Thank you @Atriabooks for the gifted advance reader's copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 

Nothing More of This Land is part memoir, part epistemological exploration on the meaning of Indigenous identity to the author, and frames the same question more broadly with accounts from Indigenous people throughout the world. I found this book packed with historical and modern context I had yet to connect to experiences of East Coast tribes and appreciate the author's voice which brings an energetic curiosity to answering incredibly nuanced questions. 

The book begins with introduction to the Wampanoag creation legend (I LOVE creation stories!!!) and is frequently referenced throughout the book when drawing parallels with modern issues (which I think is genius). I found myself relating to several levels of this personal narrative including being of mixed heritage as a result of global imperialism and appreciate how much information is provided for various movements that Indigenous people here and around the world are leading. (Not so?) Fun fact: because my father's side was displaced during the British occupation of Punjab and forced into East Africa, most of the stories I heard growing up were of my dad's experiences growing up with his Maasai peers. I remember him telling me that traditional Maasai practice before an animal butcher is to give an offering to the land and the soul of the animal. I drew a parallel when I learned that some Native American tribes offer tobacco to bless a space or endeavor in the same way. The Maasai are mentioned quite a bit in this book and the author's conversations with them bring me back to this learned principle that Indigenous people are not a monolith but they are always connected to their land. 

There is a part of this book talking about ceremonial burns that was especially powerful to me as someone who lives in Southern California and sees wildfire decimate entire towns yearly. Lee describes a picture of a forest he encounters while visiting the Kurok tribe in Northern California where one side of trees are treated with ceremonial burns and the other without. The side that received prescribed ceremonial burns was of course, untouched by future wildfires and thriving while the side that did not was scorched. This is only one example of how the US project undermines Indigenous knowledge to the detriment of our ecology. 

I could honestly go on about the many extremely powerful things discussed in this book but I'll wrap this review up here. I'd recommend Nothing More of This Land to anyone looking to learn more about Indigenous communities in (so-called) North America and beyond, folks seeking education on the landback movement, and anyone who wants to be an informed ally.

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