Becoming Little Shell

About this item

"Nothing less than the history of a people in the form of an absorbing and emotionally searing memoir."—David Treuer, author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee "I'm committed to uncovering the culture of my people. I'm com­mitted to learning as much of the language as I can. I've always loved this land, and I've always loved Indian people. The more I dig into it, the more I interact with my Indian relatives, the more it blooms in my heart. The more it blooms in my spirit." Growing up in Montana, Chris La Tray always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely denied any connection, he found Indigenous people alluring, often recalling his grandmother's consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage. When La Tray attended his grandfather's funeral as a young man, he finally found himself surrounded by relatives who obviously were Indigenous. "Who were they?" he wondered, and "Why was I never allowed to know them?"