Ojibwe in Minnesota by Anton Treuer was named “Best Read in Minnesota 2010″ by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.  The book was featured at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, on Saturday, September 25.  Treuer is also the author of The Assassination of Hole in the Day, which will be available beginning in October.

Each year at the  festival, the Center for the Book, in cooperation with state affiliates, salutes the literary traditions of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. The Minnesota Center for the Book at the Minnesota Humanities Center selected Ojibwe in Minnesota and Night Driving by John Coy for this year’s list.

Ojibwe in Minnesota was featured in a “Discover Great Places Through Reading” brochure available at the festival, and the 52 Great Reads are listed on the festival website.

While most historians concentrate on relationships with whites to explain Ojibwe history, Treuer in both Ojibwe in Minnesota and The Assassination of Hole in the Day tells that history from a tribal point of view—focusing on Ojibwe interactions with other groups, the role of Ojibwe culture and tradition, and interviews with tribal elders.

Ojibwe in Minnesota also does not shy away from today’s controversial topics, covering them frankly and with sensitivity—issues of sovereignty as they influence the running of casinos and land management; the need for reform in modern tribal government; poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse; and constitutional and educational reform. He also tackles the complicated issue of identity and details recent efforts and successes in cultural preservation and language revitalization.

Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is the author of Ojibwe in Minnesota, The Assassination of Hole in the Day  and several books on the Ojibwe language. He is also the editor of Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language.