... an intergenerational memoir of Shonda Buchanan’s large extended family of many diversities, loaded with the slippery complexities of myriad ethnic experiences. A woman-centered handing down of experiences and knowledge from mother to daughter, from aunt to niece, the story is as heartbreaking and sorrowful as it is joyful and empowering ... a story remembered and shared, shedding light on the continuity of a family through times of historical trauma and the bludgeoning of identities and human dignity ... With a writing style that moves with ease in and out of the poetic, the no-nonsense, the tragic and a kind of endurance that is earthily and spiritually human, Black Indian is a read both intriguing and satisfying.
[Buchanan's] work is keen and insightful as it covers her African, Indigenous, and white roots and the challenges and pride that they brought. Her portrayals of others are provocative and unvarnished, including those of her mother, Velma, and her aunts ... an emotionally draining memoir that is also resonant in its discussions of poverty’s destructive forces.
