What Side Are You On?: The First Daybreak Star Book Club Interview with Co-Authors Mike Wilson and Tony Lucero

In this first Daybreak Star Radio book club interview, Nat Thorton eloquently leads the authors of What Side Are You On through questions concerning the military, the Church, migrants, and the myth of sovereignty.

Michael “Mike” Wilson of the Tohono O’odham Nation is an activist in the Tucson area and has been involved in social justice work for twenty-five years. The book What Side Are You On? delves into his life; starting during his developmental years living in a mining town and sitting at his father’s feet while being regaled with war stories. His WWII veteran father instilled the call of the warrior in his heart, these stories would lead Mike to join the military in his own time. The book details these experiences and more and how they shaped his ability to not only follow orders but become a leader in his own right. These lessons would serve him later in life as he navigated the church, the government, and his own people.

While Mike adds his personal stories, co-author José Antonio “Tony” Lucero adds his extensive knowledge as a Chicano scholar of Indigenous politics and teacher at the University of Washington. As the chair of the Comparative History of Ideas Department, Tony is able to add historical context and a broader lense to What Side Are You On. By adding his expertise to Mike’s lived experience, the book captures not just the deeply personal issues facing Indigenous peoples today, but how we got here and why.

Nat Thorton delves into Mike’s military career and gives him room to answer their questions in the more circular oral tradition that Mike prefers. His answers show a vast depth of understanding for who he is now and who he was along the course of his life to far. Mike discusses how he draws strength from the struggles he faced in his youth and how it lent itself to his moral compass while interacting with Indigenous peoples in Central America during his time in the military. He acknowledges that though the military has a history of being harmful towards marginalized groups, the military is what allowed him to gain confidence in himself as a person and a leader, adding that many things within the Indigenous community are rarely black and white.

Tony is able to expand on Mike’s answers and add the context of history. He explains that one would have a hard time truly understanding the United States and its relationship with war unless one first understands the ongoing war on Indians that has been happening since colonialism first touched our shores.

The interview ends with a discussion of sovereignty and Mike’s preferred term “the myth of sovereignty”. Mike explains that he believes Native Americans do not currently have sovereignty from the United States government and relates his reasons back to What Side Are You On. In the book, the Tohono O’odham Nation is discussed in relation to migrants and the border patrol problems. Due to the borders becoming less and less passable, many migrants took to trying to pass through the Tohono O’odham Nation as they border both the United States and Mexico. This influx of people was not something the Nation could sustain, and eventually border patrol set up residence on the reservation. Mike argues that the question should be posed about whether the Tohono O’odham people can remove the border patrol from their lands, or if being a federal agency on land that the government has deemed equivalent to a national park stops them from taking this course. As Tony adds, the nuance of the situation often lends itself to intense discussion among Indigenous peoples; whether the nations want or feel safe enough to demand the sovereignty they have been promised is a longer and more complicated talk.

What Side Are You On is an amalgamation of personal stories and deep historical knowledge, proven by the co-authors and their discussions with Nat Thorton. This interview if the first of many to come within the Daybreak Star Book Club, feel free to join along in this journey of Indigenous books and there authors.

What Side Are You On? can be found at The Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center Gift Shop or online through the link below: