Last Standing Woman

by Winona LaDuke

Born at the turn of the 21st century, The Storyteller, also known as Ishkwegaabawiikwe (Last Standing Woman), carries her people’s past within her memories. The White Earth Anishinaabe people have lived on the same land since time immemorial. Among the towering white pines and rolling hills, each generation is born, lives out their lives, and is buried.

The arrival of European missionaries changes the community forever. Piece by piece, government policies rob the people of their land. Missionaries and Indian agents work to outlaw ceremonies the Anishinaabeg have practised for centuries. Grave-robbing anthropologists dig up ancestors and whisk them away to museums as artifacts. Logging operations destroy traditional sources of food, pushing the White Earth people to the brink of starvation.

Battling addiction, violence, and corruption, each member of White Earth must find their own path of resistance as they struggle to reclaim stewardship of their land, bring their ancestors home, and stay connected to their culture and to each other.

In this highly anticipated 25th anniversary edition of her debut novel, Winona LaDuke weaves a nonlinear narrative of struggle and triumph, resistance and resilience, spanning seven generations from the 1800s to the early 2000s.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Native American, Indigenous, Race, Feminism, Womens

348 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1981

About the author

Writing, farming, and working in her community for more than 40 years, Winona LaDuke is one of the world’s most tireless and charismatic leaders on issues related to climate change, Indigenous and human rights, green economies, grassroots organizing, and the restoration of local food systems. A two-time Green Party vice-presidential candidate, Winona has received numerous awards and accolades, including recognition on the Forbes' first “50 Over 50—Women of Impact” list in 2021.

Winona is the author of many acclaimed articles and books, including "Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming" and "To Be a Water Protector: Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers." A Harvard-educated economist, hemp farmer, grandmother, and member of the Mississippi Band Anishinaabeg, she lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.

Reviews

[ElphaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

(originally reviewed at elphareads.tumblr.com )

As many of you know, I have made it my mission this year to read more books from more diverse experiences and backgrounds. I think that it’s important to get multiple perspectives on the world we live in, and one way to do that is via reading. When I was looking for books written by and about American Indians, I found a title by former Vice Presidential Candidate Winona LaDuke (she ran with Nader back in the day). She also happens to live on the White Earth Reservation in the north part of my home state. The book I found was LAST STANDING WOMAN. So I threw it on the list, and eventually got it from the library. I knew that it was going to touch upon the darker histories of my home state, specifically how Minnesota has treated it’s indigenous people.

LAST STANDING WOMAN concerns several generations of Anishinaabe/Ojibwe people living on the White Earth Reservation. It follows from the eighteen hundreds during and after the U.S.-Dakota War, through the 20th Century, and into the 21st, tracing a familial line that starts with a woman named Last Standing Woman, and culminates with a reservation uprising. We follow many different people who either live on or have connections to the White Earth Reservation as the characters try to reclaim their heritage and culture while maintaining their dignity in a place that is a testament to how they have been treated by the United States government. Themes of assimilation, sexual abuse, addiction, and despair run through this novel, along with a hopeful look into the future as these characters fight for their land and their livelihood.

I really liked this book. While at first I had a hard time keeping up with the seemingly disjointed jumping through different time periods, once it all gelled and became clear that it was all leading up to the occupation, I was fully invested and all in. LaDuke’s writing has a loveliness to it, and her characters all have clear motivations and are well rounded. Seeing how the story fit together and all kind of made one big full circle was great to follow, and I found the look into the White Earth Reservation to be a very informative and important one. LaDuke is a well known activist, but her writing in this novel is never heavy handed or overdone. She has a deftness that made this book very enjoyable as well as, at times, very hard to read because of the ugliness and sadness that it confronts and brings to the forefront. As much as I love my home state, we need to own the ugliness our history has left behind, and LAST STANDING WOMAN makes the reader see it and confront it head on.

I definitely recommend this book for those who want to read more about American Indian reservation life. LaDuke has a real gift with her writing, and I think that more people need to experience it.

[Allicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I related to the main character and the events that unfolded throughout the storyline. It has become one of my favorite books. I was surprised when reading this to find that Winona LaDuke, in my opinion, is a very good fiction writer. She has mainly written non-fiction books on indigenous cultures and societal effects, that it was a nice change to see this side of her writing ability. I fully recommend this book!

[kiyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-deserved 4 ⭐️’s (it’s probably a 4.5??)

It took me awhile to get into this book - the first half is a lot of learning (Ojibwe words, names, piecing together the characters & how the storyline works.) I was simultaneously reading a book with Pakistani & Islamic references so my brain was all over the place learning new terms 😂

Once I understood how the book was piecing together the past and its cyclical nature into the future, I couldn’t put it down. As we learned about each character and how their descendants came to be, how they related to one another, I was hooked.

As I learn more about my heritage, my culture, my Tongan roots and what my people did to preserve their history, I could deeply relate to some of these characters. Christianity taking over their pagan traditions and sacred spirituality, how they not only colonized their lands, but slowly wiped out the culture of the natives is simply heartbreaking. There was some redemption in hearing their fight to retrieve their land and their ancestors - it’s baffling to read the perspective from some of these religious sects or even the political climate of the surrounding towns of White Earth. How blind belief and racism affected so many of the White Earth people.

What a wonderful read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in MN and think the world of Winona LaDuke. She has done such important work. I should have read this book years ago. The White Earth Reservation is necessary to our state and I had no idea about the history of the region - which turns out to be complicated and goes way back into the late 1800's. I also think this is a familiar story for many reservations in the country. It is technically a novel but based in fact. I had the honor of meeting her several times and read her updates online. This should be required reading for the region.

[Serafina Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Should be required reading in schools in Canada and the U.S. While reading this book I thought about how people develop empathy for others, and how valuable it is to read books with different perspectives from your own. I feel this book opens up the eyes of the reader to the reality of what happened to the Anishinaabe people in a way that's informative and kind. Powerful and true. Real.

[Rosemary Bodolay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read. The initial chapters trace histories that come back around in the second half of the book, which reads more conventionally as a narrative novel. Writing in both English and Anishinaabe Winona LaDuke makes clear that her ancestors and their culture/ her culture is alive and vibrant. As a person of white European lineage I have a lot to learn about where I call home.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

|| LAST STANDING WOMAN ||
#gifted @zgreads/ (@zgstories) @highwaterpress
✍🏻
Last Standing Woman by Winona Laduke, re-released 25th Anniversary Edition was an immersive read. If you're looking to add more books with Indigenous storytelling, strong female characters, generational story lines, and history woven together definitely add this to your TBR piles. This was such a moving story. LaDuke give us a wonderful character study and story of Anishinaabe peoples resilience, struggles, joys and culture.


For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wonderfully told story of White earth and its people from the 1800's to 2000 and beyond. Well done, informative and entertaining tale of the cycles of life, from near annihlation to rejuvenation. This is a great novel.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is both heart-breaking and beautiful, and it makes great use of the traditions of storytelling. Love that Winona.

[Melle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the Minnesota Anishinaabeg told through multiple perspectives over several generations -- thought-provoking local historical fiction.

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read about shared history and tradition as it passes through generations and their connection to themselves, their community and the land changes.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. A wonderful addition to anyone's library, especially if they are interested in American Indian Stories. Wonderful read.

[Grace Janssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Winona’s style of writing. She take you through the history of White Earth and shows how the past is still with us today.

[Trace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story about history, the persistence of memory and female bonds.

[Rory Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great blend of history, education about the Ashinaabe peoples, and reminders that nothing is new under the sun.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and powerful, if not the most aesthetically pleasing.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Wazhaskoons eyes still looked past the priest; it was disrespectful to look directly at an individual.
The priest froze. Why would Wazhaskoons not look at him; was he being contentious or rebellious?”
Last Standing Woman, Winona LaDuke, p. 52

Last Standing Woman, by Winona LaDuke, spans seven generations of the Anishinaabeg - from 1862 to 2018. It spans generations of Anishinaabeg trying to live their lives, and white people getting in their way. From treaties, to conflicts with settlers and raiding parties, missionaries and boarding schools, to loan sharks who steal land, and finally the generation who works for justice, to take back their traditional lands, homes, and the artifacts and ancestors that were taken to museums. It is one thing to read in history books about the effect of colonization on Native Americans, and it is quite another to watch in unfurl before your eyes, and to watch the effect colonization has on families and communities. To watch, for example, two young girls in a sanitarium, the older sister falling asleep and waking up to find her younger sister has died in her arms overnight. It is much easier to read in history books.

