On The Rez

by Ian Frazier

A great writer's journey of exploration in an American place that is both strange and deeply familiar.

In Ian Frazier's bestselling Great Plains , he described meeting a man in New York City named Le War Lance, "an Oglala Sioux Indian from Oglala, South Dakota." In On the Rez , Frazier returns to the plains and focuses on a place at their center-the Pine Ridge Reservation in the prairie and badlands of South Dakota, home of the Oglala Sioux. Frazier drives around "the rez" with Le War Lance and other Oglalas as they tell stories, visit relatives, go to powwows and rodeos and package stores, and try to find parts to fix one or another of their on-the-verge-of-working cars.

On the Rez considers Indian ideas of freedom and community and equality that are basic to how we view ourselves. Most of all, he examines the Indian idea of heroism-its suffering and its pulse-quickening, public-spirited glory. On the Rez portrays the survival, through toughness and humor, of a great people whose culture has shaped our American identity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Native American, History, Memoir, Travel, Indigenous, Native Americans

311 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Ian Frazier (b.1951) is an American writer and humorist. He is the author of Travels in Siberia, Great Plains, On the Rez, Lamentations of the Father and Coyote V. Acme, among other works, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He graduated from Harvard University. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, he lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianfra...

Reviews

[Kiekiat · Rating 3 out of 5]

'On the Rez' is a tough book to review. It's a book that seems to be liked more by professional reviewers than by regular readers. On here, its reviews run the gamut from, "What the hell is this about?" to, "It's a wonderful book, unflinching in its take on the hardships of life on the rez, while still offering hope for the future."

'Rez' is a frustrating book for readers like me, who crave linear stories. Perhaps I crave them because I'm a native Midwesterner who grew up in cities with straight roads that kept the same name for miles and where life was made to appear uncomplicated, despite its complications?

Frazier's book is a rambling discourse that ranges from his encounters with Indians while living in Brooklyn to his move to Missoula, Montana and his frequent trips to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota--home to the Oglala Sioux tribe, along with Native Americans of other tribes and other branches of the Sioux.

If you can get past the somewhat disjointed narrative, you realize that it actually serves a purpose as a reflection of life on the Rez, which by its very nature is disjointed, chaotic and prone to extremes. No doubt much of this disjointed life is caused by dire poverty. Frazier is a long time friend of Le War Lance, who is one of the book's main characters. Le (real name Leonard Walks About) is a prodigious drinker, a sometime actor, inveterate wanderer (early in the book, Le lives in New York, as does Frazier), and teller of tall tales, some of them true. Later he returns to life on the Rez at Pine Ridge. Frazier and Le have an unusual but legitimate friendship. It's unusual because Le seems to make an awful lot of requests for money from Frazier and Frazier usually gives it to him. Most of the money requests are for small amounts and for specific needs like beer, auto parts, and food. Some readers have interpreted Le's request as mooching, but Frazier usually doesn't mind giving and just being friends with Le gives him a lot of journalistic access to Le's various friends and family and assorted characters that he might otherwise not have met. Nevertheless, I got the impression the friendship was real, on both sides, though not without its frailties.

Frazier does not sugar-coat life on the Rez. He notes that Pine Ridge is consistently rated as the poorest town in America and sites stats such as the Rez having a 50% adult diabetes rate and is not shy to discuss problems with drugs, alcoholism, gang violence among youth and various disputes among adults that result in violence. The book is chock-full of interesting tidbits of tribal history of Wounded Knee 1 and 2, the AIM struggles of the 1970's and various Inter-tribal rivalries. The traffic fatality rate on the 'Rez' is quite high, owing to bad roads and drunk drivers.

In his rambling discourse, Frazier actually makes some salient points. One thing he notes is that Indian presence in modern times is far more prevalent than most people realize. Indians have gained in population since US attempts to have them deracinated through events like the "Trail of Tears" and the Indian Wars and exile on many reservations lacking arable land. In spite of these depredations, some tribes are growing and thriving, and Frazier forecasts that as more small towns lose population the Pine Ridge "Rez" will eventually become the dominant group in their area.

Another point is that the Pine Ridge attracts many foreign and domestic tourists flocking there every summer (the only sane time to visit S. Dakota, though Frazier often visits in dead of winter). Frazier speculates that visitors come out of curiosity and that some come because, in some strange way, they wish to be Indians, which Frazier equates with the desire for a freedom that the Indians once had and still show in ways that they live.

