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Native America Calling: Native Bookshelf with Ann-Helén Laestadius
Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Native Bookshelf: Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Samí journalist and author Ann-Helén Laestadius offers readers a glimpse into the government-backed school system for the Indigenous children of Sweden that has parallels with the Indian Boarding School Era in the United States

Her novel, Punished, follows five Sami children forced to attend a nomad school in the 1950s. The story stays with them into adulthood, where each copes with the physical, mental, and cultural abuse scars just below the surface.

Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius (Blackstone Publishing, Inc. 2025)

Originally published in Swedish, the English translation of Punished is now available.

Laestadius joins Native America Calling for this month’s Native Bookshelf discussion.

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Native America Calling
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National Nordic Museum: Meet the Author: Ann-Helén Laestadius, Stolen