Medicine River

A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools

De: Mary Annette Pember

Narrado por: Erin Tripp

A sweeping and deeply personal account of Native American boarding schools in the United States, and the legacy of abuse wrought by them in an attempt to destroy Native culture and life

From the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their tribal communities to attend boarding schools whose stated aim was to "save the Indian" by way of assimilation. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the U.S. government, but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were a calculated attempt to dismantle tribes by pulling apart Native families. Children were beaten for speaking their Native languages; denied food, clothing, and comfort; and forced to work menial jobs in terrible conditions, all while utterly deprived of love and affection.

Amongst those thousands of children was Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother, who was was sent to a boarding school in northern Wisconsin at age five. The trauma of her experience cast a pall over Pember's own childhood and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark but hopeful portrait of communities still reckoning with the trauma of acculturation, religion, and abuse caused by the state. Through searing interviews and careful reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of Native cultures and nations in relation to the country that has been intent on eradicating them.

©2025 Mary Annette Pember (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

One of The New York Times' Nonfiction Books to Read This Spring

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Ms. Magazine, The Orange County Register, Electric Literature

“Powerful. . . . An important work in the growing literature about the trauma those boarding schools inflicted on generations of Native peoples. . . . Pember’s journalism and advocacy [make] clear the scope and impact of one major pillar of this epochal injustice. . . . . It’s essential that stories like Pember’s stories are amplified and the momentum toward justice is sustained until such a time as it can be delivered.”—Los Angeles Times

“[Pember’s] expertise is on full display here. There’s no one more equipped to cover the tragedy of boarding schools, their lasting legacy and the survivance of those forced to attend.”—Ms. Magazine

“A searing account of Indian boarding schools and the impact they continue to have on families, communities and cultures. . . . Medicine River is [Pember’s] magnum opus, a must-read for all people who long to see justice flow. . . . An unforgettable read.”—BookPage (starred review)