The book started out a little slow for me. The names were long, and the shifts between characters, as well as the steady march of time, made it hard for me to connect to the story at first. However, the last half of the book took on a more traditional Western narrative structure, following the occupation of White Earth reservation, and sticking to a few main characters that you got to know for more than a few pages at a time. But this is when the beginning of the book also pays off - because you know so much of their history, you understand the characters’ motivations more deeply.

While reading Last Standing Woman, I was also reading White Fragility, and the parallels between what Robin DiAngelo explains and the actions the white characters were taking in Last Standing Woman were both depressing and fascinating.

“There is a peculiar kind of hatred in the northwoods, a hatred born of living with with three generations of complicity in the theft of lives and land. What is worse is that each day, those who hold this position of privilege must come face to face with those whom they have dispossessed. To others who rightfully should share in the complicity and the guilt, Indians are far away and long ago. But in reservation border towns, Indians are ever-present.”
Last Standing Woman, Winona LaDuke. p 125

Honestly, it made me feel like a bit of an idiot that a book written in 1997 could clearly show the racism that a book published in 2018 has to lay out for us self-proclaimed well-meaning whites. It reinforced that so much of the “study” of racism is just white people opening our eyes to the oppression people of color have felt for generations. You don’t need to explain the nuances of racism to everyone.

“The idea of racial inferiority was created to justify unequal treatment; belief in racial inferiority is not what triggered unequal treatment. Nor was fear of difference. As Ta-Nehisi Coates states, “But race is the child of racism, not the father.” He means that first we exploited people for their resources, not according to how they looked. Exploitation came first, and then the ideology of unequal races to justify this exploitation followed.”
White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo

All this rambling is not to say that reading Last Standing Woman was the hard work of allyship or activism in some way. I genuinely enjoyed the experience, and will hold Winona LaDuke’s characters in my heart for a long time.

See more of my reviews at: http://janaslibrary.blogspot.com

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Last Standing Woman is LaDuke’s first novel, she has published a number of nonfiction books about Native American history, culture, etc. Thus, she exhibits many of the assets in this novel that one might expect to see in a more experienced writer.

For example, despite its prose consisting largely of brief declarative sentences timely descriptions of people and places still allowed me to visualize the storyline with ease. I agree with other reviewers that the many characters which inhabit the novel and the fact that it is spread across a long timeline of about 200 years make it a bit challenging at times to follow. But with a seemingly simple phrase describing a gesture or facial expression the author successfully brings her characters to life.

Readers unfamiliar with Native American history will learn about many issues they have had to struggle with over the last two centuries. These include such things as the nefarious ways in which the federal government tried to remove them from their lands and children being forcibly removed to residential schools in the late 19th/early 20th centuries whose purpose was to divorce them from their language and culture. Other things like how their graveyards were desecrated and how diseases like TH devastated them were briefly depicted. A number of chapters describe their occupation of a government agency in the 1980’s which ultimately was successful in protecting their lands against further incursions by timber companies. And a few chapters at the end of the novel relate the poignant challenges they have faced in repatriating the remains of deceased individuals which had been stolen many, many years before.

Many Ojibwe customs are presented in LSW: how women cut their hair in mourning as well as the ways in which they hunted, farmed, and shared the land with each other. Such spiritual practices as drum ceremonies which the authorities and the missionaries went to great lengths to prevent in the late 19th century, the importance of the Northern Lights in their beliefs about afterlife, and the use of tobacco as a gift asking for protection by the spirits of their people are part of the storyline as well.

