Walking the Choctaw Road: Stories From Red People Memory

History

I expected Walking the Choctaw Road to be good because I’d heard so much about Tingle’s work over the years (being a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), but this was more than “good.” This book is an experience.Sounds dramatic, I know, but it’s true! The stories are told in an immersive way, you feel as though you are listening to an elder storyteller speak these tales more than reading them. The style, word use, everything…you can hear the tone and rhythm. From the first to the last, oldest to newest, these stories read like emotive snippets of other lives. They’re funny, thought provoking, heart rending, and hopeful.I cannot recommend this book enough, and I’ll keep doing it because it’ll stick with me forever.

Recently a very powerful personal experience led me to discover my own distant connection to the Choctaw tribe, superb storyteller Tim Tingle and this remarkable, touching, eye-opening book. I had to pace myself reading it, despite it's tidy length, for at the end of each story I was left overwhelmed and in tears. There is so much, far, far too much in fact, that we modern "Americans" have no clue about and take for granted.These are stories of the real history of this land. These are tales of real people who suffered unthinkable hardships and injustices in the names of "progress" and "civilization" in a sudden new country on their ancient ancestors' soil, which soaked with their blood, sweat and tears. But they are also tales of hope, strength and endurance.Reading "Walking the Choctaw Road" will lead you to begin to walk that road yourself and open your mind, heart and spirit to things that everyone should know and should never, ever be forgotten.It is simply yet beautifully and powerfully written and packs a whole lot of punch into even the shortest of the stories therein.I feel that this could and should be required reading for junior high and high school students. Hell, should be required reading for everyone! So please do yourself a favor and buy this amazing book and read it. Then read in again. Read it until the stories leave their tracks across your soul, like the bloody footprints in the snow on the Trail of Tears.

My husband is Choctaw Native American and he loved this book. An easy read and only took a few hours. Full of stories.

A lot of spiritual healing happened reading every part of this. Seeing the suffering that happened especially with the trails of tears made it feel much more personal to me than it had ever been. Seeing the white supremacist violence aimed at our removal so violently all the time too made me realize how angry I do have a right to be and I am legitimate as a tribal member who needs to build up these basic foundations of reading when I don't have access to elders.

Beautifully written Choctaw stories by the exceedingly talented Tim Tingle. As a proud member of the Choctaw Nation, I wept, smiled, and laughed at various points when reading the incredibly touching stories in Walking The Choctaw Road. Regardless of one's heritage, this book will ignite your curiosity, fill you with hope, deepen your understanding, and strengthen your compassion in the shared struggles and connectedness of all human beings. Its a must-read!

I love the truth. This documentary of native stories will offend some 'white' hearts. The pain of the truth is a cathartic to this white heart and soul and I ate it up..not it that elevates me in any way. Good to have stories from this country's first citizens that's not gussied up to make it more palatable.

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Recommended by Ange Debo. Hats off to Tim Tingle.I highly recommend this book for historical researchBr’er C