Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery

Kindle
$8.79

Available instantly

Audiobook
$0.99
with membership

Hardcover
$23.04

Paperback
$9.25

$9.25 with 46 percent savings

List Price: $17.00

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Friday, April 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Tuesday, April 8.

Only 13 left in stock (more on the way).

$$9.25 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$8.59

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! See less

FREE delivery Thursday, April 10 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Tuesday, April 8. Order within 16 hrs 48 mins.

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$9.25 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by GreatBookDealz and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (77) from $1.83 + $3.98 shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Name: Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life: Treuer, David: 9780802120823: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 9.25 USD
Availability: LimitedAvailability
Rating: 4.4 (667 reviews)

David Treuer

Follow

Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life Paperback – January 1, 2013

by David Treuer (Author)

667 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$9.25","priceAmount":9.25,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"25","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"WTi5hJb8ccrtqJkFRYI47rRl0LO8mU%2FLQaQdDf%2FN%2FOONThrB6W%2FMembjGdqeo3CoYNac6S5aPOOlSyCZYgaMzPL8%2FQjeUU%2BT63WrolA2%2B9%2FEVYsKVWqSyGe26MRpEAyuElXl79nr%2FXN%2F6J3hxRWHGg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.59","priceAmount":8.59,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"59","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"WTi5hJb8ccrtqJkFRYI47rRl0LO8mU%2FLKXdt%2BNIKPGrO3ARYZmxbJttBOlFJZEjIyrRK8tTZnX03neBvmqWItkxz5uywvJQswaML3nvup9Cx1jGGwq3V8zFGwsx5EJXS%2B3z%2FAGVLCAyfz6Tr8qTNhGcAc%2BUKCqxXfZNgASvz6dab96A%2FEywZpw79Ah1nYokE","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Celebrated novelist David Treuer has gained a reputation for writing fiction that expands the horizons of Native American literature. In Rez Life, his first full-length work of nonfiction, Treuer brings a novelist’s storytelling skill and an eye for detail to a complex and subtle examination of Native American reservation life, past and present.

With authoritative research and reportage, Treuer illuminates misunderstood contemporary issues like sovereignty, treaty rights, and natural-resource conservation. He traces the convoluted waves of public policy that have deracinated, disenfranchised, and exploited Native Americans, exposing the tension and conflict that has marked the historical relationship between the United States government and the Native American population. Through the eyes of students, teachers, government administrators, lawyers, and tribal court judges, he shows how casinos, tribal government, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have transformed the landscape of Native American life.

A member of the Ojibwe of northern Minnesota, Treuer grew up on the Leech Lake Reservation, but was educated in "mainstream" America. Treuer traverses the boundaries of American and Indian identity as he explores crime and poverty, casinos and wealth, and the preservation of his native language and culture. Rez Life is a strikingly original work of history and reportage, a must read for anyone interested in the Native American story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An affecting portrait of his childhood home, Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and his people, the Ojibwe.”The New York Times

[Rez Life] is not, for all its intimacy, just as it is not exactly a work of reportage or a work of history. Rather, it is a nuanced hybrd, a memoir, broken into six chapters, each of which begins in the personal, then expands outward to a larger theme. Sovereignty, fishing, treaty rights, the tribal justice system, education, language and assimilation Treuer examines all of it, finding associations between the broadest stories and the most individual.”David Ulin, Los Angeles Times

[Treuer’s] upbringing on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota makes him adept at delving behind stereotypes of Indian life and infuses his account with passion and meticulousness.”The New Yorker

"Smartly, this book blends journalism, history and memoir... to provide both anecdotes of present-day reservation life and history... Treuer's message - the picture he gives of Indian reservation life today - is not one of defeat or demise but of miraculous survival."Greg Sarris, San Francisco Chronicle

Rez Life is a fascinating, air-clearing look at Native American reservation life, strengthened in equal measure by its anecdotes and its scholarly attention.”Jonathan Messinger, Time Out Chicago

Blends memoir and history to reveal what life on a reservation is really like - neither the festival of dysfunction nor the oasis of noble, nature-loving stoics that many non-Indians imagine. [A] blistering, illuminating, ultimately hopeful book.”Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe

In a book that is part memoir, part journalistic exposé and part cultural history, novelist Treuer offers a movingly plainspoken account of reservation life... Powerful, important reading.”Kirkus Reviews

