Wolf, Joan M. Runs With Courage.

Wolf, Joan M.  Runs With Courage.  Sleeping Bear Press  2016  211p $16.99  ISBN 978-1-58536-984-3     elem/ms  Historical fiction  E-BN 

Step by step, Four Winds learns the truth at the boarding school run by white missionaries in the 1880 Dakotas: the truth being that she has absolutely no voice about anything in her life.  The missionaries chop her hair, remove all signs of her native Lakota culture and immerse her in language learning, forbidding her to speak Lakota.  Next, she learns that disobeying her teachers leads to punishment.  When her tribe told her she had to attend the school to help bridge the gap between whites and the people of her nation, she believed that she had a role to fulfill.  But another truth she learns once she is at the school?  Had she refused to attend, the government would have withheld food from her tribe.  The biggest truth she learns is that the whites intend to get rid of the “savage” within each and every Lakota Sioux, thus insuring full assimilation into the new America, a white America.  Supporting characters in this novel are full-fledged, dynamic characters, each with a role to fulfill in helping Four Winds survive.  Her classmates, her new friend William, her family, and even her teachers push her to realize her job, which is to learn as much about the whites as possible.  By the time the reader reaches the end, he/she realizes that Four Wind’s destiny was foreshadowed as becoming an educator of her tribe and a bridge between the two groups.  Perhaps the most interesting parts of this novel are not the plot and characters, but the new lessons that Four Winds learns in her total immersion.  Young minds will be forced to think about each new concept, object and cultural tradition that Four Winds encounters during her schooling.  This book should be required reading for social-studies classes studying the defeat of the native Americans and what they have endured to find themselves anew as a part of our nation.          

Summary: Four Winds has a story to tell, and as narrator she describes her experiences at a boarding school run by white missionaries whose sole job is to indoctrinate native Americans into their role as a defeated nation that needs to be assimilated into white culture.  Four Winds struggles to maintain her cultural identity even as she is forced to change.       

Native Americans-History-Fiction                                                                 —Martha Squaresky

Abbott, E.F. Mary Jemison, Native American Captive.

Abbott, E.F.  Mary Jemison, Native American Captive.  Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends    2016  213p  $15.99  ISBN 978-1-250-06838-5  ms/jr    Historical fiction  VG-BN    

When her family is attacked by Indians during the French and Indian War, 15-year-old Mary Jemison is captured and taken west. At Fort Duquesne she is traded to two Seneca sisters. She is adopted as a sister and slowly acclimates to tribal life.  She marries and has a son, and after four years she is given the opportunity to return to the whites.  She chooses to remain Indian. In the last chapter, her last 50 years are covered. There is a glossary of Seneca words and other terms used in the story. This is based on a true story.
 

Comparing this title to Lois Lenski’s Newbery Honor book, it targets a slightly older audience.  It also approaches the story more from the native side. Names are given in the Seneca language, and more seems to be told of the daily life and culture of the Seneca. The map of the area is not as good, but it does give a thorough picture of Indian life of the time. Students would get a more complete picture by reading both titles. 

Summary: This is the story of Mary Jemison, who was captured and adopted by Indians during the French and Indian War.  After four years as a Seneca Indian, she is offered the opportunity to return to the white world.  It is based on a true story.            

Mary Jemison                                          --Joan Theal

Sanford, William R. Seminole Chief Osceola.

Sanford, William R.  Seminole Chief Osceola.    Enslow  2013  48p  $21.26  978-0-7660-4117-2      series: Native American Chiefs and Warriors   elm/ms  VG-BN

This book recreates the battles made famous by Chief Osceola and his defense of the Seminole homeland in Florida, showing the military strategies used by both United States troops and Osceola.  While the illustrations are unfortunately not in color, this is a compelling retelling of Florida and Native American history.  The ineptness of United States troops and the many generals sent to subdue the Seminoles stands in stark contrast to the military acumen of Osceola.  Readers will learn the reasons why the Seminole were urged to move west, the promises that were made and broken, and the fact that the Seminole never signed a peace treaty.  The beheading of Osceola at his death was a final indignity thrust on this proud warrior.  The glossary will help readers with words unique to this phase of American history; however, the term “breech clout”, used on page 12, is not defined. Chapter notes, a list of resources for further reading, and an index complete the book.

The series Native American Chiefs and Warriors covers the lives and battles of four famous Native Americans.  For each one, early life, rise to power, interactions with U.S. military, and ultimate death shows him to be intelligent  and willing to fight for his people. Grades 3-8.  

Chief Osceola                                                     --Lois McNicol

Wilson, John. Victorio’s War.

Wilson, John.     Victorio’s War. (Desert Legends Trilogy)  Orca  157p $12.95 978-1-55469-882-0       ms/hs       E-BN      Historical Fiction     

Jim Doolen has served as an army scout for the Buffalo Soldiers in Indian Territory.  Taken captive by the Apache and saved from execution by Wellington, a friend who is aligned with them, Jim lives to tell his tale.  The first part of the book sets the scene as Jim is sharing his last year’s experience as a scout and captive with Santiago, an old friend from the first book.  The author exhibits masterful storytelling -- readers will smell the dust, hear the whizzing bullets and arrows, and experience the conflicted loyalties that are all a part of the Jim’s story.  Jim must decide whom to support as the Apaches seek freedom and travel from their reservation to Mexico.  The Apache are pursued by either the U.S. or  Mexican armies, depending upon which side of the border they are on.  Jim comes to understand Native American spirituality, the power of storytelling, how lives can become intertwined, and the Apache desire for freedom.  By the end of the book, Jim sees his Apache friends dying with honor and the futility of the Indians seeking to establish their own homeland.  Could there be another trilogy in the offing chronicling the travels of Jim and the Indian girl he saves by buying her at auction?  This reviewer certainly hopes so.  This is an outstanding fast-paced tour of the Old West that will appeal to all ages, from grades 6 to 12.  Gritty battle scenes, conflicted loyalties, and harsh conditions make the Old West come alive for today's readers.         

Apache-Fiction, Buffalo Soldiers-Fiction, Historical fiction

                                                            -- Lois McNicol