Reviews

Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West by Lauren Redniss

benrogerswpg's review against another edition

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4.0

I found this was good.

Has some really strong moments.

Good thoughts too!

Enjoyed reading this Indigenous book during the Vancouver heatwave!

3.8/5

yew676's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

supermarioctopus's review against another edition

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informative sad medium-paced

3.5

steffilietzke's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

3.75

salemander's review against another edition

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5.0

land back.

rocomama's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

layton93's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

kawooreads's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

This was a very interesting microhistory regarding an area in Arizona that includes the sacred lands of the Chiricahua Apache Nation and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. It tells the story of a small area appropriated by settlers and developed through mining, only to become abandoned once the resources were taken, resulting in one of the poorest areas of the United States. A newly discovered copper reserve has brought the area back into focus as a large mining corporation makes moves with the federal and local governments to try to acquire the land rights. The local Indigenous community takes the fight all the way to Washington to preserve these sacred lands, and the fight is ongoing as we speak.  The author weaves together this history through first-person interviews with Chiricahua Apache elders and youth, local community members, and those who fight or support the mining operation. In completing the book, I felt like the information could have been organized better and although I appreciated the author's artwork throughout the book, I would have preferred to see the photographs of the area and it's community that inspired her portraits and landscapes.

katmignocchi's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

agmaynard's review against another edition

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informative reflective

5.0

Beautifully composed and executed look at the sacred land of Oak Flat (for indigenous peoples), that is also a feature in the lands where settlers wound up, and a resource for the destroying copper mining that is its past and (probably) future. Many voices represented. Highly recommended.