We are all Savages
4*5 stars - Dee Brown wrote the seminal "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76401.Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee a searing history of the destruction of the Native Americans during the 19th century. This is an excellent fictionalized telling of the story.
A nice literary device allows for a single conversation to tell the tale through the titular Creek Mary's grandson Dane. We are first told of her notable youth and life, then through his 80+ years. This takes us from dealings and trouble with the British in the 1700s, through wars of the local, independence and civil varieties, a thousand broken promises and treaties, constant land grabs, massacres and horrors right through to Teddy Roosevelt at the dawn of the 1900's (!). There is a wonderful undercurrent of changing technology through this time too, horses and illiterate people to the pony express, then railways and telegrams.
The story is gripping, the action well done, the pain and horror brilliantly rendered. This more than makes up for the writing not quite being literary level, or the odd one dimensional character - the venal Colonel Belcourt could have been several people as opposed to a recurring one for instance.
In general I was impressed by the complexity of the characters, early on the Long Warrior ponders the meaning of savagery with Mary after a white child is murdered "down beneath the skin, no matter the colour, down there we are all fierce, cruel, bloodthirsty as the beasts, it is part of the balance of nature". Though, the savagery becomes increasingly one sided.
There are good times too, somewhat idyllic visions of Native American life outside the white man's world. These come early on before the Native tribes are forced off their land in the east, and later on the plains with the buffalo herds. The destruction of this way of life through the elimination of the buffalo is emblematic of the cruelty, waste, and cynical nature of this slow genocide.
I recently read "Fifth Sun; a new history of the Aztecs" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44244939-fifth-sun
and it was illuminating how this, also horrific European takeover, differed to the Northern one. The Spanish established themselves as hegemon, as extractors at the top in an established system. Further North it was removal of the original inhabitants, by any and all means, slowly but steadily, and full replacement with new peoples and new systems. They were 'in the way' and explicitly excluded from political representation - a terrible crime that greenlit the more violent ones that followed.
Another parallel is the great detail on the messy situation once contact is made, it's never as simple as them and us, with native populations having huge differences between and within themselves. Interactions, alliances and cross race marriages are common. It's a cultural pastiche and partnership, especially early on. Later less so, with devastating consequences. Some of the psychological impacts of this are explored in Pleasant's sad story here, and put forward as believable motives for Malintzin/Malinche, Cortez's essential local translator in the "Fifth Sun".
It is hard to feel anything but horror and burning injustice at the fate of the Native American tribes. "The only thing your people ever gave mine - pain, desolation and death". I have met several Native Americans during my travels in America, always lovely people. I heard a wonderful redemption story told by the excellent Stanislav Grof on the Tim Ferris podcast. Invited to a Native peyote session, one Indian was angry with the white guests for the above reasons and refused to communicate with them. Towards the end the leaders thanked the outsiders for coming, especially Stanislav who had came from Czechoslovakia. The Angry man broke down and begged forgiveness. He assumed they were all American. He had been drafted during WW2, and he was on a plane that bombed the Czech town where Stanislav lived just before the end of the war. He had been drawn into horror by powers outside of his control.
This shows how normal people are sucked into wars, they often don't choose, or don't understand what their choice means. So many native Americans took part in all the wars, on all sides, including the 'Indian wars' with Crow's scouting for Custer at Little Bighorn for instance. So many Irish fought in the American civil war, again on both sides, many of these then again against the tribes too. A story told in the excellent "Days without End" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3009687043?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" by Sebastian Barry. Pawns in the brutal games of the powerful. Twigs standing before the hurricane of progress. We are all savages now.
I say this believing in the power, necessity and good arc of historical progress. At times I can only squint my eyes, it came at such a human cost. It did not have to be so painful. Linking a to a wider story, the destruction of nature does not need to be so brutal today (The Overstory by Richard Powers https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4768937887?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1). Lessons can still be learned and actions still can be changed. But we are all savages now.
A section in the final few pages has a hopeful tone, with Dane's granddaughter, who we are teased with sporadically throughout the book finally shows up. She is portrayed as a true American, a wise and determined young doctor, with the blood of many tribes, speckled with touches of European flowing through her. I'm not sure we can say even today that this ideal is rendered true, at least, not often. Whilst things have improved no doubt, the Native American population continue to suffer disproportionately the ills of modern society, and continue to face injustice at the hands of the US government.
The government, deservedly, gets it in the neck. The words published in 1980 are even more pertinent today. Maybe this highlights a true rotten core in Washington that has always been there. Depressing if so. Washington D.C . is framed as a den of vice and lies, something apart from what is was designed to be, staffed with "Scoundrels, thieves, liars, betrayers of those who gave them power".
Amen.