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An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents Over Three Centuries
The remarkable true story of an indigenous family who fought back, over multiple generations, against the world-destroying power of settler colonial violence.
Just weeks before police would kill him in Gallup, New Mexico, in March of 1973, Larry Casuse wrote that “never before have we faced an enemy such as this.” An Enemy Such as This, for the first time, tells the history of that colonial enemy through the simultaneously epic and intimate story of Larry Casuse and those, like him, who fought against it.
From the genocidal Mexican war against the Apaches in the nineteenth century, through the collapse of European empires in the first half of the twentieth century, and culminating in the efforts of young Navajo activists and organizers in the second half of the twentieth century to confront settler colonialism in New Mexico, the book offers a resolutely Native-focused history of colonialism.
Just weeks before police would kill him in Gallup, New Mexico, in March of 1973, Larry Casuse wrote that “never before have we faced an enemy such as this.” An Enemy Such as This, for the first time, tells the history of that colonial enemy through the simultaneously epic and intimate story of Larry Casuse and those, like him, who fought against it.
From the genocidal Mexican war against the Apaches in the nineteenth century, through the collapse of European empires in the first half of the twentieth century, and culminating in the efforts of young Navajo activists and organizers in the second half of the twentieth century to confront settler colonialism in New Mexico, the book offers a resolutely Native-focused history of colonialism.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published April 26, 2022
About the author
David Correia
11 books22 followersDavid Correia is the author of six books, including Properties of Violence: Law and Land Grant Studies in Northern New Mexico; An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents over Three Centuries; and Set the Earth on Fire: The Great Anthracite Strike of 1902 and the Birth of the Police. He is a professor in the department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 27, 2026
read this for my book club.
March 6, 2022
I was intrigued to read this story of a family I had frankly never heard of. Naturally, Indigenous stories are seldom told. The work is amazingly researched and presented with honor. I had to slog through a couple sections which required many dates and proper names, but I appreciate their inclusion in the whole narrative.
The most astounding things I learned from this book outside of Larry's family's history are threefold: that scalping was essentially a colonial invention -- they performed it as a huge economy and they created the false stereotype that Indians did it -- the set-up of alcoholism-by-design on reservations; and the egregious operations of the trading posts Indians rely on, both with well-plotted, abusive credit saturation and with pawn hostaging.
I am glad this interconnected story is being told, and I am grateful to those working to better the lives of Indigenous communities, individually and systemically. Thank you Correia for doing your part.
The most astounding things I learned from this book outside of Larry's family's history are threefold: that scalping was essentially a colonial invention -- they performed it as a huge economy and they created the false stereotype that Indians did it -- the set-up of alcoholism-by-design on reservations; and the egregious operations of the trading posts Indians rely on, both with well-plotted, abusive credit saturation and with pawn hostaging.
I am glad this interconnected story is being told, and I am grateful to those working to better the lives of Indigenous communities, individually and systemically. Thank you Correia for doing your part.
April 30, 2022
The author researched extensively for this book. It is harsh to read in that his attention to detail makes the reader (white) actually learn about the treatment of the Indigenous people. I have read a lot in this area, but the background knowledge gave me a completely different viewpoint of history. Why is this not included in curriculum for schools?
The author does stray from the main thrust of the book from time to time. He inserts (at times unnecessary) yet compelling side information. In all though, it certainly opens the eyes of the reader.
Thank you to Haymarket Books for the complimentary copy.
The author does stray from the main thrust of the book from time to time. He inserts (at times unnecessary) yet compelling side information. In all though, it certainly opens the eyes of the reader.
Thank you to Haymarket Books for the complimentary copy.
July 19, 2022
This book wasn't organized well, and for someone not familiar with Larry Casuse going in, it was often hard to find the actual point and how it related to him and his actual story.
There are some interesting tidbits, but there it also feels like you're reading a highly biased story in a few places rather than an accurate one. There's lots to ponder, and it left me wanting to fact check a lot of things.
I didn't like that it felt like a history text book rather than someone's story I could get sucked into.
There are some interesting tidbits, but there it also feels like you're reading a highly biased story in a few places rather than an accurate one. There's lots to ponder, and it left me wanting to fact check a lot of things.
I didn't like that it felt like a history text book rather than someone's story I could get sucked into.
May 30, 2022
An essential read and a magnificent contribution to the literature of understanding the true brutality of the colonial occupation of the Americas. It is a story of survival and resistance ... and outrage.
February 1, 2023
Getting there. Got bogged down with work.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews