Book Review

Author May Not Know Much About Indians, But He Knows Us!

Don't Know Much About Indians
(but I wrote a book about us anyways)
By Gyasi Ross
Cut Bank Creek Press | 126 pp | $10.95
ISBN: 9780983811800

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What a Wonderful World

Some will remember the old Sam Cooke song "What a Wonderful World." The song is not to be confused with Louis Armstrong's song with the same title. Cook wrote and sang his version in the late 1950s. Later his version was sung by Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon and James Taylor.

The lyrics go like this:

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took

But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world it would be

I thought of this song when I first read the title of Gysai Ross' book "Don't Know Much About Indians (but I Wrote a Book About Us Anyways)."

Right from the first page he explains: "I do not pretend to be an expert on Indian people. I do not want to be an expert on Indian people. Heck, sometimes I do not even like Indian people. Sometimes I cannot stand Indian people."

Turn the page, he writes: "I love Indian people."

From that point on, it is hard to put the book down. As I read, I said "wow" at various intervals. For a guy who purports not to know much about Indians, he sure knows us! The wows were for the clever writing style that mixes humor with hard facts to bring home points that American Indians will readily recognize as being true.

"Don't Know Much About Indians" is hilarious and serious at the same time. It should be shared with teens, who may think they know all there is about being Indian.

"Don't Know Much About Indians" is Ross' first book. He is a tribal citizen of the Blackfeet Nation who is also Suquamish. He is a writer who is also an attorney. Ross graduated from Columbia Law School and works to develop tribal infrastructure.

"Don't Know Much About Indians" is a collection of short stories and poems. It is a work of fiction, though some of the characters are so real American Indians will easily recognize some and maybe even put a name to the character. One of the most powerful selections is "Trauma," which deals with a card-carrying Indian professor who really doesn't know anything about being Indian, except what he learned, researches and writes about in books.

After receiving a C'minus from this professor, an American Indian student, Michael First Rider, takes the professor to task. The candid dialogue gets into boarding schools, relocation and termination. And, as the dialogue continues, it goes much deeper, dealing with teen suicide, violence against women and poverty.

And Ross purports not to know much about Indians.

Another story called "2111" takes us 100 years into the future and what it will be like to be Indian then. In the story, Ross effectively challenges today's Indian to think ahead about the preservation of our tribal languages.

Ross actually pushes harder through his humor and fine writing than do many authors who claim to know everything about American Indians.

He never did mention the Sam Cooke song that his title made me think about. However, I do know if readers took his writings that delve so deeply into the socio-economic living conditions for Indians, one could imagine "what a wonderful world it would be" for Indians.

posted November 26, 2011 7:50 am est