Last Standing Woman
3.5/5
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About this ebook
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 for over a thousand years. Among the towering white pines and rolling hills, the people of each generation are born, live out their lives, and are buried.
The arrival of European missionaries changes the community forever. Government policies begin to rob the people of their land, piece by piece. 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.
Winona LaDuke
Writing, farming, and working in her community for more than 40 years, Winona LaDuke is one of the world’s most tireless and charismatic leaders on issues related to climate change, Indigenous and human rights, green economies, grassroots organizing, and the restoration of local food systems. A two-time Green Party vice-presidential candidate, Winona has received numerous awards and accolades, including recognition on the Forbes' first “50 Over 50—Women of Impact” list in 2021. Winona is the author of many acclaimed articles and books, including Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming and To Be a Water Protector: Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers. A Harvard-educated economist, hemp farmer, grandmother, and member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg, she lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.
Read more from Winona La Duke
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Reviews for Last Standing Woman
19 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Standing Woman is a novel largely set on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, telling an intertwined story over several generations in the history of the Ojibwa people. While it is a work of fiction LaDuke incorporates several historical events, as well as a number of circumstances and situations that are nearly universal to the history of relations between Native Americans, their neighbors and the United States government. As someone who is not Native but has lived on a reservation for the past two years I found within this novel many of the kinds of things that are normal here but which can be barely comprehended in a non-reservation environment. It is a well-written book and was a delight to read.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This was recommended to me by a friend. I gave it an honest try but just couldn't do it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5For some reason I thought this was going to be a biography, so I was a little confused by the progress of the story. There also seemed to be a lot of similarity of characters and events with the writings of [[Louise Erdrich]], which also confused me --Pillagers as a common family name, Philomena as a housekeeper for a priest, a priest who rewrites history by moving headstonoes. While I haven't gone back in Erdrich's books to verify my perception that there is commonality, I've decided that both women use their tribe's history as inspiration for their novels.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.