Frazier devotes a lengthy section to the life and legacy of SuAnne Big Crow, a Pine Ridge teen basketball phenom who galvanized the often strife-ridden community by leading the high school's girl's basketball team to the South Dakota state championship and serving as a hero and role model for thousands of disenfranchised people living on the Rez. This section seemed a bit out-of-place in the narrative, though I believe the author included it because SuAnne's life was an inspirational one and even her death in a traffic accident compelled her mother to establish a youth center at Pine Ridge which became a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the only chapter on a US Indian Reservation. Still, I thought this section would have worked better as a standalone "New Yorker" story.

A strength of the book is that Frazier does not moralize about Indian behavior (or misbehavior), nor does he offer any "solutions" as you might find in a book written by an academic. It's rez life and life only, to paraphrase Bob Dylan. Frazier strikes me as a person curious about many things, like the best Goodreads reviewers, and one of his curiosities is life on the Rez and he pursues this curiosity with a sort of laid-back, yet intense, passion.

I recommend the book to those interested in Native American life and history who can deal with a rambling account or perhaps even revel in it.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems to have drawn more criticism than is perhaps fair, given the author's apparent intent and targeted audience. Readers already steeped in Oglala Sioux history, the history of the American Indian Movement, or that of the Pine Ridge Reservation, may find the book lacking in details and specifics. If you already have an advanced degree in Native American Studies, this book probably is not for you. However, as somebody who has always wondered what goes on farther down those dirt roads than I have ever had the chance to travel, I found this book illuminating. Ian Frazier mentions in the opening paragraphs that when people hear that he is writing about life on the reservation, typically they respond with a variation on how "bleak" it sounds. He goes on to say that "bleak" is a word not used by any of the Indians encountered in the writing of the book. Through reading the book, the reader comes to see that there is far more going on in the life of this community than the bleakness that makes it onto the CBS Evening News every few years, when some new tragedy unfolds.

Granted, Frazier at times wanders off topic. His digressions, nonetheless, reveal certain elements of his character, which added even more intrigue to the book. Not trying to represent himself as a disinterested observer and eschewing the stale objective phrasings of an academic, Frazier's character seems to show through like some sort of mellowed out Hunter S. Thompson (Gonzo journalist after a stint in AA, perhaps). His telling of his conflicted relationship with Le War Lance: topic for his book, fitful friend, charity-case/lout-in-need-of-beer-money, brother. The book is part history lesson, part personal memoir, sometime adventure story, at times sweetly saccharin, at times hinting towards an ironic humor that may be more essential than fully revealed. Ultimately, it is readable and it has instilled in me a desire to learn more about American Indian history and modern Indian affairs.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this book, I think because I have a significantly different philosophy than the author. The story is an autobiography of sorts, about a man who really, really wishes he were born an Indian (Native American), so he spends a lot of time visiting a reservation and "making friends" with the inhabitants, who basically use him for money and car rides... Which he acknowledges but still seems to really enjoy, kind of like the little kid who always gets made fun of but still wants to hang out with the big kids. The feelings that I was left with after reading this book: listless and depressed.

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is an interesting book, though as others have said, the last third is by far the best. Frazier, a white travel writer, befriends an Oglala Sioux man named Le from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, and writes about his time hanging out with Le and his friends and family. He also writes more broadly about Native Americans today and about the last few centuries of history. The last third of the book is a biography of a basketball star named SuAnne Big Crow who was an inspiration for many before her tragic death as a teenager.

The content is interesting and Frazier’s writing is fine, but I do think he could have done more with the first two-thirds of the book. These chapters are often pretty diffuse, and he goes off on some weird tangents, like trying to hunt down every historically Native American bar in the country and chronicle their bar fights. Some of the broader information he provides is interesting, including some firsthand accounts of the American Indian Movement. But the first two-thirds was a bit of a drag overall.

I also wondered about the quality of Frazier’s information. At one point, in a brief discussion of eastern tribes, he mentions “the Lumbee of North Carolina, a tribe which has lived for a hundred years in the mountains around Lumberton unrecognized by anyone but themselves.” It’s cool that he mentioned the Lumbee, a group few Americans have heard of although they’re apparently the largest tribe east of the Mississippi, but basically everything in that sentence is wrong. Lumberton is nowhere near mountains – it’s in the flat coastal plain of eastern North Carolina – the Lumbee have been around for a lot longer than a hundred years, and the tribe gained state recognition in the 19th century, and a weird mostly-useless federal acknowledgment in 1956. (You can read more here or here). As always, when an author messes up the things you know, you have to wonder at the accuracy of the things you don’t.

