The Sons of Gunshooter: A Navajo Resistance Story [Paperback]

An inspiring new take on a history we thought we knew

In 1919, the brother of one of the West’s most famous Indian traders was shot to death in a remote corner of the Navajo Nation.
 
Part history, part true crime,The Sons of Gunshooterreexamines the killing and subsequent murder trial, while simultaneously embedding the story in a much larger saga of colonization and resistance. The result is a book that’s sweeping in its scope and surgical in its approach. Rewinding the clock to 1868, the authors follow the intertwining paths of two families to offer a riveting, deeply personal account that has been hailed as “a new way of doing historiography.”
 
One of the authors is a descendant of participants in the case; the other is an investigative journalist. By merging Diné oral traditions with archival evidence, they succeed in upending one false narrative after another.The Sons of Gunshooterreconstructs the intertwined paths of two families across a century of Western history, revealing an inspiring story of cultural resilience and self-determination.Dorothy Denetclaw is Tótsohnii born for Tł’ááschí’í and lives in Indian Wells, Arizona. She is a community organizer, activist, and interpreter, and enjoys researching her family history, a legacy for her children and grandchildren.

Matt Fitzsimons is a former newspaper reporter and the author ofThe Counterfeiters of Bosque Redondo: Slavery, Silver, and the U.S. War Against the Navajo Nation.He lives in San Diego, California.

A compelling work of personal and cultural history,The Sons of Gunshooterreconstructs a familys entanglement with law, violence, and resilience across generations. In doing so, it demonstrates how a single criminal case reflects enduring negotiations between sovereignty, survival, and state power.Foreword Reviews