"An invaluable study and vivid account of problematic life on our reservations by a writer--a very good writer!--raised 'on the rez' who knows what he's talking about only too well and also knows how to tell a story, lots of stories, that document and effectively banish a number of misconceptions still held by white society. Highly recommended." Peter Matthiessen

Out of the people and places of Native America David Treuer has crafted a story of vital interest to all Americans." Vice President Walter Mondale

A compelling account of life on native American reservations.”The Christian Science Monitor

Treuer’s poignant, penetrating blend of memoir and history illustrates that despite long-standing problems, including poverty and high rates of alcoholism, reservations remain strong, proud bastions of Native American life.”Eric Libetrau, People Magazine

Applied to a book, the word important’ can glaze the eyes. An important’ book sounds like an earnest, educational one you should read, when you get to it, someday, maybe. Rez Life is important in the word's best sense -- one you'll want to read if you're at all curious about contemporary American Indians. It's important in the way Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was when it came out in 1970, deeply moving readers as it schooled them about Indian history in a way nothing else had.”Pamela Miller, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Treuer sees all the poverty, the gangs and the alcohol, but he also sees great beauty in some of the last places untouched by commercial development. He hears the stories of his people in the language of his people, and he sees the pride of survivors.”Neal Conan, NPR

About the Author

David Treuer is the author of three novelsLittle, The Hiawatha, and The Translation of Dr. Appeles and Native American Fiction: A User's Manual, a book of essays. A professor of literature and creative writing at USC, Treuer is the co-editor of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Reprint edition (January 1, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 330 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802120822
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802120823
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #221,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #230 in Native American Demographic Studies
- #432 in Native American History (Books)
- #1,719 in Sociology Reference

Customer Reviews:
667 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

David Treuer

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David Treuer is Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. He grew up on Leech Lake and left to attend Princeton University where he worked with Paul Muldoon, Joanna Scott, and Toni Morrison. He published his first novel, LITTLE, when he was twenty-four. Treuer is the recipient of the Pushcart Prize, and his work has been named an editor's pick by the Washington Post, Time Out, and City Pages. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate.com, and The Washington Post.

He also earned his PhD in anthropology and teaches literature and creative writing at The University of Southern California. He divides his time between LA and The Leech Lake Reservation.

Customer reviews

667 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find this book well-crafted and easy to read, with detailed historical background and interesting stories about real events. Moreover, the writing style is graceful, and customers appreciate its authenticity, with one review describing it as an astonishing reality about American Indian life. However, the pacing receives mixed reactions, with some customers finding it engaging while others say it becomes boring.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Readability History Insight Writing style Authenticity Pacing Boredom

49 customers mention "Readability"49 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and well-crafted, describing it as a wonderful memoir with good intentions.

"...This amazing combination between a novel and historical facts gives the reader an accessible insight in what it was and is to be an American Indian...." Read more

"...A great read, especially for the portraits that Treuer paints of his family members and friends." Read more

"...lot about Native American life on reservations, but it does something more exceedingly well: it explains the United States Government’s relationship..." Read more

"...Rez Life is such a book. It is a book that was delightful to read, that opened my eyes to the aspects of reservation life (both good and bad) and..." Read more

43 customers mention "History"43 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's historical content, noting its clear and detailed presentation of historical facts that stick in readers' minds.

"...This amazing combination between a novel and historical facts gives the reader an accessible insight in what it was and is to be an American Indian...." Read more

"This book explores a lot about Native American life on reservations, but it does something more exceedingly well: it explains the United States..." Read more

"...It is a book that was delightful to read, that opened my eyes to the aspects of reservation life (both good and bad) and provided a substantial..." Read more

"This is a history lesson with a rather good effort to demonstrate the real life effects of those historical events on a population by tying it to..." Read more

43 customers mention "Insight"43 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides great insights and is very enlightening, with one customer noting it serves as a clear window into an extraordinary culture.

"...sashays between gritty everyday realities and their well-researched historical contexts and cultural resonances through the magically readable kind..." Read more

"Very informative and evocative perspective on life on Indian reservations today. I found David Treuer's book to be very eye-opening and surprising...." Read more

"...Who am I?” permeates an Indian’s life. I was educated by reading this book...." Read more

"A must Read! Very informative, factual and straight forward" Read more

28 customers mention "Writing style"25 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as graceful and easy to read, with one customer noting its crisp language.

