Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land

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Toni Jensen grew up in the Midwest, immersed in a culture of guns, learning to shoot with her NRA-member father. As an adult, she has encountered the threat of guns in various settings, including the fracklands near Standing Rock and her concealed-carry campus. As a Métis woman, Jensen is acutely aware of the violence against indigenous women and the erasure of their experiences. In her work, she intertwines personal narratives with historical context, exploring how history manifests in the body and reshaping our understanding of violence in America. In one chapter, she reflects on the discrimination she faced as a Native American student, while "The Worry Line" addresses the gun and gang violence in her neighborhood during her daughter's birth. "At the Workshop" recounts her graduate school experience, where a classmate wrote stories that mirrored her own struggles. "Women in the Fracklands" takes readers into the heart of the Dakota Access pipeline protests and highlights the dangers faced by women in fracking-affected areas. Jensen's prose is both analytical and deeply emotional, establishing her as a courageous voice and witness to her challenging history and the violent cultural landscape surrounding her as a Native American woman. Each chapter serves as a poignant reminder that surviving in one’s country does not equate to surviving the country itself.