The Inheritance: A Novel

by Christine Sleeter

If you inherit something, do you also inherit responsibility for its history, even if you have no awareness of that history? After tracing the house she inherited from her grandmother to the selling of land stolen from the Utes, Denise must decide whether to stand up for her family or her convictions. The Inheritance explores how someone who benefitted directly from the removal of an American Indian tribe from their lands comes to understand how that happened and what one can do about it. Denise wrestles with guilt on hearing about the impact of land theft directly from a Ute elder. How much responsibility does she bear for what happened long before she was born? As a fourth-grade teacher charge with teaching state history, how much can she change the prescribed curriculum in order to teach history from Indigenous viewpoints? As she gradually weighs various responses, Denise comes to terms with who she is in relationship to those around her.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2018

About the author

Christine E. Sleeter is a researcher, teacher, and writer who is best known for her work in critical multicultural education, and her insights into white people grappling with race. Author of about 20 academic books, she is also author of two novels. She holds the title of Professor Emerita in the College of Professional Studies at California State University Monterey Bay, where she was a founding faculty member. She is a sought-after speaker both in the U.S. and internationally. She has been honored with awards that include the American Educational Research Association Social Justice in Education Award, the Chapman University Paulo Freire Education Project Social Justice Award, the National Association for Multicultural Education Research Award, and membership in the National Academy of Education

Reviews

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. Amazing message. Would be great for book clubs - lots to discuss.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for the Read Harder Challenge, Task #23 A self-published book.