LaDuke employs a great deal of Ojibwe vocabulary in this novel. Much of the time she provides their English equivalents but there are songs and poems which are not translated While there is a 4 page glossary at the end in which the terms are elucidated, it is not very user friendly in a digital format.

Those wanting to read more about the residential schools might find this book to be quite informative:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

In Beloved Child Diane Wilson describes her interviews with the Dakota descendants of Native American residential schools. The inter generational impact of that experience is well articulated: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

An excellent Canadian dramatic film about a residential school in the 1920’s is called Where the Spirit Lives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I4jF...

Finally, Ishi’s Brain will inform readers in more detail about the struggles Native Americans face in trying to get the remains of one individual returned from the Smithsonian Institution:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found I had a strong but strange connection with this book. Once again, I was mortified and alarmed at my ignorance. I grew up in Minneapolis from age 3 to 22 in the 1940s to early 1960s and spent several weeks each summer in northern Minnesota, mostly on the Leech Lake Reservation, but I never had a clue that I was on Indian land nor was I aware that there were Native Peoples living all around the resort we frequented and the Camps I attended. I could not stop looking at the wonderful two maps in the front of the book. The story takes place mostly on the nearby White Earth Reservation but I imagine it could be set at one of the other Reservations nearby,

I particularly liked the early story and was fascinated by the Anishinaabe words and names. I liked that the author tells the story in an Anishinaabe way and not as we usually hear stories. The later part of the story was at times difficult for me, since it deals with our betrayal of treaties and promises. I thought the portrayal of the stand-off on the reservation was lovely and really liked the emerging role of the native women as critical to the success of the situation.

I was also touched by the story of Moose bringing back the bones of his people from the Smithsonian. (I need to look up the current status of the return of native people’s ancestors and objects.) The lovely story of his involvement with a red neck, a trooper and a family at a rest stop is needed now more than ever – I so hope it could be true.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to @highwaterpress and @zgstories / @zgreads for a copy of Last Standing Woman.

LaDuke has written an epic fictional story based on very real events. The story centres on the White Earth People of Minnesota. Much like the causes dear to the author’s heart, Last Standing Woman shares a disgraceful history of land and water theft, excessive hunting causing dwindling buffalo populations, residential schools, disruption to graves and artifacts and the prohibition of Indigenous languages and practices among other important topics.

This book took me several days to read. It is very dense and full of characters and important points in time. I took notes in order to digest the information. There is also a character map and cast of characters list at the back of the book. It reads like narrative nonfiction or perhaps meta fiction.

I found the reading experience to be interesting and fell deep into the story. The cyclical story telling pattern that mirrors Indigenous life was clear and educational in the sense that it made me think of life and generations differently.

This is the 25th anniversary edition with updated naming language and the addition of more Anishinaabeg words. I would highly recommend Last Standing Woman to everyone and feel thankful that I have been provided a copy for my shelves.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love historical fiction. And I've read stories from all over the world, but I wanted to come home and start closer in with my next read... Native American history from their perspective. I've enjoyed the more modern N.A. fiction, but I was interested in learning more deeply their stories of the past to more clearly understand their present and mine. This novel met that desire. There is so much power & beauty in Winona LaDuke's plainly spoken, deeply honest words that lifted off the page and transported me to the White Earth reservation and another time long ago and then carried me into the present. I agree with Louise Erdrich, "this book goes out into the world much as a prayer,..." I, too, feel blessed by reading it. In receiving this story, I cared about every single character and felt strengthened by it. Close to home, the conversations are always more uncomfortable. And so very important and worthwhile and life-returning. Thank you to Winona LaDuke and her ancestors for sharing so generously. AND I have a new place to shop! https://nativeharvest.com/
check it out and help support White Earth - it's owned and operated by the nonprofit - White Earth Land Recovery Project.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautifully-written saga of a Minnesota Ojibwe family, author and activist Winona LaDuke chronicles their lives on the White Earth Reservation over the course of generations, from early conflicts with white encroachment and theft of land, resources and culture, to exuberant celebrations of identity, to contemporary challenges and victories.