All that said, SuAnne Big Crow’s story is really fantastic, and it’s worth reading the book for that part alone. Frazier is on much surer footing here with a narrative to follow and many people who knew SuAnne to contribute their memories, and I wish he’d spent more of the book on this type of writing and less on hanging out with Le.

At any rate, interesting book, and the author seems to be respectful and to view Native Americans as actual people rather than embodiments of stereotype, whether good or bad. He could have allocated his page count better, but it’s worth a read for those who are interested in the topic.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It gives me insight into a culture which is unlike yet intertwined with my own. Growing up white in western South Dakota generally meant ignoring the fact that the poorest county in the nation is an hour and a half from my home. Ian Frazier comes into the Pine Ridge reservation as a friend to one man, and he gets to know people and tells their amazing stories.

I think my favorite thing about this book is Frazier's tone. So frequently when you hear about the Lakota peoples the stories have such an attitude of "Oh, this is sad. Isn't it sad? These poor people. Makes you grateful for what you've got." Frazier doesn't take on that condescending pity, instead focusing on the spots of light. He finds the good and helps you see how radiantly, powerfully good it really is. Let me know if you want to borrow my copy. Really.

[Aquavit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frazier again knocks it out of the park with this book, a very honest and not editorialized/moralized tale of historic and modern life on (primarily) the Pine Ridge reservation of the Oglala Sioux. I thought the story was refreshingly told, with lots of interviews and historical documents but none of the insipid kinds of commentary that usually follow. The state of affairs here is the result of complicated interactions of history, temperament and greed with blame falling to all parties involved, and he seems to really tease that out in his writing. Most inspirational of all, is the tale of SuAnne Crow, a brilliant athlete from Pine Ridge who lost her life in a car accident, and her lasting legacy there.

Great book.

[Chana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, I was very moved by it especially SuAnne's story. I read the part about her shawl dance on the basketball court in Lead and it was so powerful I read it to my husband and cried.
On the other side of things, I've been to a pow wow and found out I wouldn't go again as I didn’t feel like I belonged. It was like going to a large family party that you had a vague invitation to but no one knows you and you aren’t part of the family so you wander around awkwardly and there was no person like Germaine to hug me and rub his forehead on mine. No one was mean you understand and you are welcome to watch. Like many non native Americans I feel a curiosity about and an inexplicable affinity and yearning towards Native Americans and I think I read that many people doing DNA testing are looking for like a great great Native American ancestor. Most of them are disappointed. I was glad to Walk with Ian Frazier through his trips to Pine Ridge. My husband and I drove through South Dakota last summer. To me it was beautiful. Another point in the book is the relationship between the author and his Native American friend Le. I didn't care that Le kept asking for money, that was between Ian and Le. If anything it was kind of petty of Ian to keep mentioning it to us. I enjoyed the good things he said about people and how he made the life of people on the reservation come alive for us.

[J.D. Steens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frazier spends time on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His attachment to the Indians there is clear. This includes his relationship with one of his central characters, “Le,” who is frustratingly illusive. Le always has a story, yet he is capable of connecting when he wants. Frazier’s account of SuAnne Big Crow’s life, a bigger-than-life basketball star, was mesmerizing.

Frazier weaves the history of Indians in American throughout his book. Here too his affinity for Indians is clear. “In colonial times,” he writes, “Indians were known for their disregard of titles and for a deep egalitarianism that made them not necessarily defer even to the leading men of their tribes.” This trait, he argues, was picked up by Americans and, in time, “the American character had become thoroughly Indian in its outspokenness and all-around skepticism on the subject of who was and was not great.”* Frazier also tells us about the role of heroism in Indian life and contrasts it with its relative absence in modern America where “Most everybody wants to be rich, millions want to be famous, but no one today wants to be mistaken for a hero.” Frazier calls this “profoundly un-Indian,” adding that, among the Indians, “Young men dreamed of setting off from camp alone and on food, and of returning days or weeks later on a fine mount with eight other ponies captured from the Snakes.”

