71 pages 2 hours read

David Treuer

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2019

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Essay Topics

1.

How do Treuer’s complex accounts of Indigenous life in North America throughout the centuries contrast with the singular myth of “the noble Indian?” In what ways does he complicate and enrich conventional understandings of Indigenous life?

2.

What parallels can you draw between the experiences of Indigenous peoples and African Americans in the United States, particularly in regard to citizenship?

3.

Using examples from the book, could one argue that the concept of the American Dream was built off the disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples (consider the idea of Manifest Destiny in your response). Why or why not?