Excerpt from The Diocesan Times, Halifax, Canada

Aamjiwnaang is indeed a territory named, as you might
intuit, by aboriginal peoples, but the Plains are not a
geographical feature of it. The Plains are a clan of the
Ahnishenahbek Nation, named by European settlers as the
Ojibwa or Chippewa. Yet even this little explanation opens
up into more complexities, as David Plain explains: though
Ahnishenahbek is the name of his nation, the term was also used
by those who belonged to that nation to describe ‘any member of
the [wider] Three Fires Confederacy and sometimes in an even
wider sense to describe any aboriginal people.’
And this is one of the wonderful things about these two
concise books. They speak about territory we know about, and
might have lived in or visited (the area straddling both sides of
the St. Clair River, extending into both present-day Michigan
and Ontario). But they do it from a very different perspective
than most of us comprehend. In fact we might say that these
books are sorts of historical travel guides, telling the story of a
place of which many of both its current inhabitants are unaware.
David Plain writes not so much to make a point as to revive a
long memory, and offer the unique perspective that comes with
such an exercise.
Plain uses a rich variety of sources: maps and treaties between
Aboriginals and Europeans (some of which are reproduced in
appendices), stories maintained in oral histories passed down for
generations, and a variety of professional and amateur historical
publications. And he does this to get the story straight, his key to
reviving the memory of his ancestors.

The full review can be read at http://ojibwaylegacy.com/Reviews.html

The US Review of Books

The Plains of Aamjiwnaang
by David D. Plain
Trafford Publishing
reviewed by Michael Radon

"It was said that if one looked closely and carefully enough one could catch glimpses of the mahnedoog or spirits just beneath the surface."

Stretching from the late 17th century to the present, this title follows the Aamjiwnaang First Nation's tumultuous history as it clashes with other native groups, then eventually the French, British, American, and Canadian societies. Combining the oral history and traditions the author inherited from his lineage with a wealth of study on the subject, readers will get a unique glimpse at a less-told perspective of the formative years of modern North American history. Most of the detail relates to the military side of Aamjiwnaang history, and includes the activities of well-known figures like George Washington, Daniel Boone, Tecumseh, and Oliver Perry. As war gave way to the cessation of land, readers will hear the tale of the Aamjiwnaang's relocation fully into Canada and the challenges that come with harboring other Nations and dealing with the assimilating tactics of another government body.

This title is a fascinating glimpse into the other perspective of an often-taught portion of history on the side of a people who had their lands and their culture under siege for centuries and well into the present. The author's first-person perspective adds additional weight to the details present, referring to the decisions and actions of the Aamjiwnaang as "Our people" or "We" throughout the text. Those interested in learning more about the subject matter can refer to any of the materials the author includes throughout his footnotes and bibliography. In addition, the author continues to expand on the subject in later works, making this title a great starting point for those that want to learn more about the Aamjiwnaang. ( )