The World We Used to Live In

I was keenly aware of not being the audience for this book– Deloria's intent was clearly to convince a native audience of an ancient cosmic connection and set of abilities that have been lost. As an outsider, my inherent lack of connection with his thesis made it a difficult read.

On an anthropological level the book is fascinating and impeccable sourced. But the credulous tone Deloria takes towards the anecdotes he recounts (using someone's “impeachable character” as reason to take stories at completely face value, for instance) rubbed me the wrong way. There were times when glaring holes in his arguments got on my nerves– for example, stories where the storyteller had every reason to lie or fabricate are completely glossed over– but, again, I wasn't someone he was trying to convince in the first place.