So bad o didn't bother reading more than 10 pages. It started of with a really bad introduction of Vitra and from there it just went doenhill

Firstly, sorry for the late response. I had a personal situation that is still ongoing. I just want to say that "The Ghost Dancers: A Novel" is a heartbreaking yet, at times, comical novel. It gave me insight to Indigenous culture and way of life (of course, a touch of it as I have so much to learn). The underlying story, of a group of Native men who form an underground society to take justice into their own hands, is hard to explain. I enjoyed it as it is full of ramblings and confusion that is so human, it is human. People make mistakes. People grow. Some don't. Humanity really shines through - gritty and raw.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and University of Nevada Press for the ARC for my honest review.

This is a DNF for me. I understand the importance of preserving the text how the author wrote it, but this feels unedited and that made it unenjoyable for me. The story meanders and lacks precision or message. The writing was brazen and had some graphic language and scenes which also turned me off. I hope others enjoy this more.

This was a disappointment. A bleak story that rehashes the common problems Native Americans face. There is an loosely constructed theme of an underground
movement afoot but it doesn’t engage.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the arc.

3*

Published posthumously, this novel takes place in the late 80s between two families and two reservations. The families deal with loss, violence, addiction, and the continuing effects of white American colonialism, all while healing pasts, dreaming futures, and always questioning identity and belonging.

I enjoyed the two boys' characters. We could watch them struggle to keep their footing amongst the sudden storms that kept trying to knock them over. Bean, the main character and the bridge between the two families, probably has a good heart, though he makes decisions that hurt everyone, repeatedly.

As a non-indigenous reader, I am hesitant to critique the characters' motives or personalities too much. I will say that there is an ending that some may find doesn't resolve the many threads the book tangles up, and that may be a good thing or not.

I learned a lot from this book it was an interesting story from multiple perspectives. The continuous use of racial slurs was a big turn off for me. It was a coming of age story and a reflective story. Overall, I liked the book.

This is the first thing I've read by Adrian C. Louis, so I went in with few expectations. I knew from the blurb I was getting a "realistic" view but that doesn't mean much unless you've lived the reality. And I wasn't sure how I felt about The Ghost Dancers at first. The casual racism. The derision (both for others and the self). The violence. It started out as a tough read and never got any easier to get through. But that is the entire point.

The "noble savage" trope (which feels gross just typing it) is just that...a trope. While it can feel good to read about any oppressed people rising above the oppression, poverty, and racism they face, it's rarely a clear-eyed look at reality. This story was gritty, messy, violent, and chaotic -- and having read just a small bit about Louis's background and writing before he died, I believe it's the reality that many American Indians on the reservation face.

Much of what I read shocked me as both a modern reader and as a White person who can never know and understand. But, even in the most surprising details -- the casual alcohol consumption by teenagers, the (sometimes) fervent faith, the galling violence -- it was a riveting read that made me also understand how and why there was still small glimmers of hope and joy to be found, even if it was in something as wild as blowing the nose off George Washington's face or something as small as writing in a journal like Quanah regularly did.

This is a challenging read, but that's what made it so damn good.

Raw and Real

I'll be back to post my official review shortly.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

The Ghost Dancers is a posthumous release of a novel written decades ago by Adrian Louis (as noted in the foreword and as is important to keep in mind while reading). Outlining life on Pine Ridge Reservation, it follows Bean and his family legacy as they experience the ins and outs and truths of reservation life.

Truly gritty with no flowers to cover up what happens or to make the taste in your mouth more palatable, this novel provides a glimpse into the stressors, the hopelessness, and the experience of living on a reservation. Exploring alcoholism, politics, violence, racism, family life, and societal viewpoints amongst other things, it is real and raw to the bone.

This was an extremely tough read at points for two reasons. The first being the incredible outdated (and truthfully inexcusable regardless of the date it was written) language that revealed itself in homophobia, racism, and misogyny (which is what is preventing me from giving it a higher rating, it was more disgusting than it was gritty at times). The second being the point of the novel which is that reservation life is no picnic. It is incredible hard to read the stories of the Indigenous communities who are living with such hardships, such stigma, such poverty. But it is important to do so, to form a well-rounded viewpoint on what day-to-day life can, has, and does looked like for Indigenous Peoples.

