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speculativebecky 's review for:
A Mind Spread Out on the Ground
by Alicia Elliott
Brilliant collection of essays. If I were in the habit of writing in books, this one would be full of underlines and exclamation points. In A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, Haudenosaunee writer Alicia Elliott offers vulnerable personal essays, and necessary criticism of colonialism, most specifically concerning Indigenous people in Canada.
Elliott writes thoughtfully about abuse and trauma, both her own and generational in her community. Residential schools have become a theme in my reading since Indian Horse, and I continue to learn from her discussion of the long lasting effects of this trauma on Indigenous communities. She describes how treaties are disregarded and Native peoples are forcefully assimilated, and delves into the impact of genocide on the mental and physical health, even generations later, of those who experience it. She writes about resulting poverty, and how social services conflates the inability to take care of one’s children with an intentional neglect, then rages against actions that assert “white neglect is better than Indigenous love.”
As a reader I was drawn into her writing about reception of Indigenous writers, how they are derided when they don’t meet the expectation of white critics to be both “sufficiently Indigenous” and also non-threatening and not vocal about colonialism and white supremacy. She calls out the ridiculous line they’re expected to walk where writing too few Indigenous characters and topics is seen as not “authentic”, but writing too few white characters and themes is not “interesting enough” to a white audience. And then she shares times she’s be dismissed by white peers as having an unfair advantage in publishing, because somehow - counter to all evidence! - being Native is sure to make it easy to get her work out there.
I’m mad, and so glad I read this book, and grateful to Alicia Elliott for putting so much of herself on these pages. I have talked a lot here about the big world-focused themes in her writing, but she also writes so intimately and personally about herself, and I don’t even know how to put that into words. If you’re a lover of essays, personal or political, go get this collection!
Elliott writes thoughtfully about abuse and trauma, both her own and generational in her community. Residential schools have become a theme in my reading since Indian Horse, and I continue to learn from her discussion of the long lasting effects of this trauma on Indigenous communities. She describes how treaties are disregarded and Native peoples are forcefully assimilated, and delves into the impact of genocide on the mental and physical health, even generations later, of those who experience it. She writes about resulting poverty, and how social services conflates the inability to take care of one’s children with an intentional neglect, then rages against actions that assert “white neglect is better than Indigenous love.”
As a reader I was drawn into her writing about reception of Indigenous writers, how they are derided when they don’t meet the expectation of white critics to be both “sufficiently Indigenous” and also non-threatening and not vocal about colonialism and white supremacy. She calls out the ridiculous line they’re expected to walk where writing too few Indigenous characters and topics is seen as not “authentic”, but writing too few white characters and themes is not “interesting enough” to a white audience. And then she shares times she’s be dismissed by white peers as having an unfair advantage in publishing, because somehow - counter to all evidence! - being Native is sure to make it easy to get her work out there.
I’m mad, and so glad I read this book, and grateful to Alicia Elliott for putting so much of herself on these pages. I have talked a lot here about the big world-focused themes in her writing, but she also writes so intimately and personally about herself, and I don’t even know how to put that into words. If you’re a lover of essays, personal or political, go get this collection!