Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home

nA People Magazine Best New Book of the Monthn nWinner of the 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Awardn nA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of the Year Selectionn nA Book Riot Best Memoirs, Nonfiction Science, and Food Writing of the Last Yearn nI'm in awe of Chris La Tray's storytelling. Becoming Little Shell creates a multilayered narrative from threads of personal, family, community, tribal, and national histories.--Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrassn nGrowing up in Montana, Chris La Tray always identified as Indian. Despite the fact that his father fiercely denied any connection, he found Indigenous people alluring, often recalling his grandmother's consistent mention of their Chippewa heritage.n nWhen La Tray attended his grandfather's funeral as a young man, he finally found himself surrounded by relatives who obviously were Indigenous. Who were they? he wondered, and Why was I never allowed to know them? Combining diligent research and compelling conversations with authors, activists, elders, and historians, La Tray embarks on a journey into his family's past, discovering along the way a larger story of the complicated history of Indigenous communities--as well as the devastating effects of colonialism that continue to ripple through surviving generations. And as he comes to embrace his full identity, he eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, joining their 158-year-long struggle for federal recognition. n nBoth personal and historical, Becoming Little Shell is a testament to the power of storytelling, to family and legacy, and to finding home. Infused with candor, heart, wisdom, and an abiding love for a place and a people, Chris La Tray's remarkable journey is both revelatory and redemptive.n