All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life [Paperback]

Winona deals with many painful topics in some detail. The activists she writes about are grandchildren or great grandchildren of the people that fought the Indian wars. The lessons these people learned about the White Man's language are shared with the reader. For example, in one chapter she explains that when the newspapers wrote "Settle the Indian question", what that meant in practice on the ground was "killing all the buffalo as efficiently as possible." In this way the book exposes many "Orwellian language games" without pointing fingers in any offensive judgmental ways. The tone is one of ongoing struggle, where understanding is the key to progress.

There are several types of struggle that occur over and over. Toxic waste stories like the one told in the movie Erin Brockovich happen to mothers in the Mohawk and Nitassinanian tribes. White mans greed for energy causes problems for Northern Cheyenne (coal on their lands) and Northern Shoshone ("good site" for a Nuclear Waste dump). Racism and extreme double standards put natives in precarious situations where they have to deal with deep poverty (Hawaii, White Earth, and Buffalo Nations).

The underlying theme of the book is hopeful progress and continuing struggle. The White Earth Recovery Project is slowly rebuilding the forests of Minnesota. The Hopi are finding much value in solar power, a White Man technology that actually makes sense in their world. Walt Bresette's Seventh Generation Amendment (The right of the citizens of the U.S. to enjoy and use air, water, sunlight, and other renewable resources determined by the Congress to be common property shall not be impaired, nor shall such use impair their availability for use by the future generations.) has given many diverse groups "a great optimism for the potential to make positive change." Reading this book gave me a deeper understanding that Green Values are profoundly useful.