research. I understand the temptation, but it was almost like two books…a memoir and an exhaustive history. I enjoyed one and not so much the other
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This book broke my heart over and over. I took a Native American culture class in college and THOUGHT I had a basic understanding of Indian boarding schools. The way the author tells her family’s personal experience, while also providing facts in a professional tone is incredible. I felt rage, sadness, laughed, and cried.. a lot. I will recommend this book to anyone willing to take the time to learn. It was a heartbreaking wake up to our government systems, and I am sure I will reflecting on some of my previous held views for the foreseeable future.
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Disclaimer: ARC via Netgally
Like many countries, the Untied States has to reckon with the abuses of its part. And like many countries, it does not always, if ever, do so. For many years, the US education system has not fully taught what the US did to Native Americans, outside of Trail of Tears. The impact of residential schools as well as their history is not usually taught, even in states or cities where such a school existed. People may know who Jim Thorpe was, but what exactly Carlisle was and what happened there, most people don’t know. Even if a residential school is mentioned, it is done with implication that it was a less ritzy boarding school. Not what it really was not about the abuses, not about the graves.
Pember’s book goes into detail about the residential school. She includes information about the development of the schools, the wide spread abuse, and halfhearted attempts by the US government to reform or better the schools. She even includes bit about how some survivors fought back and turned the US legal system against the government with varying degrees of success.
But mostly, the book is a memoir of the impact of the residential schools. Pember’s mother went one and the fall out of that travels down generations and impacts all relationships. The trauma that Pember’s mother went though plays out in her relationships to her children, in particular Pember who was the only daughter. This meant that in many ways she became the keeper of some of her mother’s secrets. The effect of the residential shows in both Pember and her brothers.
But the book does also offer hope. The section where Pember details how some tribes and clans are dealing with the trauma is particularly insightful.
Pember’s book would make good introduction to the history of residential schools and their impact. It is an engrossing read, but not overly heavy or scholarly. It offers more in depth analysis of the residential school. It offers a more complete view than simply detailing the various abuses that occurred. It offers -
-Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage and NetGallery for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.-
Mary Annette Pember takes a deep dive into a very difficult subject, Indian Boarding Schools in this book which is equal parts historical exposition and anecdotal narrative. Her background in journalism shone through in this book. Pember provides a detailed account of Indian Boarding Schools and the atrocities that occurred within those schools. Pember elucidates the immediate, deleterious effects these boarding schools had on Indigenous communities and the continued psychological and physical health outcomes.
My only gripe with this book is that I didn't have access to it while I was writing my dissertation on the subject! Pember's personal account made me reflect on my own family's history with Indian Boarding Schools which, at times, had me pacing myself. It was very emotional to read this book; my grandfather attended such a school in Michigan, as did his siblings and mother. I am so grateful to Pember for having the courage to share her truth and bring continued awareness to this subject. -
It’s rare I give a 5 star rating, but here it is. The author has done an amazing job weaving the profoundly personal with sweeping movements of US history. Most Americans are unwilling to claim this story, but Pember tells it with clarity and authenticity. She is an extraordinary storyteller, especially for a story as complex and blood drenched as this one. As a US history teacher, I think this should be required reading for anyone with a teaching endorsement in Social Studies. It’s a story we get wrong altogether too many times. Essential reading. Compelling.
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Part history book, part memoir, this was very educational. I, like many grew up not knowing about residential boarding schools in the United States and am learning about it well past school age. I appreciated the deep dive research so much and found myself shocked by a lot of what I read. So much heartbreak over generations caused by these schools trying to force assimilation instead of embracing the culture of the people who were here first. I would definitely recommend this one to others. Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Indian boarding schools is a part of history that isn't as well known as it should be. This book is well researched and provides a lot of information. -
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this work courtesy of NetGalley)
The fact that I learned about Canada’s residential schools before I learned about the United States’ system of Native American boarding schools speaks volumes about just how much this particular part of the country’s history has probably never been given its just share of attention - like so many other aspects of the nation's past. To say the least, we need plenty more books (and other media) to educate and remind us of what has happened, and of the lasting effects that continue to be felt into the present day.
Medicine River doesn’t just go a long way to helping others fill in this major gap left by our respective history educations - it could almost be considered a gold standard for reads on this subject. Marie Annatte Pember expertly blends both general history with her family’s own history, and together these two combined narratives go a long way in both teaching and really bringing home the scope and reach of the damage and trauma that was wrought.
As an academic librarian, this is one of those titles that I definitely consider a must-have for my university’s library history section.
