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"Born at the turn of the 21st century, The Storyteller, also known as Ishkwegaabawiikwe (Last Standing Woman), carries her people's past within her memories. The White Earth Anishinaabe people have lived on the same land since time immemorial. Among the towering white pines and rolling hills, each generation is born, lives out their lives, and is buried. The arrival of European missionaries changes the community forever. Piece by piece, government policies rob the people of their land. Missionaries and Indian agents work to outlaw ceremonies the Anishinaabeg have practised for centuries. Grave-robbing anthropologists dig up ancestors and whisk them away to museums as artifacts. Logging operations destroy traditional sources of food, pushing the White Earth people to the brink of starvation. Battling addiction, violence, and corruption, each member of White Earth must find their own path of resistance as they struggle to reclaim stewardship of their land, bring their ancestors home, and stay connected to their culture and to each other. In this highly anticipated 25th anniversary edition of her debut novel, Winona LaDuke weaves a nonlinear narrative of struggle and triumph, resistance and resilience, spanning seven generations from the 1800s to the early 2000s."--… (more)
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Rather than a progressive narrative, LaDuke intermingles a compressed history from the 1860's when the "land stealers" came with later events when the people acted to take back their land and reclaim their culture. Altho portions do focus on the different women who shared the name Last Standing Woman, the reader is left to discover what the relevance of past events is to current lives.
I'm afraid I haven't made the book sound that interesting. But even if you're not sure what's going on, all the stories are interesting, pull you in, and give you a view of native perceptions of their culture and heritage. Women can be strong active leaders. LaDuke possesses the Native American passion for poking fun at themselves.