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An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents over Three Centuries
Colonialism has failed at the only thing it set out to do: eliminate the Native. The history of colonialism is as much a story of its own failure as it is a story of colonial violence and Native dispossession. Few histories of colonialism, however, explore the story of colonialism's failure.
An Enemy Such as This offers a new history of colonialism through the story of the Casuse family, a Navajo family whose members lived and died in a world remade by colonial conquest and Native resistance to that conquest. The remarkable stories of Larry Casuse and his parents, Lillian Hutzler and Louis Casuse, offer a clear view of the world-making power of colonial violence; the ongoing, everyday, world-destroying nature of settler colonialism in the lives of Native people; and the committed, principled stand that so many, including Larry Casuse, took in struggling against colonialism.
From the genocidal Mexican war against the Apaches in the 19th century, through the collapse of European empires in the first half of 20th century, and culminating in the efforts of young Navajo activists and organizers in the second half of the 20th century to confront settler colonialism in New Mexico, the book offers a resolutely Native-focused history of colonialism.
Just weeks before police would kill him in Gallup, New Mexico, in March of 1973, Larry Casuse wrote that "never before have we faced an enemy such as this." An Enemy Such as This, for the first time, tells the history of that colonial enemy through the simultaneously epic and intimate story of Larry Casuse and those, like him, who fought against it.
An Enemy Such as This offers a new history of colonialism through the story of the Casuse family, a Navajo family whose members lived and died in a world remade by colonial conquest and Native resistance to that conquest. The remarkable stories of Larry Casuse and his parents, Lillian Hutzler and Louis Casuse, offer a clear view of the world-making power of colonial violence; the ongoing, everyday, world-destroying nature of settler colonialism in the lives of Native people; and the committed, principled stand that so many, including Larry Casuse, took in struggling against colonialism.
From the genocidal Mexican war against the Apaches in the 19th century, through the collapse of European empires in the first half of 20th century, and culminating in the efforts of young Navajo activists and organizers in the second half of the 20th century to confront settler colonialism in New Mexico, the book offers a resolutely Native-focused history of colonialism.
Just weeks before police would kill him in Gallup, New Mexico, in March of 1973, Larry Casuse wrote that "never before have we faced an enemy such as this." An Enemy Such as This, for the first time, tells the history of that colonial enemy through the simultaneously epic and intimate story of Larry Casuse and those, like him, who fought against it.
200 pages, Paperback
Published April 26, 2022
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About the author
David Correia
12 books21 followersDavid Correia is the author of six books, including Properties of Violence: Law and Land Grant Studies in Northern New Mexico; An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents over Three Centuries; and Set the Earth on Fire: The Great Anthracite Strike of 1902 and the Birth of the Police. He is a professor in the department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 6, 2022
I was intrigued to read this story of a family I had frankly never heard of. Naturally, Indigenous stories are seldom told. The work is amazingly researched and presented with honor. I had to slog through a couple sections which required many dates and proper names, but I appreciate their inclusion in the whole narrative.
The most astounding things I learned from this book outside of Larry's family's history are threefold: that scalping was essentially a colonial invention -- they performed it as a huge economy and they created the false stereotype that Indians did it -- the set-up of alcoholism-by-design on reservations; and the egregious operations of the trading posts Indians rely on, both with well-plotted, abusive credit saturation and with pawn hostaging.
I am glad this interconnected story is being told, and I am grateful to those working to better the lives of Indigenous communities, individually and systemically. Thank you Correia for doing your part.
The most astounding things I learned from this book outside of Larry's family's history are threefold: that scalping was essentially a colonial invention -- they performed it as a huge economy and they created the false stereotype that Indians did it -- the set-up of alcoholism-by-design on reservations; and the egregious operations of the trading posts Indians rely on, both with well-plotted, abusive credit saturation and with pawn hostaging.
I am glad this interconnected story is being told, and I am grateful to those working to better the lives of Indigenous communities, individually and systemically. Thank you Correia for doing your part.
April 30, 2022
The author researched extensively for this book. It is harsh to read in that his attention to detail makes the reader (white) actually learn about the treatment of the Indigenous people. I have read a lot in this area, but the background knowledge gave me a completely different viewpoint of history. Why is this not included in curriculum for schools?
The author does stray from the main thrust of the book from time to time. He inserts (at times unnecessary) yet compelling side information. In all though, it certainly opens the eyes of the reader.
Thank you to Haymarket Books for the complimentary copy.
The author does stray from the main thrust of the book from time to time. He inserts (at times unnecessary) yet compelling side information. In all though, it certainly opens the eyes of the reader.
Thank you to Haymarket Books for the complimentary copy.
July 19, 2022
This book wasn't organized well, and for someone not familiar with Larry Casuse going in, it was often hard to find the actual point and how it related to him and his actual story.
There are some interesting tidbits, but there it also feels like you're reading a highly biased story in a few places rather than an accurate one. There's lots to ponder, and it left me wanting to fact check a lot of things.
I didn't like that it felt like a history text book rather than someone's story I could get sucked into.
There are some interesting tidbits, but there it also feels like you're reading a highly biased story in a few places rather than an accurate one. There's lots to ponder, and it left me wanting to fact check a lot of things.
I didn't like that it felt like a history text book rather than someone's story I could get sucked into.
May 30, 2022
An essential read and a magnificent contribution to the literature of understanding the true brutality of the colonial occupation of the Americas. It is a story of survival and resistance ... and outrage.
February 1, 2023
Getting there. Got bogged down with work.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews