Reviews
"If you're wondering why the presence of Andrew Jackson's portrait in the Oval Office is offensive, this is your book."-- Kirkus, "Tiffany Midge is a gift, a literary comedic genius. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is chock-full of savagely clever and spot-on riffs about Native life combined with keen observations of the absurdities of pop culture. Where else can one find discussion of the use of 'ugh' in American literature or of Anne Coulter and Delores Abernathy as judges in the post-election U.S. Open in Racist Tirades Competition? Adroit, snarly, essential, and inspiring. She knows our truths, so there is no use in hiding. Midge is among the very best indigenous writers. More, please."--Devon Mihesuah, author of Ned Christie ; Choctaw Crime and Punishment ; and Indigenous American Women, "[Midge's] no-b.s., take-no-prisoners approach is likely to resound with twenty-something readers, but the older crowd ought to give Midge a look, too."--Joan Curbow, Booklist, "This collection of opinion editorials and recent essays solidifies Midge's standing as one of the most versatile talents in Native and American writing today."--Samantha Majhor, A merican Indian Culture and Research Journal, " Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is timely reading for the fall season, with Midge suggesting "Politically Correct Alternatives to Culturally Insensitive Halloween Costumes," and proclaiming "Hey America, I'm Taking Back Thanksgiving." Treat yourself to a fast-moving correction of any vestiges you may have of the stoic, unsmiling Native stereotype and enjoy at least a Tweet or a one-liner from Tiffany Midge. You're sure to learn something as you laugh."--Jan Hardy, Back in the Stacks, "Midge is a wry, astute charmer with an eye for detail and an ear for the scruffy rhythms of American lingo."--Sarah Vowell, author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, "Midge is a hilarious satirical essayist and nonfiction writer, and her work brings all the laughs. But they are 'thinky' laughs, because the humor doubles back on itself and makes you see so much about modern Native American life in a new way."--David Treuer, Los Angeles Times, "This uproarious, truth-telling collection of satirical essays skewer[s] everything from white feminism to 'Pretendians' to pumpkin spice. Midge, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, muses bitingly on life as a Native woman in America, staring colonialism and racism in the face wherever she finds them, from offensive Halloween costumes to exploitative language. This collection's deliciously sharp edges draw laughter and blood alike."--Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire, " Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is timely reading for the fall season, with Midge suggesting "Politically Correct Alternatives to Culturally Insensitive Halloween Costumes," and proclaiming "Hey America, I'm Taking Back Thanksgiving." Treat yourself to a fast-moving correction of any vestiges you may have of the stoic, unsmiling Native stereotype and enjoy at least a Tweet or a one-liner from Tiffany Midge. You're sure to learn something as you laugh."-- Back in the Stacks, "[A] cornucopia of literary brilliance. The Standing Rock Sioux writer's wickedly funny autobiography offers laugh-out-loud passages alongside compassionate profiles, bitter sarcasm, and heartbreaking chronicles. Each of the memoirs are short yet potent, compelling the reader to continue while paradoxically causing one to pause to reflect on Midge's astute observations. Every entry is so well-crafted that the only disappointment you'll find is when you realize you've read them all. Then again, this is a book that demands to be reread."--Ryan Winn, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, ?"Tiffany Midge is a gift, a literary comedic genius. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is chock full of savagely clever and spot-on riffs about Native life combined with keen observations of the absurdities of pop culture. Where else can one find discussion of the use of 'ugh' in American literature or of Anne Coulter and Delores Abernathy as judges in the post-election U.S. Open in Racist Tirades Competition? Adroit, snarly, essential, and inspiring. She knows our truths, so there is no use in hiding. Midge is among the very best indigenous writers. More, please."--Devon Mihesuah, author of Ned Christie ; Choctaw Crime and Punishment ; and Indigenous American Women, "Tiffany Midge is a gift, a literary comedic genius. