What Side Are You On? - (Critical Indigeneities) by Michael Steven Wilson & José Antonio Lucero (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Renowned human rights activist Michael "Mike" Wilson has borne witness to the profound human costs of poverty, racism, border policing, and the legacies of colonialism. From a childhood in the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, Wilson's life journey led him to US military service in Central America, seminary education, and religious and human rights activism against the abuses of US immigration policies. With increased militarization of the US-Mexico border, migration across the Tohono O'odham Nation surged, as did migrant deaths and violent encounters between tribal citizens and US Border Patrol agents. When Wilson's religious and ethical commitments led him to set up water stations for migrants on the Nation's lands, it brought him into conflict not only with the US government but also with his own tribal and religious communities. This richly textured and collaboratively written memoir brings Wilson's experiences to life. Joining Wilson as coauthor, Josâe Antonio Lucero adds political and historical context to Wilson's personal narrative. Together they offer a highly original portrait of an O'odham life across borders that sheds light on the struggles and resilience of Native peoples across the Americas"--

Book Synopsis

Renowned human rights activist Michael "Mike" Wilson has borne witness to the profound human costs of poverty, racism, border policing, and the legacies of colonialism. From a childhood in the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, Wilson's life journey led him to US military service in Central America, seminary education, and religious and human rights activism against the abuses of US immigration policies. With increased militarization of the US-Mexico border, migration across the Tohono O'odham Nation surged, as did migrant deaths and violent encounters between tribal citizens and US Border Patrol agents. When Wilson's religious and ethical commitments led him to set up water stations for migrants on the Nation's lands, it brought him into conflict not only with the US government but also with his own tribal and religious communities.

This richly textured and collaboratively written memoir brings Wilson's experiences to life. Joining Wilson as coauthor, José Antonio Lucero adds political and historical context to Wilson's personal narrative. Together they offer a highly original portrait of an O'odham life across borders that sheds light on the struggles and resilience of Native peoples across the Americas.

Review Quotes

"Brilliant, moving, and wholly unique.... Wilson and Lucero have produced a groundbreaking book that mixes memoir, testimonio, political science, and history to tell the complex story of an Indigenous man's journey through the civil rights era, the Cold War, and America's war on undocumented migrants along the US-Mexico border."--Jason De León, author of Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling

"Illuminating . . . . shed[s] valuable light on the deep roots of the violence and injustice that reflect and fuel border militarization and the fight against criminalized immigration . . . . [helps] readers to see beyond mainstream framings of migration and border politics, provoking important questions about international mobility, humanitarianism, and solidarity, while pointing the way toward a more just world."--NACLA Report on the Americas

"Wilson's commitment inspires, and the account is enriched by Lucero's meditations on history and sovereignty, including passages exploring how the U.S. draws and enforces physical and metaphorical boundaries between its " 'civilization' and [the] 'merciless savagery'" of both Mexico and Native lands. It's a rewarding chronicle of a remarkable life."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Michael Steven Wilson (Tohono O'odham) is a human rights activist, US military retiree, and film documentarian. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
José Antonio Lucero is chair and professor in the Comparative History of Ideas Department at the University of Washington, Seattle and holds a joint appointment in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.