This book really surprised me! I've read my fair share of nonfiction books on Indigeneity in the U.S. and this was a really interesting take on the idea of Native identity and who "counts" as Native. It's no surprised that our ideas of this have been so warped by colonialism — specifically when you look at blood quantum and matrilineal/patrilineal status and whatnot. I was absolutely fascinated by this examination of the way we determine and have determined Native identity since contact, and the author did a great job of pairing historical elements of this issue with a dissection of evolving policies, as well as with her experiences and the experiences of other mixed, reconnecting, or displaced Native folks.

Reading this as a mixed Indigenous person who comes from tribes that will most likely never be federally recognized and who also navigates the nuances of being from a tribe that is south of the colonial border, this book gave me so much to think about.