Field of Honor: A Novel (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series)
Birchfield, a member of the Choctaw Nation and author of several children's books and an essay collection, has concocted an over-the-top satire skewering the U.S. armed forces, the war in Vietnam, the proliferation of Christianity among Native Americans, and even his own Choctaw traditions. His protagonist, McDaniel, is a half-Choctaw marine who deserts his unit in Vietnam, spends years hiding in the valleys of southeastern Oklahoma, and eventually descends into a deep cavern connected to a Choctaw community that has gone underground to escape the holocaust perpetuated against Indians. Parodying the Bureau of Indian Affairs schools where Native Americans were stripped of their culture, the author sends his hero to classes in game theory and the "vicious proselytizing religion" which has spread up aboveground. No government action adversely affecting Native Americans escapes Birchfield's piercing barbs, including the precipitous construction of dams and the current search for oil reserves in Alaska. This debut novel's mix of biting satire and science fiction may not have broad appeal, but its message is impossible to ignore.Deborah DonovanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved