The Indian residential school system represents a seriously dark chapter in Canadian and American history. Very young children were torn from their families and communities for the purpose of cultural erasure. They were taken to schools where they were stripped of their identities and punished severely for even speaking their native languages. They were also subjected to malnutrition, medical neglect, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Technology has recently verified that many died and were buried on site in mass unmarked graves.
Violet Duncan, Indigenous artist, activist, educator, and mother of four, has a mission to empower Indigenous youth. She is motivated by the need for native representation and promoting cultural awareness in juvenile literature. She writes those much needed books. Buffalo Dreamer introduces middle grade readers to the residential school system through the interwoven narratives of two girls who connect across time.
Summer loves summer vacations when she and her family cross the border to Canada to spend time with her mother's relatives on the Cree reservation. This time on the way there she begins having a series of very vivid dreams. In them, as a girl whose name--Buffalo Dreamer--was changed to Mary, she is escaping from an abusive boarding school, fleeing through days and nights of hunger and freezing temperatures, only to encounter a blizzard and a friendly little dog. The dreams leave her with questions. Could Buffalo Dreamer be a real person? Could she have survived the blizzard?
When they are almost at the reservation, passing the boarding school her grandfather was forced to attend, she sees a convoy of excavation trucks and news vans. It turns out that unmarked graves had been found at the school.
In her Author's Note Duncan tells readers "Even though Buffalo Dreamer is a work of historical fiction, truth is etched on every page; it is embedded in a real time and place. It shares the buried stories of the courageous and often nameless warriors: the children who suffered in the Indian residential school system, which is intentionally omitted by our history books. This story is deeply personal to me, as it echoes the intergenerational narratives of my own family's experiences."
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was National Pet Day. I really wanted to give Tobago a treat but had none and no way to get to a store. When I went to see my best friend, Lisa Morin for computer help I saw a basket of dog and cat stuff. She said I could take what Tobago can use. You'll see what I got her tomorrow. Needless to say the treats and toy are making precious Tobago a very happy 😺.
A great big shout out goes out to Lisa.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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