“If the Iroquois hadn’t resisted the French in the 1600s,” Frazier states, “the Northeast would be speaking French today; if the Comanche hadn’t opposed the Spanish, the American Southwest would now be Mexico.” Frazier says that most Indians live west of the Mississippi River (the “Indian Territory” was Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska), and more than half of the Indians in the U.S. “live within a 300-mile radius of Albuquerque, N.M.” The Navajo Reservation covers “an expanse bigger than New England” and the tribal radio station “does live coverage in Navajo of [the] Phoenix Suns.”

Of course, there are the stories of white injustice (e.g., Robert Moses and the Tuscarora Reservation; the Cherokee trail of tears; the taking of the Black Hills from the Sioux). Frasier uses SuAnne’s life as an example of America’s “leap of the imagination” of what a “good country” should be. He mentions our ideals of “freedom, equality, justice and the pursuit of happiness” though, ironically (given Frazier’s reference to SuAnne), these did not extend easily or at all to the Indians or slaves.

Frazier mentions the negative reaction the Indians at Pine Ridge had to an NBC story of the impoverished state of the Reservation. Yet, reading Frazier’s story, it’s hard not to see it any other way. Indians there seem to be living in two cultures. There’s the pre-white man past and there’s their life today, surrounded by a dominant white culture. Frazier’s book is about a third culture, one that lies in between, trying to find its way.

*Robert Pirsig makes a similar point in his book, “Lila,” and spends some time elaborating on this.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just spit it out, Man! What is it that you are trying to tell me? What kind of book is this? Argh!!

I usually get through books quickly, I can't help it, I'm a compulsive reader. This book was challenging for me to finally finish. Frazier does a terrible job with a fascinating subject and I find that almost unforgivable. The idea of a memoir laced with history and research sounds fantastic, unfortunately the result leaves a lot to be desired.

Frazier really, really needed to figure out where he was going with this book BEFORE he started writing it. If you want to write a memoir go for it (although I loathe him and I would have bailed on one); if you want to write a history/present account please do so (the topic would have been great, but his style is boring as shit). Did I mention that this book just didn't work???

And really, what is it with white people wanting to be Native American? Seriously, its a fetish that is absolutely out of control and fueled (I would guess) by unwillingness to confront racism and white guilt. Because its not just a "wow, this culture is interesting, let me learn more" kind of obsession. Its a "I desperately want to be you and let me immerse myself in the parts of your culture that make me feel interesting" type of obsession. Its reprehensible and repugnant and reading about his fanboy hero worship just made me feel fucking dirty. And yes, I feel that I can justify my opinion here. Frazier spends so much time talking about his friends, but from what he describes its not any kind of healthy relationship. They stop by drunk, they ask for money, they disrupt his relationship with his family. He's always bailing them out of trouble and they don't seem to want anything to do with him unless he's doing something for them. The relationships he has in this book just make everyone involved look bad.

You know what I would have preferred? (I mean other than literally anything else) A book about the Lakota written BY a member of the tribe. Or just a memoir of experiences/relationships on the reservation.

The actual information about the Lakota is interesting. There is a lot of history, particularly more recent history which I found interesting. I didn't have a lot of knowledge on the subject and now feel that I am at least a novice. The small dose of politics we are treated to is also illuminating and would prove for a fascinating read on its own.

I've read a number of books on race relations, racial tensions and integration in America. Every single other book I have read has been better than this one. A combination of hating the author and poor structure ruined what could have been a good read. I'm disappointed and will not be reading anything else by Frazier.

[Braden Canfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been out to Pine Ridge Reservation many times. Saw much of what this book describes first hand.. even met a character or two that get mention herein. Loved the book and have a deep love for the place. The people there carry and live with such a grand mixture of devastation and tragedy on the one hand, bravery and perseverance on the other. I truly believe that the ethnic cleansing that occurred as part of the darker history of our country's birth is not only our greatest shame but stands to be our greatest loss if we do not find a way to embrace the culture and wisdom of those peoples who have successfully lived on this land for centuries longer than the current regime. Good book.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe so many people rated this book 4-5 stars. Some people, I noticed, read it for a class. I can see how they might rate it higher when they're viewing it as a textbook; as a textbook, I admit it's better than most I've had to read. But for pleasure reading, I wouldn't recommend it. Although, I did pull one quote from it that I will chew on later.

