David Treuer

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Tonight, we are welcoming David Treuer to Politics and Prose, where he will be discussing his new book, The Savage Mind.

I'll start out on a very different subject and say, while I haven't always agreed with Mohundas Gandhi on all things, I cannot deny that the man knew how to drop a line.

And apocryphally, when once asked while on a trip to London what he thought of Western civilization, Gandhi responded, I think it would be a good idea.

Before it can be put into action, it must become a psychology.

Savage acts of colonization are justified by claims of civilizing the savages.

And as David Treuer lays bare in The Savage Mind, this psychology remains intact long after the act of colonization is complete.

The act of colonization is, in fact, ongoing.

I'm Tonya Mosley.

There's a familiar line in writer David Treuer's new book that sounds almost like a warning.

"The call is coming from inside the house." He's talking about America and this belief that the violence we associate with our country's past isn't simply behind us.

It's something we've learned to carry within ourselves.

Treuer's mother was Ojibwe and saw America as a country that had tried to destroy her people.

His father was a Jewish refugee who escaped the Nazis and saw America as the country that saved his life.

And David Treuer, welcome back to Fresh Air.

Thanks for having me back.

Meshell Ndegeocello's new album is called Synonym.

Tomorrow on Fresh Air, writer David Treuer's Ojibwe mother saw America as a country that tried to destroy her people.

His father, a Jewish refugee, saw it as the country that saved his life.

In his new book, The Savage Mind, Treuer explores how that violent history still lives inside of us.

In Livingston, local songwriters and acoustic pickers head downtown to the Murray Bar on Park Street for an open Americana acoustic jam and song swap, with music kicking off at seven PM tonight.

Tomorrow in Bozeman, Indigenous literature and modern storytelling will be featured inside the American Indian Hall on the Montana State University campus, as acclaimed Ojibwe author David Treuer presents On Storied Ground, stepping off at five thirty PM.

In Butte, the Spooks and Spirits Trolley Tours will continue, departing from the Butte Chamber of Commerce on George Street Tuesday evening for a guided ride past some historic Victorian mansions and mining camp legends.

In Stevensville, autumn Bitterroot Valley history comes alive at Historic St. Mary's Mission on Charlo Street, with guided heritage walks through the 1841 pioneer settlement, the Indigenous chapel and historic pharmacy that runs from eleven AM until three PM.