David Treuer

Today on the podcast, we look at the myths and the realities of Native American life, as seen through David Treuer's fascinating, eloquent, deeply researched and groundbreaking new book, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee. Treuer looks at the stories we're offered about the nature of Native American life in the era after the closing of the frontier, and argues that we have accepted a poetic and misleading story of tragedy and defeat in place of a much more complex reality – a story that includes injustice, suffering and loss, but also endurance, ingenuity, and the living presence of Native America as part of the modern U.S.A. He draws on history, journalism, and his own stories from his family and community to create an unclassifiable, illuminating book.  David Treuer joins us in the studio to talk about why this project meant so much to him.