The critics applaud Frazier's "keen eye for detail", but I would categorize it as more of a nauseatingly overdone & boring eye for detail. I mean, really, I don't need to know what everyone was wearing in every scene.

I'll admit I read this book after One Thousand White Women and Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and there's enough information or ideas that link back to what I read in those two novels to make it somewhat interesting. And I do think it's a good concept to weave in your own current experiences with what you're learning about the past. But it was too much, Frazier!

The book dragged on for me, and I just wanted to finish it by the end. And I'm glad I did because he writes about SuAnne Big Crow toward the very end of the book. In fact, on pg. 199 of a 280-page books he writes: Reader, books are long (tell me about it, Frazier!), and I know that even the faithful reader tires. But I hope a few of you (yep, probably just a few) are still with me here. As much as I have wanted to tell anything, I want to tell you about SuAnne." (Spit it out already, man!) I wish more of the book had been about her. She was a fascinating person, and I'd read more about her any day.

Frazier on the other hand, I'm sorry to say I turned down one of your books at Half-Price...on clearance for a buck. Sorry, dude.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Sue Anne Big Crow. You can't be from South Dakota and not know that name. Whether you are white, brown, black, green or purple, South Dakotans know Sue Anne Big Crow. She is an iconic myth that I bet if I was back home now, young people would probably wonder if she really even existed. She was an Oglala Sioux from the Pine Ridge Reservation. She came from a huge family. She was Basketball Royalty, tragically died in a car wreck in 1992. For those who knew her, thier grief is still real today as it was back then. I never met her. I only knew of her legend. I know some of her sisters, brothers and cousins, and I have never heard nothing but sadness when wishing, "not her!"
The Rez is a good look at what it's like on the rez. Frazier researches Pine Ridge. I'm from next door, on the Rosebud Reservation. It was extremely accurate for it's time. Some things have changed since and some have not. Some things never change.

Pretty accurate account of White Clay...not sure if Frazier mentions the sign and not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a billboard sign, leaving Ridge that had a picture of an Indian skull and underneath the picture was the words "Death's Ahead".....wow...how would you like to drive down that 2 mile stretch of road with a warning sign like that????

I also really like how Frazier knows his place with his Ridger friends. They use him for a ride or for money and he enjoys hanging around them to see what makes them tick. The fact that Frazier knows how things work around there makes him a likeable author.

This is a good read!

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried with "On the Rez". After hearing conflicting opinions from other readers, I forged ahead and gave it almost 150 pages--but I can take no more!

The book contains some interesting information and anecdotes, but it runs all over the place. Frazier doesn't seem to have a clear purpose for what he's writing about. The stories almost seem better suited to magazine pieces (which may be what he originally intended?).

One thing that bothered me greatly was Frazier's stating that while many Americans view the present day American Indian's circumstances as "bleak", and none of the Indians he knows ever use that word when talking about their lives, he then appears to present *only* bleak circumstances as he describes the people with which he interacts. If you are trying to present a balanced view of modern Indian life, then why write only about the negative?

Finally, I was puzzled as to Frazier's friendships with Floyd John and Le War Lance. I couldn't decide if they actually enjoyed Frazier's company or if he was just the equivalent of a buzzing gnat, constantly circling their heads and giving them money and beer so they would supply fodder for his book.

I wouldn't say it was a terrible book; it just didn't hold my interest. Unfortunately, I never made it to the story of SuAnne Big Crow, which was probably the best part of the book. It did however inspire me to research her through other sources.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an enormously powerful account of the history of the Oglala Sioux and their current lives on the reservation at Pine Ridge. Mr. Frazier juxtaposes the 'evil ("mistakenly called bleakness by others") with the promises, hope and brightness of youth.

Ultimately, this is the inspirational story of SueAnn Crow, a promising student athlete with a wonderful life before her. It appears that success in this culture is not received well. Standing out as 'better' is inappropriate and SueAnn's gifts only increased community discord and eroded her joy.

Mr. Frazier examines the demographics and sociology of 'The Rez' and the barren, evil town of White Clay - a haven for purchasing booze. The Sioux buy booze in White Clay and drink, then drive their cars on a lonely stretch of road back to Pine Ridge. On the way, many crash and die.

