Dan SaSuWeh Jones has captured a haunting period in history with his book Stealing Little Moon. In this piece of nonfiction, Jones shares the legacy of the American Indian boarding schools.
Partially American history and partially a story of Jones’ family history, Stealing Little Moon recounts the hunger, emotional cruelty, extreme loneliness, and physical and spiritual abuse endured by boarding school survivors. It also tells of the courage, determination, and resilience of those who thrived or those who deserve to be memorialized. Despite the abuse the children received, their language and sense of spirituality lingered. Most of all, though, this is a story of cultural preservation. “Culture makes us who we are. . . . The beauty of culture is how we all do the same things in a different way, and how we learn from one another” (xv). The exchange of culture influences us, not only enriching but making our lives more interesting.
As Jones unveils this history, the book is enriched by photographs and by gray boxes which feature personalities like Jim Thorpe, Wilma Mankiller, Clyde Warrior, the Code Talkers, and Montana’s Fort Shaw girls’ basketball team. Other shadow boxes impart historical perspectives on runaways, racism, the horror of corporal punishment, and healing humor. “Humor is the one thing that has helped Indian cope with demoralization and depression” (159), Jones writes.
Finally, under the influence of Jones’ pen, readers learn “the American Indian’s unique ability to live in two worlds, of ancient heritage and the ever-changing present” (203).
- Donna