The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota and an American Inheritance

Rebecca Clarren's great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, fled antisemitism in Russia and settled on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota, but their land had been taken from the Lakota by the US government. In her book, The Cost of Free Land, she reveals the intertwined stories of her family and the Lakota and the devastating cycle of loss of Indigenous land, culture, and resources that continues today.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
Publisher: Footnote Press Ltd

Growing up, Rebecca Clarren had only a vague understanding of her immigrant family's origins. Her great-great-grandparents, the Sinykins, and their six children had fled antisemitism in Russia and arrived in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, eventually settling on a 160-acre homestead in South Dakota. Despite the harsh conditions on the unforgiving prairie and numerous setbacks, the Sinykins managed to become a successful American immigrant story. However, what none of Clarren's ancestors ever disclosed was the fact that their land, which had formed the basis of their wealth, had been unjustly taken from the Lakota by the United States government. By the time the Sinykins moved to South Dakota, America had violated hundreds of treaties with numerous Indigenous nations across the continent, resulting in the diminishment, fragmentation, and giveaway of land that had once been reserved for the seven bands of the Lakota. In her book, The Cost of Free Land, Clarren combines investigative reporting with personal family history to unveil the interconnected narratives of her family and the Lakota, as well as the ongoing devastating cycle of loss of Indigenous land, culture, and resources that persists today.

Weight: 354g
Dimension: 135 x 217 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781804440698