There is always some hope to be found on this reservation but Mr. Frazier emphasizes that the poverty, jealousy and barrenness of 'The Rez' make hope the rarest of all commodities.

This is an amazing book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American Indian culture and current conditions.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual book--non-fiction, but not a documentary-type at all. It is more like a stream-of conscious recounting of the author's complicated relationships with Indian individuals, the Pine Ridge Reservation in S. Dakota, and the concept of "indian-ness" (my word.) He does not give easy answers, but describes in detail the life and look of the reservation. He becomes friends with Le, a remarkable Oglala Sioux indian. It's hard to know why the two feel like brothers--it seems like the author does all the giving and Le certainly does a lot of taking. He also brags a lot and tells a lot of tales--some of which turn out to be factual. However, the author is no saint either, and admits to unkindess and grudging generosity at times. But the two seem to understand and forgive each other.
I recommend this book. The second half of the book is the best part, when he gets past generalities and gets into specific happenings. His recounting of the life of one young girl who is truly a hero is worth reading the book for.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't learn all that much about reservation life. It felt more like a white man's journey through a reservation. Very little was devoted to learning about the daily life of the native Americans who lived on this land and what life was like for them on a raw, emotional, and daily level. It was all very glossed over for Ian Frazier's observations. That being said, I still enjoyed it as the writing was compelling. I just wish it had gone deeper into the world of the reservation rather than Ian's experience as an outsider looking in for a project of his own.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frazier has the social sensibilities of a skilled archeologist paying sharp attention to dialect, landscapes, sounds, and political nuances, and artfully describing them in clear, concise and easy to understand language.

Having grown up in Lakota territory, his words resonate the truth of what I know first-hand.

This is not only a book about the Lakota (aka Sioux), it is a book about American society and who we have become.

[Markus · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a hard time seeing how Ian Frazier is not a white person trying to appropriate an Indian culture. I tried to keep an open mind, but I think he ignores the warning signs, and choses to make a buck for his book.

[Elsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this after visiting Pine Ridge myself -- and found it rather indulgent of the author. Frankly, I hoped for more.

[Disco Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Great Plains after visiting St. Louis and learning that the prairie grasses there were originally more than six feet high, and I wanted to learn more. I had really enjoyed Frazier's Travels in Siberia, and I heard good things about this book. Great Plains is very well reported and packed with interesting info. But there's no drive to the narrative. If you liked the Reporter at Large features in old issues of The New Yorker, you'll love this book. Frazier used to be a staff writer at The New Yorker.

Turns out the plains around St. Louis are/were the Central Plains, the grasses on the Great Plains were short, as I originally thought.

The part of Great Plains that sparked for me was meeting Le War Lance, a Sioux Indian Frazier met on the streets of New York. Frazier himself got a big spark out of meeting Le, because Le is the main character in On the Rez. The book is based on Frazier's visits to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where he spends most of his time driving around with Le. The first chapter of the book really grabbed me. It was exceptional. Then it fell into the same groove with Great Plains.

Maybe the problem is on my end. Why do I have to read paragraphs dense with facts twice to get them?

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn’t what I was expecting, as I was informed it was a memoir. It didn’t fit neatly into that category, as the author set out to investigate the subject, making it more of a non-fiction book describing present day on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the current life of reservation American Indians. I was expecting an uplifting memoir, but I’m afraid it gave a rather bleak picture. I must say, however, that the writing at times was so beautiful that I was jealous of the writer’s talent, and although I had hoped for a brighter and entertaining experience, I did see the reservation through the eyes of someone who experienced it and described it with his honest observations and opinions. This was something I wanted to know, but just hoped it could have been other than how reservation life is generally described. 4 stars based on depth of research and writing that brought clear images to the reader.

[Jessica Forsthoefel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed reading this book and the adventures of Le and the author. The author did an excellent job setting the scene of Pine Ridge, enough so that now I’m intrigued to visit. It’s heartbreaking to read about the conditions of the reservation, the injustice treatment, alcoholism and stolen land. Heartbreaking and important to be aware of.
I also enjoyed reading and learning about SuAnne Big Crow. After finishing the book, it’s hard not to wonder where Le is today or how his life has looked since that winter night?

