History Corner: We've Been Here the Whole Time!: A Not So Sacred Guide to All Things Native America by Joey Clift,

 Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Simon and Schuster, via #edelweissplus, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. All opinions are my own

Native comedian Joey Clift takes you on a hilarious journey to discover the largest population you don't know in this sharp debut for fans of Michael Harriot and Phoebe Robinson.

Synopsis:

Put away the construction paper: this contraband book contains everything your high school refused to teach you about Native American history, people, and culture—illustrated in an irreverent textbook-meets-notebook style by Diné artist Julie Fiveash.

Comedian Joey Clift (Cowlitz tribe) walks you through a wide range of misconceptions, weird questions, and even weirder assumptions, covering everything from Pocahontas and sports mascots to ancestry claims and the Land Back movement.

A hilarious, NDN-approved guide to Native America, makes a great gift for history buffs, teachers, and comedy fans, interact with satirical flowcharts, quizzes, and more.

Joyfully defiant illustrations by Julie Fiveash, with foreword by Shane Hawk (Never Whistle at Night).

Perfect fans of The Daily Show's America (The Book) and F*cking History

Pick up this conversation-starting book and turn your boring Thanksgiving into a fun “You're Welcome” dance party

Review:

If you haven't seen or heard Joey, then this book might seem a little insane and insensitive, but sometimes you have to laugh at stuff in order to get through it. Joey does a great job in putting the forgotten history into a small chunk that most people can understand in modern terminology,and through analogy, that makes it easier, and harder to understand at the same time. For example he does a great job in explaining tribal schools and why their forced taking away of indigenous children and their culture, left such a devastating impact, that still is felt in modern society today. Most people aren't taught about the horrors of the school system, and the numbers are shocking -they should be horrifing to those who are unaware. The book tackles a lot of sensitive subjects in a way that allows for all raiders to comprehend both the reason why/why not, and how to get past the trauma. 

It's not a big book, and it can be taken in multiple sittings. If you homeschool you need this book. If you teach history you need this book. This book is not just for history majors though, it's for everyone to learn what you weren't taught. There's a whole series of books on American history with that title that would be great for your second reading after this one. Modern day teaching leaves out a lot. The textbooks may want to try to be inclusive, but when it comes to indigenous history, it's all about the flash and not about the trauma. So pick up this book today, learn what you don't know, and then you can help to educate others.

About the Author:

Joey Clift is a Los Angeles-based comedian, TV writer, director, Peabody and Emmy-nominated producer, and enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. Joey attended college to become a local TV weather person because he didn’t see any Native American comedians on television as a kid, and that made him believe he wasn’t allowed to work in comedy. He has since proven otherwise, writing for critically acclaimed TV series like Spirit Rangers on Netflix, Molly of Denali on PBS and Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon. Joey created Gone Native, a Webby-winning Comedy Central Digital series and his short films have screened everywhere from Just for Laughs to the Smithsonian Museum