SEVENTH GENERATION: CONTEMPORARY NATIVE WRITING Edited and compiled by Heather Hodgson Penticton (B.C.), Theytus Books, 1989. 99pp, paper, $11.95, ISBN 0-919441-30-0 Distributed by Theytus Books, P.O. Box 218, Penticton, B.C. V2A 6K3. CIP Grades 10 and up/Ages 15 and up Reviewed by Anne Kelly. Volume 18 Number 1 1990 January Seventh Generation is an anthology of "contemporary native writing." All of the entries except one are poems. The poetry varies widely in both style and subject, from love songs (such as Garry Gottfriedson's "Oceans of Other Universes") to nostalgia (Mary Sky Blue Morin's "I Dream of Buffalo Days") to history and politics ("Kiel's People: 2nd Debut" by Charles Ministsoos). Their settings are as traditional as the Sun-dance and Sweatlodge, or as modern as West Edmonton Mall. Yet all the writ­ings in this book reflect a common theme: the attempts by native people to come to terms with their heritage in the world of today. For anyone interested in understanding native people, this book will be in­valuable. It provides a glimpse into the minds of its poets as they explore life on reserves, drugs, death, city life, friend­ship, and the strong ties that bind them to nature and to their past. Some of these poems are sad; some are funny. Others are reflective, still others fiercely proud. They are all honest and unclut­tered with bitterness or prejudice. The poets affirm their native identity without turning their backs on the world. Seventh Generation is a powerful, positive book. It is a book to be read and shared, both for the beauty of the words and for the understanding it will bring. Anne Kelly, YM/YWCA of Dartmouth, Dartmouth, W.S.