And it’s inside myself that I must create someone who will understand. In the midst of the 1864 Colorado Sand Creek massacre of the Cheyenne a Native boy is able to escape. After years of wandering, he finds himself in Nevada where he’s told he can go to a mission for food and shelter. He does and is promptly chained and sent to a prison in Florida. It’s only years after his ... Read More...
The Berry Pickers: A Novel
For one Mi’kmaq family summers in Maine have always been about sunshine, campfires, and reunions with old friends amidst long days of picking blueberries as migrant workers. Until 1962 when Ruthie, their youngest daughter, disappears, irrevocably changing the lives of the two main characters in Amanda Peters’ stunning debut The Berry Pickers. For Joe it begins a cycle of loss ... Read More...
Indian Horse: A Novel
I love discovering new writers, the voices of people with stories I’ve never imagined. In the past two years I’ve been fortunate to read more from Native American authors like Tommy Orange and Oscar Hokeah, with their singular style. I can now add Richard Wagamese to this list. A Canadian writer and member of the Ojibway tribe, his novel, Indian Horse is a stunning portrayal of ... Read More...
Calling for a Blanket Dance
In a desperate attempt to save her marriage, Turtle packs up her 6-month-old son, Ever, finds her drunk husband, Everardo, loads him into the car and leaves Oklahoma for Mexico. Her plan is to reunite Everardo with the mother he hasn’t seen in a decade in the hope she’ll pressure him into living up to his responsibilities. The visit is a welcome one and ignites Everardo’s sense ... Read More...
Firekeeper’s Daughter: A Novel
As a biracial member of the Ojibwe tribe Daunis Fontaine lives in the uncomfortable in-between space of not belonging to any one community. What bought her acceptance from everyone were her incredible skills as a hockey player. After graduating high school she was looking forward to a bright future as a player at the University of Michigan until family events caused her to ... Read More...
Crooked Hallelujah
Texas and Oklahoma, during the 1970s and 1980s oil boom and bust, is the setting for Crooked Hallelujah, a debut novel about the lives of three generations of Cherokee women. Lula is the matriarch, Justine her daughter, and Reney her grand-daughter. The times were difficult, but even more so if you were a Native American and a woman. Against this arid backdrop their lives are ... Read More...