There is nothing pretty in this book, it will make you want to close it but I implore you not to. Keep reading it if you pick it up, keep walking the streets of Pine Ridge Reservation. If you’re interested in reading from the point of view of someone who is sharing realistic experiences of reservation life, this is a book you should pick up (just be warned that it can absolutely be triggering at times).

3.5 stars rounded down (and only knocked down due to the nature of some of the language that is used).

The Ghost Dancers is a previously unpublished novel by American Indian poet, Adrian Louis. Louis takes a frank look at life on the rez through the eyes of Lyman "Bean" Wilson, a Nevada Indian and professor of journalism at Lakota University in South Dakota. Bean is suffering an identity crisis of sorts. He is the great grandson of Wovoka, the creator of the Ghost Dance religion. But Bean is not full-blooded Indian and therefore not accepted by the Pine Ridge Sioux, even though he's a member of the secret Ghost Dance Society. Bean stumbles through his life, making bad choices and trying to fit in. Like Louis's other works, this is a stark. realistic look a life on the reservation and a life where the choices are limited. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

The Ghost Dancers was written in the late 80’s and is being published posthumously. This is an important point as a lot of the gritty and real language is going to trigger some readers. The author’s characters are free speaking with homophobic, misogynistic, racist language. At first I was repelled by the dialogue, but I stuck with it and ended up greatly appreciating the novel.

This novel presents an extremely dark side of reservation life. I would love to hear more opinions from native readers. No sugar coating res life here.

This book adds to the Native American voice in literature and is a good companion to Louise Erdrich and Tommy Orange, among others. I’m glad it is being published. Watch for it in September.

I was sent a ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion,
Having saif and reading this material i still do not feel that i would have a say in this matter. Happy to read being written about matters that matter. was difficult at times to follow.

Writing: 4.5/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot: 4.5/5

A posthumous publication by the author of Skins, this is a raw story of Indian life in late 80s / early 90s. Bean Wilson is an educated Indian — a well known poet and journalist. Born and raised a Paiute in Nevada, he now lives and works with Lakota Sioux on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. The events in the book follow Bean, his son Quanah, and his girlfriend’s son Toby. Wilson’s interior and verbalized rants permeate the pages on topics ranging from Indians (and himself in particular) being their own worst enemies to harangues on White oppression. While he tries to honor the old ways, he grapples with alcoholism and his womanizing tendencies. The writing depicts his internal struggles and the male culture in which those are common and even respected traits. This is extremely well done. It’s often crude, but feels real and does an excellent job of fleshing out each of the primary male characters — their experiences, their interactions with friends, family, and those who are “other” and the impact on their personal development. Oddly enough, while plenty of bad things happen, I didn’t find it depressing the way I do most Louise Erdrich books. The tone is not as emotional, or maybe it is more angry and less hopeless. Perhaps this is because the real focus is on men? The women characters have depth, but the real magnifying glass is on the men.

I have no insight into why this was not published when it was written — probably in the late 80s or early 90s according to the Forward. That was the only frustrating bit — the world was so well-depicted and I have no clue how things may or may not have changed since then.

The writing is powerful, insightful, and supports the complexity required of any real story. Some quotes below demonstrate both the writing and some of the rants. I loved the first line (which is also the first quote) — somehow it just completely grabbed me.

“The Cancerous burrito of Los Angeles summer seemed to have no effect upon the rambunctious innocence of yelling Chicano kids.”

“Bean looked from the two warriors in the painting to the two Pine Ridgers and repressed an urge toward epiphany.”

“American was a cannibalistic society. There was no true freedom in America. The White man thought he was free. The Black man thought he had been freed. The Indian knew he had been corn-holed.”

“…that garish monument to White greed, carved out of the mother earth, gouged out of the sacred Black Hills, and stolen from the Indians despite the treaties promising no intrusion.” (About Mount Rushmore)

“He despised the rhetoric of contrition that AA and its kindred organizations espoused. He despised the self-righteous reformed drunks who made their various programs for alcoholics a large industry on the Pine Ridge reservation.”

“It’s depressing to the max around here. I hate to say it, but you Sioux live like Black people in ghettos. No pride. No hope. Just booze, drugs, and violence. Pregnant teenagers and commodity cheese.”

“And as educated Indians, we know who our worst enemies are. Some of the worst are our own people. They must be re-educated, those that are the rip-offs. And the other bad enemy is the White liberal who lives on the reservation and purports to help our people. They are bloodsuckers. But that is a different matter.”

This gritty, funny and at times brutal book is about life on the rez, or reservation. It is modern Native American life, unvarnished, with all its dysfunctions and absurdities, but also its love and joy. Bean is going through difficult times with his current wife; her son and Bean get on, but her son is going through a difficult age; Bean's ex-wife lives on a different reservation and is angry that his mother is dating a black person. Finally, and the thread that binds the book, Bean's father is dying.

What I liked about the book was the energy and fearlessness of the writing. The hatred and rivalries between different tribes, the humour and discrimination, the alcohol abuse and the fact that just about everyone smokes, are all depicted without glamourising or demeaning. It is not a social comment - it was just the way things are. Yet, of course, it is a social comment, because things are in a pretty bad way. Unemployment and violence are rampant and, although Bean, his wife, ex-wife and her boyfriend are employed, and although they have sons who are doing well at school, they are the exceptions in a bleak environment.

Much of that could be said of any disadvantaged people; what sets the book apart is the subtle fabric of native American tradition and worldview that runs through the novel. There are sweat baths and shamans, spirits who walk abroad and totems. The use of words from various languages is illuminating without ever being intrusive.  

The book is about identity. Bean's is under pressure: he teaches a white curriculum at a school dominated by whites. He edits the magazine, always trying to put a positive spin on events, but the events can get very nasty. He is angry yet intelligent, and also sexually frustrated. The result is a comedy that never degenerates into farce because it's just too real. Altogether, a very good read.

I liked that the author presented varied points of view and that they present connected and divergent paths. There’s Bean, his son Quanah, and his girlfriend’s son Toby. The style of writing was not the most engaging especially at the beginning because there’s a lot of backstory and not much action. But if you stick it out, it improves. It provides insight into life on a reservation and I thought that was invaluable.

The Ghost Dancers: A Novel is about a Native American man named Bean and his life on Pine Ridge Reservation. Bean is a middle-aged professor of journalism at Lakota University in South Dakota and the great-grandson of Wovoka, the Paiute leader who initiated the Ghost Dance religion. He drinks a lot and is very blunt. He is written so well, at times I really loved the character and his insight, and others could not stand him. The story deals with alcoholism, political groups, racism, and violence. I thought it was fantastic except for the end which kind of abruptly ended. I would have loved to see what happened next.

“Black Lives Matter.” Yet, there is much, much work to be done. Asian Pacific Island people have increasingly come under attack, and the media is only recently broadcasting that fact. Are indigenous people in America the forgotten ones?

I was drawn to The Ghost Dancers by the late Adrian C. Louis, hoping to gain insights into Native culture and way of life. The author, who died in 2018 at the age of 70, was a member of the Lovelock Paiute Tribe. He spent his life as a poet, a teacher of writing, and a mentor to young Native writers at Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and also taught in the English Department at Southwest Minnesota State University in Mankato. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Nevada University Press and NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Ghost Dancers is set in 1988. Lyman Wilson, affectionately – or maybe without affection by some – known as “Bean” is an educated man. A Paiute man who is originally from Nevada, he is a professor of journalism at Lakota University in South Dakota, where he also writes opinion pieces for the local rag. That’s the good stuff. Bean, unfortunately, has fallen into a rut. He is addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and women. He’s not a good role model for his son, Quanah. He cheats on his woman, Lena. A lot. With a student, no less.

