Women of the Native Struggle

Portraits and Testimonies of Native American Women

Ronnie Farley has combined evocative portraits of Native American women with their own reflections on womanhood and what it means to be a Native American. The result is a startlingly honest and often poetic work.

I have always loved this book. I read it when it first came out. I bought this copy for my daughter’s middle school classroom. She teaches in the Tacoma School District. This book is very special to our family. It features a picture of my niece, Alicia Ormbrek, with the wonderfyl and wise Lena Dunstan. Lena was a Haida elder from Canada, who lived in Washington for much of her later adult life. She had a grace one rarely sees, and a real pride in her culture. I believe it is important for children to see that stereotypes are just that. People are real. Cultures are important. I take pride in my partial Creek ancestry, and know my nieces and nephew are fiercely proud of their Haida heritage. Every culture has great people and small heroes. Lena Dunstan was both of these. I encourage everyone to read this book and to gain some understanding of what it is like to maintain your inner self while a power culture rolls over you.
—Julie Ormbrek
Amazon customer

If the book is said to have a theme, it is one of activism informed by spirituality, and an enduring pride in traditional values.
—New York Newsday

Farley has a deep conviction that American Indians are still often treated unjustly in a society capable of greedy and thoughtless acts.
—Associated Press

Available at Amazon.com