I am Apache follows the story of a teenager called Siki from the Apache tribe in the Black Mountains. She and her brother are both orphans, and tragedy strikes Siki yet again as she watches her four year old brother being brutally cut down by Mexican warriors, while the male Apache warriors are off on a trade mission with the Mexicans. Siki vows revenge on the Mexicans and trains to become a warrior, though she has to contend with the jealousy of another would-be warrior, Keste. Keste hints at a dark secret in Siki's past, which gnaws at her until she finds out the sad and terrifying truth.
It took me a while to get into the flow of this book as the way it is written is very different from most books on the Young Adult market. It is marketed as YA but it is written much more maturely, perhaps reminiscent of Siki needing to grow up more quickly than normal teenagers due to the tragedy in her life.
Knowing the history of the Native Americans, it was clear that this book was not going to end well, but it is nevertheless a very moving and, in some places, romantic read. Siki is a very thoughtful, observant, and determined young woman, and makes a very good role model. It's immensely poignant to read about the structure of the tribe, their relationship with the land, and their desire to protect it. It raises thought-provoking and challenging questions about the way we relate to people who live in such different ways to us. It is a book that, in these turbulent times of identity and race politics, we could all do with learning from.
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