Was it due to coincidence or some subconscious trickster impulse that found me reading this on Thanksgiving Day?

“Dreamcatcher in the Wry” is a collection of essays written during the Covid era by Tiffany Midge of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. As a humorist and satirist, her voice stands out in Native American literature. The foreword by Devon Mihesuah points out, “The reality…is that Native people are not wallowing in misery 24/ 7, but non-Natives don’t know that… And (the) need for laughter is reflected in this collection. Tiffany wields her gifts of perception and creativity to mesh the positive, the negative, and the absurd found in the daily social, political, economic, and religious issues that affect all of us.”

The first set of writings originated from Tiffany’s Moscow/Pullman Daily News columns. The humor shines through in her biographical accounts. We find out Ramona Quimby was her first literary hero. She tells how she stole from her neighbors’ gardens– in the spirit of decolonization, claiming” ... taking back the land one ear of corn, and one clump of dirt, at a time.” The section concludes with Tiffany's personal experience during the pandemic quarantine, highlighting her severe bout with COVID-19 that resulted in a week-long hospitalization.

The second section of the book presented a dilemma. Culled from her "Heard Around the West' columns published by the High-Country News, it offers short capsules of interest, usually wrapped up with a witty pun-induce quip. However, these felt like filler, as satisfying as consecutively reading too many mildly cute Paul Harvey broadcasts. I kept imagining the tagline, “...and now you know The Rest of the story…” I was losing faith in the book’s momentum at this point.

The final section, Bonus Slices and Outtakes with Extra Cheese, is where she shines. Freed from the limitations of hit-and-run newspaper anecdotes, the advertised “bitingly hilarious” satirist lets loose with commentaries that inspire both laughter and pause for reflection.

As an avid reader of Native literature, I often find myself questioning my biases, making this book captivating. Both the “savage” and idealized images grafted onto our definitions of Native identity are dissected. Most interesting to me were her expositions on both the “Pretendians” and the “expert” non-Native authors. Personalities such as Iron Eyes Cody, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and even Elizabeth Warren are name-checked and– although he is not singled out– had me reexamining one of my favorite authors of the past, Tony Hillerman.

Just as in a short story anthology, an essay collection is bound to be uneven. I could have done without most of the middle section– it did not have the same flow as what surrounded it. So much of what she writes hits home and enlightens, particularly in the final part. Despite the mixed results here, I look forward to checking out a previous effort of hers, “Bury My Heart at Chuck E Cheese’s.” (I love these book titles.)

Two random facts illuminated from this work: Did you know Tiffany Midge was raised by wolves? Did you know that sitting on General George Armstrong Custer’s desktop in hell is a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap? It’s in the book; you could look it up.

Thank you to the University of Nebraska Press, Bison Books, and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book collects 72 short personal essays from humor columnist and citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, Tiffany Midge. Midge and I grew up in different circumstances, but with similar memories of the 70s and 80s. I found many of her stories relatable and humorous, though some were a bit too short for my preference or didn’t quite land with me.

I loved her take on decolonizing her diet: “I imagine if my ancestors were given a choice between nettles, acorns, cattails, or The Cheesecake Factory, they would choose The Cheesecake Factory.” That gives you a sense of the sort of humor to expect.

Thanks to University of Nebraska Press and Bison Books for providing me with an electronic ARC through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

I didn't connect with the writing style and several of the essays I felt had no point or not enough detail to be engaging.

**Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

This book was very interesting how she did different subjects. I like how she did.Current events from the states where she lived. Then she talked about her Native American. Life as. Bell. She took current ideas and then she talked about them in a funny way and I like that. Especially the ones on seattle because this is where I live now. I also liked how she had the descriptions of words as well. Each section of the book had a different theme. It's a very interesting book.How she wrote it.

This delightful collection of short works, including essays and blog posts, is told from the POV of a Native, previously called Native American, previously called Indian. This evolution of labels is grist for Midge's satirical grinder and her insightful takes on current-day society. Along this journey are wonderful tales on "pretendians" -- people who aren't Natives and others who claim to represent their perspectives or pose as them. There is the concept of "5o shades of Grey Poupon" -- where relationships officially enter the platonic zone, when sandwiches are more enticing than sex. And advice on never underestimating the enchanting effect of organ meats when one of her boyfriends prepared a beef heart for their Valentine's Day meal. There are also lots of stories about encounters with humans and wild animals that did not end well. Many of the stories are chock full of puns, such as the book's title, that will give you pause as to their cleverness. Highly recommended.

A difficult work to review, mostly as the individual glimpses the author permits the reader to get are brief, and quite wary behind that trenchantly sarcastic hip wit. Plenty of emotion (angry, mostly, and contemptuous) in Midge's takedown of "pretendians"--those who cuddle up to Native folks and then use them for vitue signaling, or for other colonialist purposes.

A lot of the book contains short notes on things that happen to animals or in national parks, etc. These are "tells" rather than "shows" in the sense that there is no real understanding to be gleaned here, only glances at humans being dangerous (or stupid) animals among the animals.

