Some histories tell us where people went. This book asks what they carried with them.

We Are Not Dead is a historical narrative about the Odawa people of Michigan and the struggle to preserve identity, family, culture, and dignity during the nineteenth century.

The story is told by Neg-wa-gon, an older Odawa man remembering the events he first witnessed as a boy and later experienced as an adult. At the beginning of his account, he is twelve summers old and living near the Grand River. His community hunts, fishes, farms, trades, gathers food, shares stories, honors spiritual traditions, and understands survival as a shared responsibility.

Change is already moving toward them. Neg-wa-gon watches his people face choices no community should have been forced to make. Some believe adopting new customs may offer protection. Others fear that each change will weaken the traditions holding the people together.

Through these tensions, the story follows families and leaders trying to survive without surrendering the heart of who they are.