I don’t usually recommend books because, well, what’s the point? It’d almost make more sense for me to make a list of which books I think people should avoid. Anyway.

It’s kind of shocking that I didn’t know this book existed until about a month ago - Elements of Indigenous Style, by Gregory Younging (1961-2019). This is part of the summary from the back cover:

“Elements of Indigenous Style offers Indigenous writers and editors - and everyone creating works about Indigenous Peoples - the first published guide to common questions and issues of style and process…”

Depending on who you are, you’re probably thinking right now, “Wow I really need that…” or maybe “Wow that sounds so boring…”

If you think you might need this book, then yes, I promise you need it even more than you already imagine. And if you think it’s probably boring, you’re going to be thrilled at how wrong you are as soon as you start reading it. It’s not only exciting because of how useful it is, it’s also fascinating because of how the author chose to present the information. It’s filled with excellent teaching. I’m learning so much about colonialism, history, epistemology, writing, and more. I send my sincere gratitude to Dr. Younging for this important treasure.

We don’t have any good bookstores around here. I had to walk almost 200 miles to get this book. Totally worth it, though.