"...Treuer's depiction of rez life is harsh and beautiful at the same time...." Read more

"...A great look at what life is like for many Indians today, and how conditions evolved over the past centuries...." Read more

"...I challenge other readers to do the same. David Treuer is a wonderful writer and I will be reading more of his books...." Read more

"...It is colorfully written with occasional touches of humor." Read more

15 customers mention "Authenticity"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book, with several noting its honest portrayal of American Indian life and cultural resonances.

"...realities and their well-researched historical contexts and cultural resonances through the magically readable kind of nonfiction that perhaps only..." Read more

"A must Read! Very informative, factual and straight forward" Read more

"...Graceful writing reflecting a comprehensive, compassionate interpretation of Native American life today and the history that shapes it as played out..." Read more

"...councils, and politics that is an informative and realistic insider's unflinching observation...." Read more

6 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, finding it lucid and well-paced, with one customer noting how it profiles fellow Ojibwes.

"This hybrid work of journalism, history, and memoir by Ojibwe writer David Treuer profiles fellow Ojibwes, and delves into topics such as treaties,..." Read more

"...in detail with names and dates of treaties, broken promises and real life heroes that I could not put it down...." Read more

"The language is crisp, energetic, unadorned, thus, the reader can comprehend and evaluate the factual information without getting lost in words,..." Read more

"...and historical facts that made me, the reader, identify on a personal level with the people and come to some understanding of the joys and..." Read more

7 customers mention "Boredom"3 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed feelings about the book's pacing, with some finding it boring while others describe it as engaging.

"This book is potentially very interesting. Unfortunately, it becomes boring and repetitive after a while...." Read more

"...this book and read it right through, front to back, with no sense of boredom...." Read more

"...I just personally felt it started to drag on and get boring after awhile." Read more

"...As a native Minnesotan I learned a lot. Never a dull moment!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Loes Donkers
astonishing reality on American Indian life
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2013
Verified Purchase

Finally a book on reservation life written from the inside. Well-researched historic overview and terrific narrative of the complicated reality of the Indian and white interactions. Community and family stories blend together with treaties, laws, rights, privileges and federal, state and tribal negotiations. Although primarily focused on the Ojibwa it portrays the pan-Indian dance within their colonized trap and opportunities. This amazing combination between a novel and historical facts gives the reader an accessible insight in what it was and is to be an American Indian. Treuer's depiction of rez life is harsh and beautiful at the same time. According to Peter Nabokov it is "a courageously intimate memoir of family life and community survival ... it deftly sashays between gritty everyday realities and their well-researched historical contexts and cultural resonances through the magically readable kind of nonfiction that perhaps only a novelist could pull off ... destined to be a classic." I cannot agree more.

Read more

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Mike Cohn
Excellent Look at Life on Indian Reservations Today and in the Past
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
Very informative and evocative perspective on life on Indian reservations today. I found David Treuer's book to be very eye-opening and surprising. He goes into the history of various aspects of Native American life, particularly in the Ojibwe tribe, including housing, poverty, the gaming industry, fishing and hunting rights, and family. A great look at what life is like for many Indians today, and how conditions evolved over the past centuries. He has a great explanation of the impact of the various treaties that the federal government made and broke, and the impact of the mismanagement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A great read, especially for the portraits that Treuer paints of his family members and friends.

Read more

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
LaBonte
Requires Reading
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book explores a lot about Native American life on reservations, but it does something more exceedingly well: it explains the United States Government’s relationship with Indians. That the Government’s designs changed continuously is well documented herein.
The confusion and chaos caused throughout centuries of travail have invaded the Indian Being. “Who am I?” permeates an Indian’s life.
I was educated by reading this book.
I was emotionally moved by the author’s sensitivity towards all the people he wrote about.
I kept thinking that ever American should have to read this outstanding treatment of a subject too often totally ignored by the general population.
I hope life will improve for all Indigenous people and others of color who have been so long wronged by a society centered on greed for power and wealth and white supremacy.

Read more

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Spoiled Dog Family
Engaging and Enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2012
Verified Purchase
I am not Native but as a public health professional focusing on rural health issues, I am constantly looking for resources that provide an honest and balanced view of rural life, particularly for the American Indian and Alaskan Native populations. Rez Life is such a book. It is a book that was delightful to read, that opened my eyes to the aspects of reservation life (both good and bad) and provided a substantial dose of history in a very palatable fashion. I've already recommended it to others and I do plan to send my $ 1.00 (probably more) to Helen (Bryan) Johnson to thank her for being a part of history. I challenge other readers to do the same. David Treuer is a wonderful writer and I will be reading more of his books. My thanks to him for such a significant contribution to the literary world.

