In Our Own Words

Praise for In Our Own Words

“In Our Own Words is a long overdue conversation across generations, from future ancestors to today's kids. It pulls back the veils of time and distortion to reveal the U.S. federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on young Native people. Both an achingly necessary, thoughtfully assembled book and an important step toward genuine healing.”―Cynthia Leitich Smith, enrolled Mvskoke citizen and editor of the Printz Award anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-In

"Gently and thoughtfully lays out the origin, complexities, horrors, and evolution of the boarding school system, all while celebrating the lives and incredible courage of the children themselves … This book is excellent."―Deidre Havrelock, Orbis Pictus Honor-winning author of Indigenous Ingenuity

"Readers will not find an author better suited to contemplate and convey students’ boarding school experiences than Child.”―John W. Troutman, historian at the National Museum of American History and author of Indian Blues

“Child reveals the complex layers of assimilation politics while never losing the thread of the human story …Add to the book’s triumphs this one: the author, a descendant of boarding school survivors, has herself reached a pinnacle of education that allows her to undertake this crucial historical truth-telling, this literary act of survivance.”