Intimate and lively ... The book features compelling profiles of Indigenous leaders and intellectuals ... Though Lee turns to international Indigenous governance for examples...his story remains most evocative in its domestic context ... Lee’s reflections demand one contemplate not only the governments in Indian Country but the troubled experiment in government that is the United States of America.
Aside from the opening pages, Lee’s writing resists the tendency toward mythmaking that’s common to destinations laden with outsize reputations ... Complexities...course through Lee’s engaging text ... Despite the author’s deep breadth of knowledge...he is refreshingly frank about his own misconceptions ...Tourism, in particular, emerges as an essential, if thorny topic that Lee explores with great nuance ... By offering these glimpses into his mind and his own internal conflicts, Lee proves to be an adroit, honest narrator, resisting any desire to wax poetic ... Through a diverse array of sources, Lee offers readers a valuable understanding of the many forms that 21st-century Indigenous life can take and how they might evolve in the future ... It’s clear how much Lee cherishes his connection to Martha’s Vineyard ... A must-read for anyone who seeks to know the island with depth that extends well beyond its superficial myths.
Lee’s approach can be repetitive. He begins each chapter with what he didn’t know about his tribe as a younger person, and that naive attitude becomes tiresome ... Once Lee zooms out from his personal experiences, he finds surer footing ... Offers a fresh perspective on what Indigeneity looks like now, and how it might evolve in the future.
