The Everlasting Sky: Voices of Anishinabe People

Author: Gerald Vizenor

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press (2001)

In his classic first book of essays, Vizenor presents a stark but vital view of reservation life in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Focusing on the people of the northern reservations, particularly the White Earth Reservation where he grew up, Vizenor puts a human face on those desperate and politically charged times that saw frequent government intervention and the emergence of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In his trademark style, Vizenor juxtaposes these snapshots of contemporary life against images and dream sequences from Anishinabe folktales and ceremonies. As the Chronicle of Higher Education has observed, Vizenor's "paradoxical achievement has been to garner a reputation as an innovative avant-garde writer by embracing, and revitalizing, ancient oral storytelling traditions."

In his new introduction, composed especially for this edition, Vizenor reflects on the changes that have occurred on the reservations in the last three decades and updates the lives of this fascinating and various cast of characters.