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is chock full of savagely clever and spot-on riffs about Native life combined with keen observations of the absurdities of pop culture. Where else can one find discussion of the use of 'ugh' in American literature or of Anne Coulter and Delores Abernathy as judges in the post-election U.S. Open in Racist Tirades Competition? Adroit, snarly, essential, and inspiring. She knows our truths, so there is no use in hiding. Midge is among the very best indigenous writers. More, please."--Devon Mihesuah, author of Ned Christie ; Choctaw Crime and Punishment ; and Indigenous American Women, " Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's drives a spear into the stereotype of Native American stoicism. It is perhaps the funniest nonfiction collection I have ever read. But it is much more than funny: it is moving, honest, and painful as well, and looks at the absurdities of modern America. Midge's collection is so good it could raise Iron Eyes Cody from the grave and make him laugh till he cries."--David Treuer, author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, "This collection's deliciously sharp edges draw laughter and blood alike."--Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire, "Tiffany Midge is a gift, a literary comedic genius. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is chock full of savagely clever and spot-on riffs about Native life combined with keen observations of the absurdities of pop culture. Where else can one find discussion of the use of 'ugh' in American literature or of Anne Coulter and Delores Abernathy as judges in the post-election U.S. Open in Racist Tirades Competition? Adroit, snarly, essential, and inspiring. She knows our truths, so there is no use in hiding. Midge is among the very best indigenous writers. More, please."--Devon Mihesuah, author of Ned Christie and American Indigenous Women ?, "Tiffany Midge is the kind of funny that can make the same joke funny over and over again. Which means, of course, that she is wicked smart, and sly, and that she has her hand on the pulse of the culture in a Roxane Gay-ish way, only funnier, and that she has our number, your number, and my number too, all of our numbers. Which means she is our teacher, if we let her be."--Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country
Table Of Content
Foreword by Geary Hobson Part I: My Origin Story Is a Cross between "Call Me Ishmael," a Few Too Many Whiskey Sours Packed in an Old Thermos at the Drive-In Double Feature, and That Little Voice That Says, "You Got This" Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese''s Headlines Part II: Instead of a "Raised by Wolves" T-Shirt, Mine Says "Raised by Functioning Alcoholics with Intimacy Phobias & Low Self-Esteem" The Jimmy Report My Name Is Moonbeam McSwine The Siam Sequences Part III: Micro (Aggression) Memoirs First World (Story) Problems: Brown Girl Multiple Choice Edition Tweets as Assigned Texts for Native American Studies Course Ghoul, Interrupted Part IV: Garsh Durn It! You Say Patriarchy, I Say Patri-Malarkey, Dollars to Donuts Cuckoo Banana Pants, You Gals & Your Lady Power This ''n'' That An Open Letter to White Women Concerning The Handmaid''s Tale and America''s Historical Amnesia Fertility Rites Wonder Woman Hits Theaters, Smashes Patriarchy Jame Gumb, Hero and Pioneer of the Fat-Positivity Movement Post-Election Message to the 53 Percent Committee of Barnyard Swine to Determine Fate for Women''s Health Champion Our Native Sisters! (but Only Selectively and under Certain Conditions) An Open Letter to White Girls Regarding Pumpkin Spice and Cultural Appropriation Part V: Me, Cutting in Front of All the People in All of the Lines Forever: "It''s Okay, I Literally Was Here First" #DecolonizedAF Thousands of Jingle Dress Dancers Magically Appear at Standing Rock Protector Site Satire Article Goes Viral on Day of 2016 Presidential Election Results Attack of the Fifty-Foot (Lakota) Woman Minnesota Art Gallery to Demolish "Indian Uprisings" Exhibit after Caucasian Community Protest Why I Don''t Like "Pussy" Hats Li-Li-Li-Li-Land, Standing Rock the Musical! Part VI: Merciless Indian Savages? Try Merciless Indian Fabulous! Redeeming the English Language (Acquisition) Series Fifty Shades of Buckskin Conversations with My Lakota Mom Feast Smudge Snag Eight Types of Native Moms Part VII: "Shill the Pretendian, Unfav the Genuine" Is the 2018 Remix of "Kill the Indian, Save the Man" Red like Me: I Knew Rachel Dolezal Back When