“We Were Not The Savages: Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations,” by Daniel N. Paul
I learned of the book, “We Were Not The Savages: Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations,” by Daniel N. Paul, through my son John who lives on the Red Cliff Ojibwe Reservation in Wisconsin. Although I am not a Indigenous person, many of my relatives are through marriage. My interests in their culture and history are paramount to my day-to-day education; I read. I visit. I listen. I learn. My Anishinaabe Ojibwe grandson, Ozaawaa, John’s son, is 13 years old; he’s been my primary catalyst of learning and experiencing Anishinaabe culture since his birth. One day when Ozaawaa was six, we were outdoors playing Frisbee, he stopped and asked me, offhandedly, “Grandpa, are you Native?” It was a question that I knew we’d be sharing eventually, and as I was unable to avoid it, I answered, “No Ozaawaa. I’m not.” “What are you then?” he said. “I’m ... uh ... Euro-American,” I answered watching his face for recognition so I wouldn’t have to explain further. Not