Customer Reviews

Lost From The Ottawa: The Story Of The Journey Back

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I actually saw the author at a meeting of the Ann Arbor School Board in the late 60's. He was a frightening figure with his wild hair, dark skin and pose of hard-core rebel activist. Ironically, he admits in the book that he was trying to play such a role and regrets his naivete. Throughout the book he is candid of his own lapses of judgment and lack of maturity. Ironically his biggest problem was not with the 60s drugs of marijuana and hallucinogens, but with alcohol. His glimpse into the hippie culture of drugs and rebellion is unparalled because he was and is probably the one person whose life epitomizes it. Yet he clearly understands, better than any writer or columnist what the 60's were all about and equally clear what we are all up against if we want to change society. It is not only the President and all the reactionary Republicans. It is our own families, neighborhoods, businesses...the entire society that supports the current way of life. While the book is entertaining, enlightening, and shocking throughout, the most dramatic section is the story of his trial before the Supreme Court. It is damning in its portrayal of William Rehnquist as a member of the Justice Department. It tells how some of the members of the Court turned their backs on the government lawyers as they presented their case. The judgment was 9-0 for Plamondon, but more intriguing is that the decision was announced the day before the Watergate break-in. This is one of the best, most honest and forthright autobiographies I have read. The only thing I can say against the book is that I never liked the MC-5.

This memoir by Pun Plamondon brings to light not just the struggle of an adopted Traverse City kid to find meaning, but the struggle of the youth of Michigan during the Vietnam War to resist the Establishment and set up alternative institutions and lifestyles. Pun survives against all odds (a Government that was literally gunning for him, and alcohol abuse that almost killed him) to find his Native American roots and join the Tribe he was estranged from at birth.
This is a great read! Anyone, regardless of political slant, will enjoy this story.

Not your typical Native read. Sheds a lot of light into a person's own search for their personal roots and "feelings" of connectedness. And the power that one or two solid teachers can have in helping us heal. MegWetch.