She Was Indigenous A List of Alternative Identities to Try for Fun and Profit I Have White Bread Privilege Things Pseudo-Native Authors Have Claimed to Be but Actually Are Not You Might Be a Pretendian Part VIII: I Watched Woman Walks Ahead and Frankly Was Offended by the Cookie-Cutter, Stereotypical Portrayal of the Menacing White Soldier Reel Indians Don''t Eat Quiche: The Fight for Authentic Roles in Hollywood Are You There, Christmas? It''s Me, Carol! Post-Election U.S. Open in Racist Tirades Competition West Wing World Part IX: The Native Americans Used EVERY Part of the Sacred Turkey Hey America, I''m Taking Back Thanksgiving Clown Costumes Banned, Racist Native American Halloween Costumes Still Okay Thanksgiving Shopping at Costco: I Just Can''t Even Politically Correct Alternatives to Culturally Insensitive Halloween Costumes Part X: BREAKING NEWS--Your Neighbor Who Said, "Whoa, Dude, This Whole Trump Thing''s, Like, So Fricken Surreal," Might Actually Be on to Something Step Right Up, Folks Trump Pardons Zombie Apocalypse There''s Something about Andrew Jackson Trump Administration to Repeal Bison as First National Mammal President Trump Scheduled for Whirlwind Tour to Desecrate World''s Treasures Part XI: The Trump Administration''s Pop-Up, Coloring, Scratch ''n'' Sniff, Edible, and Radioactive Activity Book You''ve Got Mail! Executive Order Requiring All Americans Take Up Cigarettes by End of 2017 The Wild West (Wing) and Wild Bill Hiccup Give a Chump a Chance Ars Poetica by Donald J. Trump Acknowledgments
Synopsis
Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is a powerful and inviting collection of Tiffany Midge's musings on life, politics, and identity as a Native woman in America., Why is there no Native woman David Sedaris? Or Native Anne Lamott? Humor categories in publishing are packed with books by funny women and humorous sociocultural-political commentary--but no Native women. There are presumably more important concerns in Indian Country. More important than humor? Among the Din /Navajo, a ceremony is held in honor of a baby's first laugh. While the context is different, it nonetheless reminds us that laughter is precious, even sacred. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is a powerful and compelling collection of Tiffany Midge's musings on life, politics, and identity as a Native woman in America. Artfully blending sly humor, social commentary, and meditations on love and loss, Midge weaves short, stand-alone musings into a memoir that stares down colonialism while chastising hipsters for abusing pumpkin spice. She explains why she does not like pussy hats, mercilessly dismantles pretendians, and confesses her own struggles with white-bread privilege. Midge goes on to ponder Standing Rock, feminism, and a tweeting president, all while exploring her own complex identity and the loss of her mother. Employing humor as an act of resistance, these slices of life and matchless takes on urban-Indigenous identity disrupt the colonial narrative and provide commentary on popular culture, media, feminism, and the complications of identity, race, and politics., Why is there no Native woman David Sedaris? Or Native Anne Lamott? Humor categories in publishing are packed with books by funny women and humorous sociocultural-political commentary--but no Native women. There are presumably more important concerns in Indian Country. More important than humor? Among the Diné/Navajo, a ceremony is held in honor of a baby's first laugh. While the context is different, it nonetheless reminds us that laughter is precious, even sacred. Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's is a powerful and compelling collection of Tiffany Midge's musings on life, politics, and identity as a Native woman in America. Artfully blending sly humor, social commentary, and meditations on love and loss, Midge weaves short, stand-alone musings into a memoir that stares down colonialism while chastising hipsters for abusing pumpkin spice. She explains why she does not like pussy hats, mercilessly dismantles pretendians, and confesses her own struggles with white-bread privilege. Midge goes on to ponder Standing Rock, feminism, and a tweeting president, all while exploring her own complex identity and the loss of her mother. Employing humor as an act of resistance, these slices of life and matchless takes on urban-Indigenous identity disrupt the colonial narrative and provide commentary on popular culture, media, feminism, and the complications of identity, race, and politics.
