The Inconvenient Indian Explained

Author:Thomas King
Isbn:978-0-385-66421-9
Pub Date:November 13, 2012
Publisher:Doubleday Canada
Awards:

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America is a book by American-Canadian author Thomas King, first published in 2012 by Doubleday Canada. It presents a history of Indigenous peoples in North America. The book has been adapted into a documentary film titled Inconvenient Indian directed by Michelle Latimer, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.

Summary

King's work is an account of the history of indigenous rights and treaties in North America. He notes the portrayal of indigenous peoples in popular media as having contributed greatly to public knowledge of North American Indians. The book ends on the following note: "If the last five hundred years are any indication, what the Native people of North America do with the future should be very curious indeed."

Publication history

Reception

Reviews

Publishers Weekly referred to The Inconvenient Indian as "intelligent and eye-opening". They highlighted how "King demonstrates with sharp and swift strokes how the U.S. and Canada have repeatedly treated Natives as an inconvenience, an obstacle to be rid of, moved, or carefully rounded up, then reimagined altogether. It’s also a book that charts how such injustices are often replaced by kinder, more audience-friendly historical narratives".[1]

According to Kirkus Reviews, King's "wit and storytelling talent make the book easy to read; more importantly, his humor may keep readers from wanting to scream at the injustices".[2] Publishers Weekly similarly noted how King "scathes, chides, and often pokes fun" throughout the book, which "suffers from a unilaterally sardonic tone that seethes with understandable indignation but leaves too little space for hope or progress".

Kirkus Reviews concluded that, despite having "way too many lists", The Inconvenient Indian is "a solid book and a good look at what can be done in the future of Indian-white relations".

Awards and honours

In 2015, The Inconvenient Indian was nominated for the Canada Reads competition,[3] where it was defended by Craig Kielburger.[4] It won the Canada Reads foreshadowing event from the Lennoxville Library, defended by Tim Belford.[5]

Awards for The Inconvenient Indian!Year!Award!Result!
2013Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction[6]
NAISA Prize for Best Subsequent Book[7]
Trillium Book Award[8]
2014British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction[9]
Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature[10]
Governor General's Award for English to French translation[11]
RBC Taylor Prize

Adaptations

The Inconvenient Indian was adapted into a documentary film titled Inconvenient Indian directed by Michelle Latimer, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.[12] The film won Best Canadian Feature Film at the festival.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2013-07-15 . The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King . 2024-07-10 . . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131547/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780816689767 . live .
  2. Web site: 2013-07-14 . The Inconvenient Indian . 2024-07-10 . . October 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201021190015/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thomas-king/the-inconvenient-indian/ . live .
  3. Web site: 2015 . Canada Reads 2015: The Inconvenient Indian . 2024-07-10 . . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131548/https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/1.2981971 . live .
  4. Web site: 2017-02-08 . The Inconvenient Indian . 2024-07-10 . . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131508/https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-inconvenient-indian-1.3972080 . live .
  5. Web site: 2015 . "The Inconvenient Indian" wins Lennoxville's Canada Reads . 2024-07-10 . . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131547/https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/1.2991297 . live .
  6. News: 2014-03-10 . Thomas King wins $25K RBC Taylor Prize for non-fiction . 2020-10-20 . . en-US . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131529/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/thomas-king-wins-25k-rbc-taylor-prize-for-non-fiction-1.2566943 . live .
  7. Web site: PREVIOUS PUBLICATION AWARD WINNERS · Native American and Indigenous Studies Association . 2024-07-10 . Native American and Indigenous Studies Association . en-US . May 31, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531101613/https://naisa.org/memberships/awards/prizewinners/ . live .
  8. Web site: 2013 Trillium Book Award Finalists Announced . 2020-10-20 . Open Book: Toronto . en . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131532/https://www.tophotelstoronto.com/openbooktoronto/ . live .
  9. Web site: Ahearn . Victoria . 2014-11-18 . Thomas King wins Governor General's Literary Award for fiction - Toronto . 2024-07-10 . Global News . en-US . January 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210124105306/https://globalnews.ca/news/1678240/thomas-king-wins-governor-generals-literary-award-for-fiction/ . live .
  10. Web site: 2014-09-03 . Thomas King, Bev Sellars among finalists for 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature . 2020-10-20 . . en . October 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211017202858/https://quillandquire.com/awards/2014/09/03/thomas-king-bev-sellars-among-finalists-for-2014-burt-award-for-first-nations-metis-and-inuit-literature/ . live .
  11. Web site: Cerny . Dory . 2014-11-18 . Thomas King and Michael Harris give HarperCollins Canada Governor General's double win . 2024-07-10 . . March 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230318054103/https://quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/18/thomas-king-and-michael-harris-give-harpercollins-canada-governor-generals-double-win/ . live .
  12. Web site: Inconvenient Indian . 2020-10-20 . TIFF . en . July 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240710131510/https://tiff.net/events/inconvenient-indian . live .
  13. Web site: 20 September 2020 . Toronto: Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' Wins Audience Award Hollywood Reporter . 2020-10-20 . www.hollywoodreporter.com . November 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201113171016/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/toronto-chloe-zhaos-nomadland-wins-audience-award . live .

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