This is the third book I've read by David Treuer, all of them extremely well written and thought provoking. In Heartbeat, Treuer looks at indigenous life during the past century plus, assessing US policy towards Native Americans and the many ways, intentional and otherwise, it has reverberated through the lives of real people. He stresses that Indians have never been merely passive victims of fate; in ways that varied from tribe to tribe and from era to era, they made choices that have allowed them to survive as distinct peoples and, increasingly, to thrive. The nuanced and detailed discussion of the American Indian Movement was particularly interesting. In the final section he looks at how 21st century Indians are interacting with the wider culture - for instance, the way in which the protests at Standing Rock in 2016 sparked new discussion well beyond the indigenous world about what kind of society we really want to live in.

An excellent overview from a Native author of his people’s American journey.