Read more

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Report
David H. Cary
An Indian's view of Life on the Rez
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2012
Verified Purchase
All in all a worthwhile read. It is about Northern Tribes, but I would guess life on say the Navajo Rez would be about the same. It is colorfully written with occasional touches of humor.

Read more

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Luria Weber
Excellent Information Native Way
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
A must Read! Very informative, factual and straight forward

Read more

Helpful

Report
scn
There is hope, the "Indian" may survive
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a history lesson with a rather good effort to demonstrate the real life effects of those historical events on a population by tying it to the author and his family. At times it is painful to read, as are many stories of this nation's short history if you are white and you have any sense of shame. However, overall I did not come away with a feeling of hopelessness. Somehow, the white population has not managed to totally beat out the sense of pride of the Native American population.

Read more

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Gunter Kleemann
you want to know something?
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a very detailed and personal account of what Rez Life is about. It enjoyed reading this book very much.

Read more

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Florian Rochat
"Comprendre les Indiens américains, c'est comprendre l'Amérique"
Reviewed in France on November 14, 2014
Verified Purchase

Ce livre est la version originale de "Indian Roads", paru en français, mais son titre est plus parlant quant à son contenu que ce dernier. "Rez life": la vie dans les réserve indiennes. Mais le propos du livre, l'intention de David Treuer, vont plus loin, car il écrit: "Comprendre les Indiens américains, c'est comprendre l'Amérique" [car] "ceci est l'histoire de ce qui est paradoxalement le moins et le plus américain des endroits au 21e siècle."

David Treuer, fils d'un Juif autrichien qui avait fui les persécutions nazies en 1938 et qui avait épousé une femme Ojibwe du Minnesota, a donc pris la route. Pour aller voir comment vivent ceux de sa tribu et ceux des autres. Un reportage captivant et émouvant dans cette minorité sociale oubliée et discriminée aujourd'hui encore par l'Amérique blanche. Il raconte a pauvreté, la misère, la drogue. Mais aussi la richesse incroyable apportée parfois par les casinos. Les efforts d'une partie des Indiens pour faire revivre leurs langues et leur culture. Treuer plonge aussi dans les livres pour disséquer, analyser et mettre en lumière la longue histoire des traités signés entre Washington et les 540 tribus du pays, longue litanie de promesses non tenues et de trahisons de la part des Blancs. Dans les années 1940, un humoriste célèbre (un Cherokee), Jim Rogers, avait déjà résumé cette triste histoire: "Les Etats-Unis n'ont jamais rompu un traité avec un gouvernement étranger, mais n'en ont jamais respecté un avec les Indiens."

David Treuer s'implique aussi personnellement dans le portrait/analyse qu'il brosse de la vie dans les réserves. (Je me souviens au passage d'un autre écrivain indien,Sherman Alexie, qui disait:"Sur les réserves, la vie est violente et courte.") Il évoque ses souvenirs et amis d'enfance, sa famille, hier et aujourd'hui. Sa mère avait réussi à se hisser vers un statut social important en devenant juge.

Ce "voyage d'un Indien à travers la vie des réserves" est un livre à la fois captivant et important qui touchera celles et ceux qui s'intéressent à la réalité que vivent les Amérindiens.

(Florian Rochat est l'auteur de La légende de Little Eagle)

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
Roberto
Rez Life .....lettura in corso
Reviewed in Italy on September 15, 2015
Verified Purchase
Non ancora finito di leggere, ma la rappresentazione della vita attuale nelle reserve indiane ed il riepilogo di fatti rilevanti della storia di alcune tribù di Indiani del Nord America e Canada è scevra da ogni sentimentalismo, libera da stereotipi e così interessante da generare una lettura vorace.

Read more

One person found this helpful
Report
Translate review to English

See more reviews

Amazon Prime Free Trial

Follow the author

Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life Paperback – January 1, 2013

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

David Treuer

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars "Comprendre les Indiens américains, c'est comprendre l'Amérique"

5.0 out of 5 stars Rez Life .....lettura in corso

"Comprendre les Indiens américains, c'est comprendre l'Amérique"

Rez Life .....lettura in corso