I liked Lena. She was the most likable character in the book; she forgave Bean far more than he deserved. Quanah and Lena’s son Toby are both teenagers, lost, searching, trying to find their way in their world with little guidance from their elders. They seem to have no belief system – neither the traditional ways of their ancestors, nor the modern ideology of white society. Alcohol is available to them, and like normal teenage males, they are preoccupied with sex.

Bean is a descendent of the Paiute religious leader Wovoka, who was instrumental in founding a resurgence of the Ghost Dance movement, a circular dance believed to reunite the living with spirits of the dead. Bean’s Ghost Dancers take a more political stance. He is the only non-Lakota in the group, who come up with some practical ideas as well as some more bizarre, dangerous/illegal plans.

On the plus side, Louis does not sugarcoat life on the reservation. These are not “noble savages.” Sadly, many of these men and boys fit the stereotypes many whites have of our “Indian” neighbors. He does not shy away from the issues of alcoholism, drug abuse, poverty, unemployment, and sexual promiscuity. He also highlights feuds between tribes and racism, which surprised and saddened me, but I don’t know why it was unexpected. We all make assumptions, I suppose.

The down side of this is that these problems sort of take over the entire book. The plot rambles, and the it could have used some editing to make it more cohesive. And story just ends
My favorite scenes were the lessons that rang true, that the Lakota felt that the Black Hills were a spiritual place; the carving of the faces was a desecration. But my very most favorite part was toward the end, and that, too, was a spiritual scene of sorts. It was the Yuwipi ceremony that Bean participated in with a group of other men. It was a profound experience for him at the time, and the author described it vividly.

Unfortunately, the high points were, for me, few and far between. I laud this book for its honesty and content, but the execution does not quite deliver.

3 stars

I absolutely loved this book! What a great Native American story! We need more of these. I highly recommend this book.

Native American grit lit at its best! There are no totally lovable characters in this book, but their humanity really shines as they tackle their difficult lives. I really enjoyed reading this and getting a view of life on Pine Ridge Reservation. There's nothing pretty here, but if you want a more realistic view of life on the reservation, this is your book.

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I have personal experience working there, and with the citizens of the reservation. The author does a good job of capturing the bleak hopelessness that pervades the area. The poverty, the alcohol and drug abuse, the lack of jobs, the attempts to "improve" the situation by the BIA. He also manages to expound on the unbreakable spirit of the Native Americans.
The author writes a somewhat confusing tale. The main character is Bean, a Native American man from the Paiute tribe of Nevada, who finds himself following work to teach in a Pine Ridge university. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to like Bean or not, but I found him to be a rather repulsive character. I really could not find any good qualities about him.
The underlying story, of a group of Native men who form an underground society to take justice into their own hands, is not very well fleshed out. It seems the author was more concerned with the carousing and cheating of Bean than in advancing the story itself.
The ending was confusing. To be honest, I don't know what happened. It just kind of petered out. Disappointing, because it could have been told much better.
I do like some of the points the author made. About the fact that 80% of the people there being unemployed, with no real prospects for work.
Of the alcohol abuse. And that alcohol sales are banned on the reservation, yet just across the reservation boundary, in White Clay, Nebraska, was a main source of alcohol. White Clay, population 50, sold more beer than Nebraskan urban centers like Lincoln or Omaha. And not one cent of that money went to the reservation! That the arrest total for one year equaled 65% of the 20,000 population, and that 95% of those arrests were alcohol-related.
Of the overbearingness of the BIA. Hiring white people to run the colleges. White people who tell the Native population "how to be Indian". As the author calls it, "a college run for Indians by White outsiders. A colonial structure".
The author summed up his feelings toward White people in the following statement, "The landless scum of Europe, in the name of their cruel God, had gutted the land and trod upon the Indian. And made a country called America". Rather bleak, but yet somehow accurate.
I liked the author's descriptions of life on the reservation. Of his insights into the Native person's minds. I thought the story behind all this, of the secret society "the ghost dancers" was a great idea. It's just too bad that it was handled so poorly.