Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City by L. Charleyboy & M.B. Leatherdale (Eds.)

Abstract

Charleyboy, Lisa and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Eds.).  Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City.  Toronto, ON: Annickpress Ltd., 2015, Print.

Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale, editors of the highly acclaimed Dreaming in Indian (2014) have created another anthology, this time with a focus on Urban Indigenous youth and young adults (aged 13–35).  From poets to financiers to Hollywood actors, the anthology provides a glimpse into over 30 lives of successful Indigenous young people.

Pushing boundaries and troubling stereotypes, the editors offer a deeper understanding of the multiplicities of lives as they share stories of Indigenous youth and young adults negotiating who they are and are becoming in an urban landscape.  The mixed media portrayal with an exquisite use of photographs and graphic art weaves together stories, each told in unique ways, inviting the reader into the lives of the youth and young adults in meaningful ways.  This book is an honest and realistic portrayal of both the adversities and advantages experienced by Indigenous youth, some of whom have left tight-knit communities on reserves to follow their dreams in large cities and some of whom have lived in urban centers all of their lives.  Calling our attention to notions of renaissance, shattering stereotypes, racism and identity the book does not shy away from the more difficult stories or the larger context that shape the lives of Indigenous Peoples.  With the focus on individuals and their lives we are able to see the beauty in the myriad of ways that the youth respond as they create lives that are not bound by any one notion of success, inspiration or Indigenous culture. 

In the midst of the stories there are statistics, historical contexts and geographical understandings of the sometimes invisible lives of Urban Indigenous Peoples across North America making this anthology a great resource for all Canadian Classrooms ranging from junior high to post-secondary. From this anthology Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous alike are able to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the diversity and complexity of lives of Urban Indigenous Peoples.

Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars
Reviewers: Trudy Cardinal & Fran Caudron

Dr. Trudy Cardinal is a Cree/Métis scholar from the University of Alberta whose research interests center on the experiences of Indigenous children and families on and off school landscapes.  Her passion for stories and storytelling includes a love of children’s literature, especially literature written by and portraying the multiplicities in the lives of Indigenous youth and families.

Fran Caudron (MRE) is a teacher in northern Alberta who teaches in a school that serves a large and diverse Indigenous student population.  She graduated with her MRE from Newman Theological College in 2011, and is interested in using literature to promote and instill a love of reading and writing in her students.