In this eloquent and elucidating debut story collection she brings the Native experience to life—from the long line of broken treaties and the tragic effect on Native tribes from coast to coast to contemporary repercussions from forced attendance at Indian boarding schools ... touching ... Piatote draws the reader in with spare and perceptive language and resonate empathy for each struggling yet resilient character.
...the stories and poetry in Beth Piatote’s The Beadworkers are...blatantly political ... Piatote has a lot on her mind when it comes to the negative way Native Americans have historically been (and are still) treated, and it comes through in her writing ... Though not all the offerings in The Beadworkers are...solid...[it's] a collection that gives voice to what is so often left unsaid.
Piatote’s debut collection mixes poetry, verse, and prose to form an impressive reflection on the lives of modern Native Americans. Piatote, a Nez Perce enrolled with the Colville Confederated Tribes, fits much nuance and profundity into stories that often reflect on the ways in which contemporary mainstream American culture continues to erase the identities and traditions of indigenous groups ... This beautiful collection announces Piatote as a writer to watch.
Beth Piatote strings together stories like the intricate strands of a handmade necklace. The Beadworkers gathers those strings together into an illustrious whole ... Piatote’s creativity shows up throughout the book ... The collected pieces of The Beadworkers explore place and identity in vibrant scenes. Throughout, Piatote reveals Native American life in contexts modern, historic and mythical.
Hope and heartbreak abound in this debut collection set among Native Americans in the northwest ... Though some of the slighter pieces feel like mere vehicles for ideas, at her best Piatote balances the emotional complexities of her characters’ lives with the political complexity of their relationship with an America all too eager to look away. A poignant and challenging look at the way the past and present collide.
