Raw Deal - The Indians of the Midwest and the Theft of Native Lands

by Robert Downes

Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2024

About the author

Author and world traveler Robert (Bob) Downes has been inspiring readers to pursue their dreams of travel and adventure for more than three decades.
    A resident of Traverse City, Michigan, Downes, 66, is the author of three nonfiction books: "Planet Backpacker" (2008)," Biking Northern Michigan" (2014), and “I Promised You Adventure“ (2018). His historical novel, "Windigo Moon," was published by Blank Slate Press in 2017. His thriller, “Bicycle Hobo” was published in 2018 by The Wandering Press.
   A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Downes earned a B.A. in journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1976. Thereafter, he worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in metro Detroit, with a stint in hospital public relations in the 1980s.
   In 1991, Downes and his best friend, George Foster, launched the alternative newsweekly, "Northern Express Weekly" in Traverse City. 
Although the first rough issues were created in his kitchen on a primitive 30-meg Mac Plus computer, the publication was an instant hit with readers and went on to become northern Michigan's largest weekly newspaper with a readership of more than 75,000 covering a radius of more than 150 miles of the region.
   Downes served as editor and co-publisher of the newsweekly for 22 years until its sale in December, 2013. Under his leadership, the publication earned numerous Michigan Press Association awards, including the highest honor for "General Excellence."
  Concurrently, Downes indulged his passion for world travel, mostly as a backpacker and cyclist, using local transportation, hostels, campsites and guest houses. He has visited more than 70 countries with destinations ranging from the supercities of the Third World to the heart of the American wilderness. In 2011, he and his wife, Jeannette Wildman, spent seven months backpacking around the world, resulting in their memoir, “I Promised You Adventure.”
   A former Ironman triathlete, Downes is also an ardent cyclist and his guidebook, "Biking Northern Michigan," is a regional best seller. Downes has cycled in Australia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Peru, England, Ireland and across continental Europe in addition to routes around the U.S. In the summer of 2016, he cycled more than 2,700 miles over the Rockies and across the Great Plains from Seattle to his home in Michigan.
   In September, 2014, he was awarded first place in an international writing contest for the Grand Rapids ArtPrize, sponsored by the Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters and the Cascade Writers Group. His winning entry, "The Raid," is from his historical novel about the Ojibwe Indians, "Windigo Moon." The novel won two other literary awards: “Best Regional Fiction” from Independent Publisher and an Honorable Mention for Best Fiction from Foreword Reviews.
Downes is currently working on a prequel: "He Who Outruns the Wolves," about the clash between Native Americans and Spanish conquistadors.
   He and his wife Jeannette have two adult children and seven grandchildren. The couple make their winter home in Mexico and the American Southwest.

Reviews

[David W. Kasich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible story of the tragedy of how we treated native Americans and their resilience!!

[James Pecott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author presents a lot of information in this book. Because of his journalistic background he knows how to tell the story in a style that is easily read.