"This expansive compendium seeks to correct the stereotypes, false information, and missing history of Indigenous peoples that have defined the origin stories America tells about itself. Cajune, a longtime educator and citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, prioritizes "stories of people and place rather than dates and events, providing a glimpse into the very human side of history." —— Diego Báez, Booklist
“Nobel prize–winning author Toni Morrison once said, ‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ Editor Julie Cajune set out to do just that, pulling together a diverse set of tribal scholars to relay their own history and their own stories, while shining light on the tribal resistance, adaptation, and persistence in the face of unrelenting settler colonialism. The result is a counterpoint to the Eurocentric histories that have dominated the conversation and a book that everyone—tribal members and nontribal members alike—should read.”
—Martha Kohl, Montana Historical Society
“The United States has been needing this collection of narratives from Native scholars for a long time. Native history IS American history. There has always been an invisible and silenced Indigenous history that has run parallel to the one-sided settler history that we learned in school. Julie braids these Indigenous voices and stories together to tell our collective history from different tribal Nations and across geography and generations—and the culmination offers a new lens through which to see ourselves as a country. This epic anthology offers all of us a glimpse into a human experience that is both different from and similar to our own. Each contributor’s voice and story are important and lend to the bigger narrative of reclamation of history. Contemporary Native America is experiencing a resurgence and revitalization through literature, art, fashion, movies, education, and activism. Our Way—A Parallel History joins this movement.” —Denise Juneau (Mandan-Hidatsa and Blackfeet), attorney, educator, and politician, former classroom teacher, former Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction, former Seattle Public Schools Superintendent
“Our Way is a treasure—a lovingly curated collection of Indigenous stories and histories from an esteemed group of Native scholars and teachers who gathered on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana and ‘collectively imagined what this book would be.’ Julie Cajune’s parallel history grows out of her lifelong commitment to Native education and truth-telling, and it builds on a strong tradition of counternarratives produced by the Flathead Nation, including Salish Kootenai College Press and the Séliš-Ql̓ispé Culture Committee. Grounded in story—beginning with Séliš and Kootenai stories from Frank John Arlee and Vernon Finley—Our Way focuses on people and places across the continent, from Montana to Georgia, and Alaska and Hawaii to Massachusetts and the Dawnland. This kaleidoscopic and accessible anthology will appeal to a broad audience of Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, students, and community members. Our Way tells the stories of Indigenous people’s agency and brilliance and is itself an example of that brilliance.” —Nicholas Brown, School of Architecture and Department of History, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, co-author of Re-Collecting Black Hawk: Landscape, Memory, and Power in the American Midwest
“Treasure, Confront, Arise. The three section titles in Our Way—a beautiful and diverse anthology of Indigenous stories, histories, and philosophical insights—are more than organizing tools. Together, these constructs represent a theory of action and an invitation—one compellingly extended by Julie Cajune, who is brilliant as a guardian and guide of this collective work. Beginning with ‘Treasure,’ a section comprised of transcribed oral stories, detailed historical accounts, and personal narratives, Cajune invites us to engage with the profound wisdom and intellectual acumen flourishing within and across Indigenous communities. I was so moved by these stories and their philosophical treasures that I was already a changed and more deeply invested reader when approaching the accounts of heartbreak, dispossession, deceit, and genocide, as well as adept political strategy, courage, radical resilience, and visioning in ‘Confront’ and ’Arise.’ As a non-Indigenous person living (and teaching) on ancestral land (Séli), this book—both through its content, its framework, and its call to action—has provided me with a more rigorous and robust education and will surely shape my work going forward. I am grateful.” —Kate Brayko, PhD, Associate Professor, Teaching and Learning, Phyllis J. Washington College of Education, University of Montana
