Rachel's Children - (Contemporary Native American Communities) by Steve Beard (Paperback)

About the Book

Rachel's Children is the true story of a contemporary Ojibwa household and the woman and her children who are at its core. As their lives unfold, we understand how traditional beliefs help Rachel's family cope as they encounter racism in rural Michigan. Beardslee writes in a s...

Book Synopsis

Rachel's Children is the true story of a contemporary Ojibwa household and the woman and her children who are at its core. As their lives unfold, we understand how traditional beliefs help Rachel's family cope as they encounter racism in rural Michigan. Beardslee writes in a style that is a combination of ethnography, theatrical script, and novel, echoing the Ojibwa style of storytelling. Her book will be valuable for instructors in Native studies, multicultural education, and anthropology.

Review Quotes

Rachel's Children is gripping. It starts at a gallop and reads fast, pulling the reader along.

I am not aware of any other book quite like this one, neither from the point of view of illuminating American Indian women's lives in such personal detail, nor of a more didactic approach that explores contemporary Ojibwa, or American Indian, issues. It is unique and refreshing in both style of presentation and content. . . . A number of times while reading it I laughed out loud because Beardslee had perfectly captured some of the crazy absurdities and ironies of life as perceived from an Indian point of view.

Using contemporary stories that put to test the values of the traditional stories, Rachel's Children is a collection of laugh-out-loud narratives and a searing indictment of racism in the United States.

About the Author

Lois Beardslee has been a teacher and writer for 25 years. She is also an accomplished artist whose works are in public and private collections worldwide. She is the author of Lies to Live By (Michigan State University Press, 2003).