We Who Walk the Seven Ways
Covering decades of discoveries and friendships with other Native people, We Who Walk the Seven Ways is Terra Trevor’s insightful memoir about Native American culture and identity.
For most of Trevor’s youth, it was illegal for Native American citizens to practice their culture, including its religion, poetry, music, and literature. Her book is a reclamation, delving into Native American identity with a sense of fascination and asserting that “there is no such thing as being part Indian.” It imparts factual information about Trevor’s own community too—a Chumash mix between the Santa Ynez Mission Band Chumash, who were recognized by the federal government, and the Coastal Band Chumash, who applied for recognition in 1981. It also covers other Native American tribes, including some who are undocumented.
Alongside the book’s influx of cultural information come intimate details about Trevor’s life. She discusses her son’s illness, her close friendships, her writing habits, and her discussions with other women about women’s bodies. It celebrates the people who defined and shaped her life, some of whose identities she chose to protect by using pseudonyms. Every chapter is named after one influential person. These include her friend Bill, a mixed journalist and writer with whom she had a close relationship; he was crucial in guiding her to rediscover her culture and heritage, and he encouraged her to write her memories down. An aunt is another strong figure, sharing stories on women’s cycles of life within the medicine world and on women’s energy and how it blends with religion.
Covering topics as diverse as race, religion, and the craft of writing, We Who Walk the Seven Ways is a moving memoir about friendship and identity.
Reviewed by
Anna Maria Colivicchi
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
