Terria Smith Recommends Tété-Michel Kpomassie, Noé Álvarez, Jamaica Kincaid and More
I am on a personal campaign to give the travel sphere something no one asked for but definitely—and desperately—needs, an Indigenous perspective. Whether European newcomers know it or not, tribal peoples of the Western Hemisphere have been voyaging, sharing, trading, and connecting with the world around them for centuries. And we are still doing so.Article continues after advertisement
Though most of my Native peers have traveled both nationally and internationally quite extensively, no one outside our communities talks to us about our experiences. But in my opinion, we have some of the most interesting stories. More importantly, we have a lot to teach our fellow travelers about respect, reciprocity, and relationships.
Though there are currently less than a handful of Native American/Indigenous travel-focused books out there (including my own forthcoming book I Love You So Many: A Memoir of Adventure, Culture, and Family), there are fortunately several anticolonial travel narratives that already exist on which we can stack some building blocks. Here are five of my personal favorite picks:
*