Even if the humor is pretty scant, it made absorbing reading.

I especially enjoyed the author’s sense of humor in her writing! The book is structured as short essays, many containing factoids such as dumb things people do in parks and around animals, but my favorite parts are about her personal life experiences. Reflections on living as a Native American connect the parts. As it jumps from one story to another, it’s easy to read in brief segments. I needed to move through quickly since I received the #Netgalley ebook ARC and wanted to post a timely review.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Dreamcatcher in the Wry, by Tiffany Midge, from University of Nebraska Press | Bison Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I tried, I really tried, to like this book.

I gave it four separate chances, and still only made it to 25 percent finished (electronic version).

I keep trying to figure out how to explain why Tiffany Midge’s writing felt so very flat to me……definitely not “bitingly hilarious” nor brimming “with insight.”

I mean, it wasn’t a _bad_ collection of columns/essays/whatevers. It just wasn’t anywhere near as smart and/or funny as most of what I see from friends and family in various formats. I’d probably even have enjoyed some of what she wrote if I lived in her area and read her in the local paper. But I don’t. There you have it.

Good for her, though, for getting books published, even if they aren’t my slice of fry bread.

DESCRIPTION
Building on the critical acclaim of Tiffany Midge’s Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s, The Dreamcatcher in the Wry is Midge’s bitingly hilarious collection of essays written during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Standing Rock Sioux citizen, Midge offers up her unique satire about the foibles of politics, consumerism, world affairs, pandemic anxieties, and other subjects from the pandemic years of 2020 through 2023.

The Dreamcatcher in the Wry brims with insight, considering pig heart transplants, wedding-crashing grizzly bears, truffle-snuffling dogs, bison-petting tourists—and a plethora of other animal and wildlife hijinks—not to mention wienermobiles, the controversial Mount Rushmore, meeting Iron Eyes Cody in a parade, Elizabeth Warren’s quaint family lore, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Midge brilliantly unpacks her observations and day-to-day concerns through the lens of an urban-raised Lakota living in the West, a writer of poetry, op-eds, church bulletins, fridge magnets, and Twitter posts who is allergic to horses and most outdoor recreation—except for berry picking and the occasional romp through a dewy meadow.

Turning over the colonizer’s society and culture for some good old Native American roasting, Midge informs as she entertains, gleaning wisdom from the incongruities of daily life with a much-needed dose of Indigenous common sense.

This book is so particularly original and wildly Midge, almost no review can speak better to its sensitivities than an assortment of favorite passages might do. The first section is from columns appearing in the Moscow, ID paper, and begin to cultivate a person's taste buds for her stylistic satire with a peppery punch. But my favorite pieces build up in the next two sections, with so many excellent options, until my chosen passages seem almost random.
From the second section, which features "Heard Around the West' columns published in High Country News, a sample of simple hilarity while sharing information about a Colorado Tarantula festival: "attendees celebrated the arachnids and their annual mating ritual, which isn’t a dating app called “Spinder,” but a natural occurrence that extends across the 443,000-plus acres on the Comanche National Grassland—rather like Burning Man for spiders, with even more legs for dancing."

The final section, Bonus Slices and Outtakes with Extra Cheese, includes pieces published in a wide variety of places, and their richness will founder a greedy reader. Taste-test these three tidbits and I dare you NOT to be so addicted that you must have your own copy of Midge's book.

First, from "American (Indian) Dirt” comes this spot-on instructional information that so many U.S. bureaucrats (and authors, and readers too) need to tape to the wall in their favorite restroom where they can re-read it until something sinks in. This isn't the only piece addressing pretendians, but it also covers poverty porn in much the same effort Percival Everett has made in his scathing novels about the entertainment industry and Black 'authenticity.'. Describing some of the harm done, Midge writes “misrepresentation is only the tip of the iceberg. When non-Native writers publish and appropriate Indigenous content and themes for their own aims, it furthers the colonialist project, continues acts of theft and dispossession, and usurps authentic Indigenous voices. It’s one thing to steal Native stories, it’s another to write those stories badly.”

From “50 Shades of Buckskin”—with an easy clue for finding qualifying bodice-rippers; look for SAVAGE in title. She writes with pride of contemporary satirical uses those stories now perform for Native writers. “If Native humor can be used as an act of resistance, then decolonizing can be as simple as mockery, a version of counting coup.” Midge here sings out her own deeply valuable purpose and gift of her own work.

A list essay closes this collection with "Reductress Headlines for Native Women," and this one found me with at least one more laugh-out-loud moment before I dove into this review: "Are You of Descent or Are You Spelunking?” For non-Native readers like myself, I'm not sure whether to say Hang on! (for the ride) or Let Loose (of preconceptions), but whichever option you choose, be sure you buy the book.

Thank you to Tiffany Midge & Bison Books for providing me with this ARC! I Really enjoyed this collection of essays and learning about another culture in a fun way. The perspective on current events was hilarious!