{"product_id":"medicine-river-a-story-of-survival-and-the-legacy-of-indian-boarding-schools-9780593470466","title":"Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools","description":"\u003cb\u003eA sweeping and deeply personal account of Native American boarding schools in the United States, and the legacy of abuse wrought by them in an attempt to destroy Native culture and life \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFINALIST FOR THE PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, \u003ci\u003eTIME, Smithsonian, \u003c\/i\u003eThe History Channel \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"With a government that is rewriting history in real time, \u003ci\u003eMedicine River\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a testament to the truth.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Powerful. . . . An important work.\"--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Everyone, absolutely everyone, should read this book.\"--Javier Zamora, author\u003ci\u003e of Solito\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their tribal communities to attend boarding schools whose stated aim was to \"save the Indian\" by way of assimilation. In reality, these boarding schools--sponsored by the U.S. government, but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation--were a calculated attempt to dismantle tribes by pulling apart Native families. Children were beaten for speaking their Native languages; denied food, clothing, and comfort; and forced to work menial jobs in terrible conditions, all while utterly deprived of love and affection. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmongst those thousands of children was Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother, who was sent to a boarding school in northern Wisconsin at age five. The trauma of her experience cast a pall over Pember's own childhood and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, \u003ci\u003eMedicine River\u003c\/i\u003e paints a stark but hopeful portrait of communities still reckoning with the trauma of acculturation, religion, and abuse caused by the state. Through searing interviews and careful reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of Native cultures and nations in relation to the country that has been intent on eradicating them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/30\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593470466\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.19w x 0.63d","brand":"Mary Annette Pember","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52491474665653,"sku":"9780593470466","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_531d35dd-281f-4895-8829-4bf3f5129b20.jpg?v=1777996560","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/medicine-river-a-story-of-survival-and-the-legacy-of-indian-boarding-schools-9780593470466","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}