The Only Good Indians Book DISCUSSION [Spoilers]

Also, I would like to say a huge thank you, Ku’nahah! To Erin and Michelle. Erin helped me acquire this ARC, and Michelle connected me to Erin. They are two very awesome Indigenous women. Follow them, subscribe. Thank you, Ladies!

Erin:
Twitter: @erins_library
Instagram @erins_library

Michelle:
Twitter: @thorwantsaletter

Other Indigenous Readers I currently know. Check them out, watch their stuff 😁:
Weezie - Instagram: weeziesbooks
Mallory - Instagram: nativegirlsreading
Autumn - Instagram: chaptermalliumkin
Merinda - Twitter: @MerindaDutton
Rogier - Twitter: @rocapri

I am very happy to say that the NFL Football team Washington "R" will change their mascot. This fight has been happening for decades. So many thanks and prayers and immense gratitude to all those who dedicated and sacrificed their time, lives, and even their safety in this movement. Although this is just the beginning of ending Indigenous racist mascots, it is such a sweet victory. Ku'nahah! Susan White, I know you are smiling proud and true. #WeAreNotMascots

A huge congratulations also to the Indigenous Nations: Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, Yankton Sioux, and Oglala Sioux; and the many who stood in solidarity in the fight against the pipeline. A federal judge has ordered oil to stop flowing through Sioux Nation treaty territory by August 5, 2020. Ku'nahah! #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL

Also, another congratulation to the Muskogee Nation and their victory on the SCOTUS decision in recognizing its treaty defined borders. Huge win for sovereignty in Indian Country. #HonorTreaties #TreatiesAreSupremeLawoftheLand

Here are other Indigenous funds and sites you can check out and donate to:

Also, don't forget to read up on resources, educate yourself, and see how you can donate to BLM causes and donations sites.

Take Care and Read Fierce Relatives!

Music: Kipoq Mosayru, Walpi

[andrewwilson]

I really liked this discussion. Thank you!
I also wanted to add that for the Elk Head Woman, closing the loop through killing didn’t actually heal her hate. Finding her calf and love ended up closing her personal loop - which I though was really an important lesson in the book and a really lovely ending to a horror story.

[muddled_moogle]

I finished this book last week and it has been haunting me (in a good way) ever since. Stephen Graham Jones absolutely knocked this story out of the park! His writing style is both simple yet poignant: it conveys so much without leaning on distracting, flowery prose. The line that describes Lewis falling from the ladder and his mind taking pictures like a camera in slow-mo is one of my favorites. The real strength of his writing is in the characterization. He didn't create horror story victims; he created real people with lives that felt lived, with hopes and dreams for a future that would never be. And even though Lewis murders two people in cold blood I still couldn't bring myself to hate him. Elk Head Woman was both terrifying and sympathetic. I couldn't hate her either. If that doesn't speak towards Jones' masterful characterizations, I don't know what will.

Thank you so much for introducing me to my new favorite author! I'm planning on reading Demon Theory next.

[raya]

I agree so much that Elk Head Woman's humanization made this so much more terrifying, and I was also rooting for Denorah so hard during their game! I love your words of encouragement that all Natives are able to ignite our Denorah "spark" and stop the cycles of violence and rupture. Thoughts to you and your loved ones as well during these times, thanks for sharing this review!!

[pixiesgarden]

Listening to the audiobook helped me keep track of the switch of the characters' point of view. Poor Harley! People dying in books don't affect me as much as animals being killed. When the reader was given Elk Head Woman's point of view, it helped me connect with my strength as a woman and my own Mama Elk strength; it also helped me realized that I still have that power as an aunt. I had to stop listening at one point because I so emotional about what had been done to the Elk cow. As soon as Lewis remembered about distributing the Elk meat, and that there might be some forgotten portion of it, I thought "Yeah, this isn't gonna be good." I cried when Denora said "I'm sorry" to the Elk bones. I felt like the Elk cow being killed before her time, could also be a metaphor for MMIW. This is definitely one my favorite books of the year. The Only Good Indians was the first book I read by Stephen Graham Jones, but it won't be my last.

[tangd]

I just finished this book over the past weekend and LOVED it! SGJ's take on Denorah as the 'final girl' is my favorite by far (granted I am still relatively new to the horror genre). My favorite scene was between Gabe and Cass during the purification ceremony...how it painted a picture of their deep friendship, but went south very quickly! In the acknowledgment page, SGJ mentions that he got inspiration from Loiuse Erdrich's Antelope Woman which made me place that book on my immediate tbr! Great review!!

[MathewHeggem]

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to put this together!

[allisonpaiges]

i personally struggled to connect with this one but i was also ignorant to a lot of the meaning within it. absolutely loved hearing your passion for these pages. thank you so much for this energetic and educational review. 💛

[erins_library]

Love hearing your thoughts!! I don’t play basketball, but our version of the Thanksgiving classic is called Gold Medal and happens in March. It’s so fun, because everyone comes to town! I was definitely getting nostalgia vibes.

[brunagottschalk]

I'm Brazilian, I read this book as soon as it came out in Portuguese, but maybe I'm just not familiar enough with Blackfeet culture, but I didn't really understand if Shaney was just another victim or if she really was, in a way, the Elk Head Woman because at the end she reappears as Shaney.... I was lost in this part but the book was fantastic!

[sjthorn]

I'm not an own voices reader, so there was so much that went over my head, and I've really enjoyed listening to your spoilery review, so I can better appreciate what I didn't understand and thus better appreciate the book on a deeper level. Also, I just found your channel and will definitely be subscribing.

[wolfspirit]

Kill Count:

White Patrons: 1
Gabe: 4
Lewis: 2
Ricky: 1
Cass: 2
Po’noka: 4
Manhunt Members: 1

Total: 15

[TheMistya]

man, first off thank you so much for your commentary, it was really so good, especially after having just finished the last page. Second, I really loved what you said about Denorah and her breaking the cycle of violence, it helped me better understand the book!

[lala-owwb]

Just finished this a few minutes ago and immediately went to watch reviews to get all this energy and hype out of my system. Loved your enthusiasm!

[scherezadekhan]

I loved this discussion! This is my favorite book I read this year — denorah as the "final girl" was extraordinary and sobbed at the end, and I almost never cry at books! Thank you for sharing your perspective, I look forward to more of your recs ☺️

[jelissakollaard]

I just finished this book. It's easily one of my favourites for this year. And it led me to your channel!

[barebow_cercatrova]

I loved that book in a way I haven’t loved a book in many years. It just leveled me.

[Heatherskl]

I just finished this one last night. His writing is great - I read the book in pretty well one day because his writing is so compelling. I really liked Lewis’s character - he seemed to be the only one who really reflected on what he’d done. There are some Booktube discussions about this book coming up, so I’m looking forward to watching those because there are parts of the book I’d like to talk about (or listen to other people talk about).

[hilaryrobles]

I got emotional reading this book. Thank you for this review.

[Ludacrystal]

I finally finished this book and OH. MY. GOD. It was terrifying. And so so good.

[pastelwriter]

I read this book last month...and it just sank its claws into me. It was so so so GOOD. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days after reading it. It took me until now to review it because it had such an emotional impact that I couldn’t even make myself type out everything I felt.

Lewis’ whole story line tho was the one that messed me up the most. I felt like I was having an out of body experience once the turning point hit and he was doing so many horrible things because he was losing all sense of what was real 😭💔