Lois 's Reviews > Squanto: A Native Odyssey

3.5 Stars Rounded Down

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Andrew Lipman, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley.

I'm unfamiliar with this time period in the history of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. As a result, I am unable to judge the accuracy of the historical information shared. I have an audiobook copy and not a digital copy, so I am unsure if this history accurately portrays the sources used. Since this was published before I requested the audiobook I did try Hoopla & Libby for a library copy of the digital book so I could verify the sources used but neither library had a copy of the digital book. Hoopla does have the audiobook for any interested. That said, the sources mentioned in the text check out and seem to be used accurately. The author is a professor, and so his resources in this field are probably accurate or at the least based on the latest research. The text indicates this to be so, and I am unable to verify independently otherwise.

This was a treasure trove of information on the Wampanoag peoples in the early stages of European colonization. I learned so much about living situations, family settings, women's roles in society, children's roles and activities, family life, and just wow. I was so thoroughly engrossed in these details. I had no idea so much information was available to researchers. I truly need a digital copy of this book so I can mine the resources for more information. I need more than what this book offers. 

This is structured in such a way that the reader really learns about early colonization of the Americas by multiple European colonizing peoples. This is important because this period in European history, with which I am very familiar, is frought with complicated history and inter-country struggles. That said, some of the information given on European nations at this time is slanted. 

The author takes great pains to point out that the Wampanoag engaged in slavery adjacent practices and pointed out Arabic and other European slavery adjacent practices at this time. I don't like this. This author is the descendant of the Europeans who committed this genocide in the Americas; less than 3% of the current US population is Native American, and about 5% of Canada is First Nations. Indigenous peoples in these nations live on Reservations & Reserves, they aren't allowed political power, and their population is not represented in the federal government of either colonizing nation at population percentage rates. In many respects, they live in 'ghettos' in which they don’t have access to clean water and food is not affordable. They live under apartheid. We simply don't use those words to describe their treatment because it would reflect badly on our respective countries. They aren't the only marginalized group in North America treated this way, but considering this is their land, it's especially heinous. 

I take issue with the author pretending that Captain John Smith who was briefly captured while he was a mercenary soldier and comparing that to Squanto's capture and expulsion to Europe. Squanto did not hire himself out as a soldier, nor was he fighting a war when he was captured. His captors stole him when he was engaged in regular trade. If John Smith had been stolen from the London wharf while unloading his ship, maybe that would compare. What was done to Squanto and other Indigenous Peoples of the Americas was something that Europeans would never consider doing to other European nations. Such behavior would be considered cowardly, anti-christian, and deeply shocking. Other European nations would've declared war on a European nation that was moving in this manner in Europe. This behavior was only considered okay because it was done to non-Europeans. Early racism is why these horrible practices were carried out, and greed is why they became normalized. Historians need to say this explicitly and not waste time trying to negate the genocidal behaviors of their klancestors.  This pretense that everyone was behaving badly is a very colonialist viewpoint. Squanto and the Wampanoag deserve better.

This audiobook is narrated by David Colacci. David did a decent job with this. His tone was educational but not droning or boring. It's fairly good for an information dense text like this.

Thank you to Andrew Lipman, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.