- Home
- History
- United States
- Medicine River (A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools)
Medicine River (A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools)
List Price:
$20.00
| Expected release date is Jun 30th 2026 |
- Availability: Confirm prior to ordering
- Branding: minimum 50 pieces (add’l costs below)
- Check Freight Rates (branded products only)
Branding Options (v), Availability & Lead Times
- 1-Color Imprint: $2.00 ea.
- Promo-Page Insert: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed, single-sided page)
- Belly-Band Wrap: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed)
- Set-Up Charge: $45 per decoration
- Availability: Product availability changes daily, so please confirm your quantity is available prior to placing an order.
- Branded Products: allow 10 business days from proof approval for production. Branding options may be limited or unavailable based on product design or cover artwork.
- Unbranded Products: allow 3-5 business days for shipping. All Unbranded items receive FREE ground shipping in the US. Inquire for international shipping.
- RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS: All orders, branded or unbranded, are NON-CANCELLABLE and NON-RETURNABLE once a purchase order has been received.
Product Details
Author:
Mary Annette Pember
Format:
Paperback
Pages:
320
Publisher:
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (June 30, 2026)
Imprint:
Vintage
Release Date:
June 30, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9780593470466
ISBN-10:
059347046X
Weight:
9.2oz
Dimensions:
5.18" x 8" x 0.68"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_delta_active_D20260608T232913_156559500-20260608.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$20.00
Country of Origin:
United States
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
24
As low as:
$15.40
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
A sweeping and deeply personal account of Native American boarding schools in the United States, and the legacy of abuse wrought by them in an attempt to destroy Native culture and life
FINALIST FOR THE PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, TIME, Smithsonian, The History Channel
“With a government that is rewriting history in real time, Medicine River stands as a testament to the truth.”—The New York Times
“Powerful. . . . An important work.”—Los Angeles Times
“Everyone, absolutely everyone, should read this book."—Javier Zamora, author of Solito
From the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their tribal communities to attend boarding schools whose stated aim was to "save the Indian" by way of assimilation. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the U.S. government, but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were a calculated attempt to dismantle tribes by pulling apart Native families. Children were beaten for speaking their Native languages; denied food, clothing, and comfort; and forced to work menial jobs in terrible conditions, all while utterly deprived of love and affection.
Amongst those thousands of children was Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother, who was sent to a boarding school in northern Wisconsin at age five. The trauma of her experience cast a pall over Pember's own childhood and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark but hopeful portrait of communities still reckoning with the trauma of acculturation, religion, and abuse caused by the state. Through searing interviews and careful reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of Native cultures and nations in relation to the country that has been intent on eradicating them.
FINALIST FOR THE PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, TIME, Smithsonian, The History Channel
“With a government that is rewriting history in real time, Medicine River stands as a testament to the truth.”—The New York Times
“Powerful. . . . An important work.”—Los Angeles Times
“Everyone, absolutely everyone, should read this book."—Javier Zamora, author of Solito
From the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their tribal communities to attend boarding schools whose stated aim was to "save the Indian" by way of assimilation. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the U.S. government, but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were a calculated attempt to dismantle tribes by pulling apart Native families. Children were beaten for speaking their Native languages; denied food, clothing, and comfort; and forced to work menial jobs in terrible conditions, all while utterly deprived of love and affection.
Amongst those thousands of children was Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother, who was sent to a boarding school in northern Wisconsin at age five. The trauma of her experience cast a pall over Pember's own childhood and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark but hopeful portrait of communities still reckoning with the trauma of acculturation, religion, and abuse caused by the state. Through searing interviews and careful reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of Native cultures and nations in relation to the country that has been intent on eradicating them.