Although fiction, the trials and injustices contained within this book are almost certainly based on actual events, and to be honest it likely wouldn't be difficult to convince me every word was true. There were times I was fervently hoping some parts were untrue, while simultaneously wishing others were. I'm inspired to learn more about how best to support land recovery projects currently underway in my state, and I agree with other readers that this would be a good candidate for required high school reading, especially in Minnesota. As a Minnesotan, I felt this was an important book for me to have read. I was left feeling heartbreak, shame and sadness for all that has been lost, but also a little bit hopeful that — maybe — some wrongs can perhaps be righted.

[Debrah Roemisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that everyone should read--though it is fiction it is based on real people and events. An excellent way to truly understand what was done to the Native peoples of this land.
"There is a peculiar kind of hatred in the northwoods, a hatred born of the guilt of privilege, a hatred born of living with three generations of complicity in the theft of lives and land. What is worse is that each day those who hold this position of privilege must come face to face with those whom they have dispossessed." "the poverty of dispossession is almost overwhelming. So is the poverty of complicity and guilt. That shame combined with guilt and a feeling of powerlessness, creates an atmosphere in which hatred buds, blossoms and flourishes. The hatred passes from father to son and from mother to daughter. Each generation feels the hatred and it penetrates deeper to justify a myth. Norman Grist suffered from Indian Hating Disease. He had it bad, knotted tightly and pungently in his gut.."

[Deborah Adelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot reading this book. It filled in questions I have about my region (Great Lakes and Upper Midwest) and the history of its indigenous people and how their land was stolen, specifically on White Earth. I know about this story from my own reading and from spending time in Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as books such as Louise Erdrich's Tracks. I am a fan of Winona LaDuke and her work on White Earth to recover land for the reservation. Even so, I have to say that I don't know why she chose to write this story as fiction. Perhaps to imagine what life felt like to previous generations as their world was being torn apart. The book just didn't work for me as fiction. It explained too much and drew non-fiction like conclusions throughout its pages. I am glad I have read it regardless!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. As a (white) Minnesotan in much of my adult life, I have learned some of the culture and history of Minnesota’s Native American people since colonization and enjoyed this catalyst to learn more. Solid storytelling narratively of the multigenerational history, culture and characters. Touching on themes across gender, class, governance, the diaspora. I thought she did a good job of weaving many layers in while being both compassionate and honest, and having a clear point of view without using aggressive anvils. LaDuke is well-known and accomplished in many other callings - cool that she’s also been a novelist.

[Anna Bone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off a little slow and then definitely picked up towards the end as the stories became more woven together. I actually went back and read the first third of the book after finishing because I wanted to remember the earlier generations and how they tied in with the characters that I grew more familiar with in the second half of the book.It helped that I had listened to an audiobook about native peoples, so I knew how to pronounce many of the words, so it was easier for me to remember and to read. I think it’s an important book to read to understand how the past shapes so much of present situations for indigenous people.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am interesting story if the White Earth reservation in MN They did well but the priests came and forced boys out of their homes, sexually and physically abused them until all Indian was gone from them. Men took their land and their buried ancestors. Lucy was in charge of the stand off at White Earth. Finally they were able to get their ancestors from the Smithsonian and properly bury them. A very sad story that has left me also angry for how they were treated.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the time you'll spend reading and rereading

The Last Woman Standing tells the story of one tribe of Native Americans. While the first few chapters confused me and left me wondering what one had to do with another, when they avidly wove together, it was like seeing the pieces of a patchwork quilt become a whole.

[Cam Netland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected favorite here from my quals list. Dark, funny, and full of page turning episodes. This book was an engaging and impressive work detailing the history of the Anishanaabe people. Anyone who enjoyed 100 Years of Solitude or has any interest in Native American literature should check this out.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is so important to gain a sense of historicity in the greater Dakota and Ojibwe world. It’s all here in 7 generations of relationship, toil and triumph. This story can bring the reader directly to the core of the White Earth area and the heroic struggle of people adapting to forces beyond their control. Timeless!