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense amount of history and info, helpfully cut by in person interactions with people in the present day. I loved the stories about SuAnne. It's not at all a tourist book, but it does make you want to see the landscape of the Dakotas.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was, at times, difficult to get through. Frazier pulls no punches when he describes the state of the reservations in South Dakota, the plight of the people living there, and the situations they find themselves in. At times Frazier is a friend, at others a judgmental outsider, and others an enabler. He sees the Oglala people are in trouble and in need, and he isn't sure how to help them. The book is part history lesson, part personal account, and part dedication to the amazing life of SuAnne Big Crow.
Some may not care for Frazier's brazenness, his casual demeanor with the native people, or his desire to be one of them. For my part, as the reader, I appreciated the window that he provided into this world that most of us know very little about. I did not know that most suffer from alcoholism and depression and cannot find a way out of it, or there are very few jobs to be had and most survive on a government income. The land they live on isn't good for much and they spend most of their time driving from place to place, since they all live rather far away from each other. It's unclear what can be done, other than shine a light on what is happening on these reservations instead of sweeping it under the rug. I appreciated the revealing nature of this book, and will search out more on the topic in the future.

[Michael Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book and while I am leery of one culture imbedding with another culture and then writing about it, I believe Frazier wrote an insightful, thoughtful and balanced account of the unique challenges and also successes on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A lot of great history here, especially the backstory of Sue Ann Big Crow -- a story I sort of knew, but not fully. This book is now 20 plus years old but I think the takeaways are still relevant today.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a beautiful book. Not perfect, but it seems wondefully true to what the author thinks, experienced, and learned, and to what he couldn't resolve.

"The real issue is that Indians' relationship to this country is still that of the colonized, so that when non-Indians write about us, it's colonial literature. And unless it's seen that way, there's a problem.What really bothered me about Ian Frazier's book is how everybody kept talking about it as some sort of special work, and it's not. It's a really ordinary book. There are flagrant inaccuracies. The galley had at least fifty historical errors. And I really had a problem with the point of view. What happens is that anybody can write these kinds of books about Indians, but the same does not hold true with any other group. Indians have so little political power."http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/...

I understand that Sherman Alexie would be rightly offended by a lot of details and attitudes that don't strike me (http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/...). He has a point that such a book might not be lauded if about any other group rather than Indians. Whether there are any books by white people moving into a black or latino ghetto, or an English-ancestry yuppie moving into a bad white neigborhood on the south side of Boston, or a straight man living in a gay-dominated neighborhood, I don't know. Then again, no other entities in the U.S. make up separate nations.

That said, my biggest disagreement with Alexie is how I perceived this book - and that reflects who I am (an outsider, a white person). At no point while reading did I take the primary tone of the author as being that of a white person trying to explain the Indian (Ogalla) world to outsiders. I took it as a white person trying to understand and make sense of his relationship and his identification with this tribe. Frazier lays on the line without defense where he is coming from - I have a fascination with this group to which I do not belong, and I want to explore the meaning and strength and very fundamental hard limits to the extent of this identity. And that is honest and imperfect. And it is inherently a non-Indian perspective. I can't really argue with Alexie's opinions about whether that perspective should be offered and praised so highly in the first place. But I can identify strongly with that perspective. It's the reality of being in a group that has the luxury of being a cultural consumer in the U.S., rather than a heavily victimized (and nearly exterminated group). But if reading a book about Crazy Horse leads me to things like feeling a greater sense of responsiblity for drunk homeless people in Rapid City SD - and then to other places I live by logical extension - then I think that's a good thing even if Crazy Horse would have killed me without a thought had he seen me along Rapid Creek back in the 1860s'.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the Rez was on a recommended reading list in Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content-Area Reading. When I was at the Euless Public Library, it was one of the few titles I remembered on my to-be-read list. I had put it on the list because the description of the book said that the approach to talking about Indians was different. It neither patronized or aggrandized Native Americans and their cultures.

I vaguely remember one of my literature professors telling us that there are two storytelling techniques. As Americans we're trained in linear storytelling. It shows up in our five-paragraph essays. In the introductory paragraph, we explain what we're going to write about. In the three detail paragraphs, we provide details and examples to support what we just said. In the concluding paragraph, we describe what we just said and reinforce our claim or thesis statement. We really hammer in the lesson.

In other traditions of storytelling, the storyteller dances around the thesis/main idea/moral of the story. The storyteller tells a story which exemplifies the moral of the story; the reader/listener is expected to find the moral on his/her own. The storyteller doesn't *tell* the moral of the story; each listener/reader is expected to find the moral, or point of the story, for himself/herself. Each person is expected to apply the story to himself/herself and figure it out.

