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My Name is Not Chief: The Life of an American Indian
Ben Blue is born prematurely on a kitchen table in Chicago in 1956. As the tiny HoChunk Indian takes his first breath, he has no idea of the challenges that await him in life. Ben grows up amid poverty in his grandparents' Wisconsin home where he learns how to fight, face bullies, and play football. As he is shuttled between his alcoholic mother's home and his grandparents', Ben must cling to hope that he can one day overcome the despair that has haunted the American Indians for generations. When Ben moves to California with his mother, his life spirals downward after he is introduced to drugs and alcohol. After his mother dies, Ben journeys through the darkness of addiction and poverty-until he commits to sobriety, causing his life to take a turn for the better. Even as Ben finds a job, earns a college degree, marries, and has children, he must battle the lures of his addiction. As his path leads him to explore his HoChunk identity and address stereotypical images of Indians, he proudly makes a declaration that changes everything. My Name is Not Chief shares the tale of an American Indian's struggles as he attempts to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and find his place in the world.
234 pages, Paperback
Published December 15, 2015
332 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 17, 2019
This memoir follows the life of Ben Blue, a Ho-Chunk man who shares his story of working to find stability, education, and lasting friendships. Even though it doesn’t begin as a book about local La Crosse history, it turns into one. After his complicated childhood in Los Angeles, where he was subject to abusive stepfathers and other oppressive systems working against him, Ben found himself moving back to his roots in Wisconsin. In La Crosse, Ben turns a new leaf. He rekindles his relationship with his mother’s family and begins the life-long journey of overcoming and healing from alcoholism.
Though Ben’s story could be argued as a common experience, it can be difficult to read and definitely triggering at times. However, My Name is Not Chief is an important snapshot of how historic and modern systemic racism works against Native and Indigenous folks in the U.S. Now a sociologist, Ben studies how stereotypical Native American imagery is harmful for the mental health of Indigenous folks. In this way, he and Koppelman brilliantly use this story to educate how our community and government can do better.
~Jenny, Archives Librarian
Though Ben’s story could be argued as a common experience, it can be difficult to read and definitely triggering at times. However, My Name is Not Chief is an important snapshot of how historic and modern systemic racism works against Native and Indigenous folks in the U.S. Now a sociologist, Ben studies how stereotypical Native American imagery is harmful for the mental health of Indigenous folks. In this way, he and Koppelman brilliantly use this story to educate how our community and government can do better.
~Jenny, Archives Librarian
August 17, 2016
I received this book as a free Goodreads giveaway.
Thoroughly disappointed in this book. One of the most important things about writing a memoir is that the author needs to have an engaging style as well as an engaging subject. Unfortunately, this book fell short on both accounts.
Let's start with the writing. As a person with (to my knowledge) not a drop of native blood in my veins, I had hoped for a book that was filled with cultural anecdotes, historical insight, some sort of explanation so I could get a better grasp on the differences between the different tribes that Ben Blue associated with over the course of the book. Not only were all these things absent, the entire book was so very one dimensional it was difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. The entire thing was written like this:
Ben went and did this...
While he was there, he drank a bunch...
Ben went and said this to that person...
Then Ben drank a bunch and did some drugs...
Then Ben went and did bad things...
Then Ben went and spent his last dollar on cigarettes and drugs...
Then Ben went and did this...
Seriously. This book could have been so much more of it wasn't all about trying to chronicle almost every minute of the day. There was no feeling in the writing at all. There was nothing that made ANY of the writing stand out except to scream this is bad writing; this is someone who has no idea how to write a memoir that matters. In short, if there really is a memoir buried somewhere in this book, this author is most definitely not the person who should be writing it.
Even more sadly, the ONLY thing this book does is reinforce the stereotype that all natives drink to excess, take drugs, come from violent and broken homes, and have little to no desire to change any of it. I feel no sympathy for Ben. This book does not make me want to applaud him for getting to where he is today. All I am is sad for him because of his lack of remorse for all the terrible things he did in his life and his complete lack of consideration and empathy for anyone other than himself. This is NOT someone you write a book about.
Thoroughly disappointed in this book. One of the most important things about writing a memoir is that the author needs to have an engaging style as well as an engaging subject. Unfortunately, this book fell short on both accounts.
Let's start with the writing. As a person with (to my knowledge) not a drop of native blood in my veins, I had hoped for a book that was filled with cultural anecdotes, historical insight, some sort of explanation so I could get a better grasp on the differences between the different tribes that Ben Blue associated with over the course of the book. Not only were all these things absent, the entire book was so very one dimensional it was difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. The entire thing was written like this:
Ben went and did this...
While he was there, he drank a bunch...
Ben went and said this to that person...
Then Ben drank a bunch and did some drugs...
Then Ben went and did bad things...
Then Ben went and spent his last dollar on cigarettes and drugs...
Then Ben went and did this...
Seriously. This book could have been so much more of it wasn't all about trying to chronicle almost every minute of the day. There was no feeling in the writing at all. There was nothing that made ANY of the writing stand out except to scream this is bad writing; this is someone who has no idea how to write a memoir that matters. In short, if there really is a memoir buried somewhere in this book, this author is most definitely not the person who should be writing it.
Even more sadly, the ONLY thing this book does is reinforce the stereotype that all natives drink to excess, take drugs, come from violent and broken homes, and have little to no desire to change any of it. I feel no sympathy for Ben. This book does not make me want to applaud him for getting to where he is today. All I am is sad for him because of his lack of remorse for all the terrible things he did in his life and his complete lack of consideration and empathy for anyone other than himself. This is NOT someone you write a book about.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews