How has everyone’s week been? Mine has been pretty good. I got a chance to talk to some new friends and my roleplays online have been going well. I do have a family member coming in from Richmond this afternoon. So I’m probably going to spend Saturday resting and getting settled in.
This week has been very productive when it comes to my reading. I managed to finish about four books this week. The first of which I’m going to talk about here followed by the others through the coming week.
I’ve probably mentioned it here that I enjoy reading about Indigenous history, particularly of the Americas. I am always seeking out Indigenous authors and like to inform myself on current topics.
Synopsis
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan is a timely middle grade novel. It explores the long lasting effects of the residential school system on native families. The novel is set in Alberta, Canada where tween Summer is set to spend a relaxing summer vacation. She and her family are going to the reservation where her mother and grandparents grew up.
But something is unusual about this vacation. Summer begins having vivid dreams of running away from one of the residential schools near the reservation. These schools tore native children from their families and tried to erase their native identities.
Soon after these dreams Summer learns that unmarked children’s graves have been discovered at the nearby residential school. This hits close to home as her grandfather attended this school as a child.
She and her cousin Autumn begin to investigate the happenings and news of the graves at the residential school. They also try and find out everyone on the reservations’ response to them.
Summer learns some of the hard truths about what happened and is driven to speak out about her native identity. Through this journey and the dreams she learns what she values. She also wants to show her support for making sure nothing like the residential schools ever happens again.
After speaking out at a rally she manages to solve the mystery of her uncanny dreams. Summer finally feel satisfied about what the dreams were telling her and more tied in with her people and beliefs.
Review
I really enjoyed this book. It is pretty short even for a middle grade novel. It’s only around 200 pages, but it gives the characters rich depth especially for such a short piece. It explores Summer learning about her family and the various ways in which native peoples were oppressed.
Some of these were new to me as well. Which isn’t surprising as native history is not often taught. I learned through this book that residential schools. At least like the one described in the book. Could often go on the reservations and just round up children while their parents were away at work.
Things like this went on until the 1990s when most schools were closed. Still with it being such recent history many of the these wounds are fresh. And the topics are still hard to talk about, especially with survivors.
The book is a good guide for how one such conversation might go for a young person and their elder. I found this book to be detailed and the heroine fit the age that the book was targeted to. I feel like middle school readers will enjoy learning about Summer’s world. I happily give this book five stars and would love to see more from Violet Duncan.
About the Author
Violet Duncan (VioletDuncan.com) is Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation. She has toured nationally and internationally as an author, educator, dancer, and storyteller, and facilitates workshops to promote spiritual wellness and cultural education across the US, Canada, and Europe. After becoming a mother of four and seeing the need for Native representation in literature, she wrote three picture books: I am Native, When We Dance, and Let’s Hoop Dance! She is currently the Indigenous Cultural Advisor at the Tempe Center for the Arts, where she aims to create space for a permanent program of Indigenous performance and practice. She lives in Mesa, Arizona.
Photo by Edson Silva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-dandelion-59753/
Rose's Book Garden 