Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indians Journey Home

ISBN: 1571313982

Author: La Tray, Chris

Condition: New

Winner of the Reading the West Book AwardWinner of the Pacific Northwest Book AwardA People Best Memoir of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of the Year SelectionA Book Riot Best Book of the YearIm in awe of Chris La Trays storytelling. Becoming Little Shell creates a multilayered narrative from threads of personal, family, community, tribal, and national histories.-Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding SweetgrassGrowing up in Montana, Chris La Tray always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely denied any connection, he found Indigenous people alluring, often recalling his grandmothers consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage.When La Tray attended his grandfathers funeral as a young man, he finally found himself surrounded by relatives who obviously were Indigenous. Who were they? he wondered, and Why was I never allowed to know them? Combining diligent research and compelling conversations with authors, activists, elders, and historians, La Tray embarks on a journey into his familys past, discovering along the way a larger story of the complicated history of Indigenous communities-as well as the devastating effects of colonialism that continue to ripple through surviving generations. And as he comes to embrace his full identity, he eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, joining their 158-year-long struggle for federal recognition.Both personal and historical, Becoming Little Shell is a testament to the power of storytelling, to family and legacy, and to finding home. Infused with candor, heart, wisdom, and an abiding love for a place and a people, Chris La Trays remarkable journey is both revelatory and redemptive.