I was also told that the circular style of storytelling would be found more often in cultures with strong storytelling traditions: Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans, for example.

The authorIan Frazier, wrote On the Rez in the circular style, which can be quite intimidating/confusing to those of us used to linear writing. Ian Frazier is simply describing his experiences on the reservation. While he admires the Oglalas and their culture, he is realistic about them, too. He renders them human with all the human qualities we'd find in any of our friends and family. They aren't stereotypes.

And that's what makes this book good. It's not about the pathos of the broken spirit of the Native American. Nor is it about the stoicism of the proud Native American, standing against the modern American culture. These are people who live their lives, holding on to their culture, as best they can. There are triumphs and their are losses. They continue.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to take a step back and really think about American culture. Are we a melting pot, a stew, a gumbo? If so, how do we meld with Native American culture? This is definitely a thinker of a book.

[Stop]

Read the STOP SMILING interview with author Ian Frazier

Of No Fixed Accord
By Nathan Kosub

(This interview originally appeared in STOP SMILING The Documentary Issue)

Ian Frazier is a staff writer at the New Yorker, where he began his career over 30 years ago. In April 2005, he revisited the legacies of Baghdad's historical invaders. ?It seems that so much of the foolish and horrible things that people do come from being adrift in the world,? Frazier told me. Against that, a book is ?an efficient way to record something? ? to situate a person or an era. Frazier's non-fiction includes chronicles of family, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the Great Plains. He lives in New Jersey, and is currently at work on a book about Siberia.

Stop Smiling: There's an article in your recent collection about walking in New York in a place where a violent crime occurred. Over time, the memorials and the record of what happened there become less and less. Does it seem that that happens all too quickly? That it's forgotten and becomes just a place again? Or is that a necessary reaction?

Ian Frazier: You end up with so much ? the weight of the past is so huge ? that sometimes you want to forget it. America was founded on that ? the idea that, well, we're not going to worry about the stuff that happened before we got here. A lot of the country is a place where, especially out West, you're beginning anew. Nobody cares who you were in Philadelphia. You're in Wyoming now, and whoever you are is who you're going to be. Not who you were before.

There's a parallel phenomenon that I noticed when I was doing the book about my family. The people who know their ancestry usually have children who want to marry somebody who doesn't know his or her ancestry. You get so fed up that you want to marry someone who says, ?Yeah, I know who my grandfather was, but before that, I don't.?

That, I think, is a natural phenomenon that naturally limits the amount of information that you have. If both sides of your family save everything and know everything, as a kid you get that and you're buried under it. Physically. It's such a huge amount of stuff. The amount of stuff that physically I took from my parents' apartment when they died is a lot. If you imagine that piling up over generations, pretty soon someone's going to have a house that's full of nothing but handwritten genealogies.

Read the rest of the interview...

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see that, in some ways, this book may seem like it hasn't aged so well, having been mostly researched and written in the 1990s and published in 2000. Nowadays we have so much information online, we have a (somewhat) more diverse publishing industry willing to feature indigenous North American writers. But I do think that current readers should try to take into account Frazier's real admiration and love for Pine Ridge, Leonard Walks Out, and many of the others he encounters on his visits there. This book pairs nicely with the recent 2022 documentary "Lakota Nation vs. the United States" in capturing the continued struggle for reparations and reinstatement of the land to its rightful occupants.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most compelling aspect of this book, for me, was the way the author inserted himself into the narrative. Sometimes when I am reading non-fiction, that kind of subjectivity bothers me, but in this case, I think the book wouldn't have been a success without it.

Frazier's connection to, and his quasi-obsession with, the Oglala Sioux, is recounted in this memoir-esque book. He builds the story off of his on-again/off-again friendship with Le, who lives in Pine Ridge on the Sioux reservation. The story is tragic at points, and Frazier does build in plenty of historical fact to support his own personal views on why the Oglala Sioux, and Native Americans at large, continue to be shrouded in poverty and woe. His own perspective, in this case, serves as a foil of sorts to the lives of the people he is documenting, and he never shies away from his whiteness, or his own more priveleged life in Montana and New York. By the end, I was captivated and angered - captivated by the spirit of the Sioux people, and angered by the endemic poverty they are saddled with.