Tag: indians

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

- Stephanie Leave a comment

‘And a man without dreams is just a meaty machine with a broken gauge.’ – Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves

Are you looking for book recommendations? Ask a librarian! My latest read came courtesy of one of our Youth Services Librarians. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline tells the story of the indigenous people of North America and their struggle to survive in a futuristic climate-change ravaged world.

People on Earth have lost the ability to dream, sending them all to madness. Desperate to find a solution, the government looks into who is still able to dream. They discover that the only people who can dream are North America’s Indigenous people. Wanting to understand why, the government looks for a cure, finding that the Indigenous people’s bone marrow holds the ability to save the dreamless. In order to get the marrow though, the donors must die. Schools are established across the country with recruiters sent out to round up the Indigenous people to harvest their marrow. This has far-reaching repercussions for all Indigenous people. On the run, Frenchie yearns to find his family, even though he fears they are lost to him. He and his travel family spend years struggling to survive as they make their way up north, looking for friends and family. Their search for refuge is dangerous, but may lead to joyous reunions.

I was left wanting more from this book. I wanted more history of the character, of the government, what exactly is happening to the people that are taken, and how/why the lands were so ravaged and destroyed. Luckily, The Marrow Thieves is the first in a series AND the second book, Hunting by Stars, is out! I’m hoping this second book will give me the answers to my questions from the first book. Nevertheless, I’m glad I decided to read The Marrow Thieves – it feels like a book that should be required reading.

‘Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you’re not the one that’ll be alive to live it.’ – Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“No one should feel guilty about the past. Unless they’re not doing anything about the present. That’s what my grandparents say. Think about what we are doing now and how it will affect the world seven generations from today, and not just in the next election.” ― Joseph Bruchac, Rez Dogs

Joseph Bruchac has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two when I was a teenager. When I learned that his novel in verse, Rez Dogs, was an Iowa Children’s Choice Award nominee for 2023-2024, I knew I needed to check that one out.

Rez Dogs is a middle grade novel in verse that tells the story of a twelve year old girl who learns about her Penacook heritage from her grandparents when they are sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic.

Malian’s weekend trip to visit her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation is extended when the new virus that’s all over the news shuts down any travel. Malian’s parents are back in Boston, so they decide that she will stay with her grandparents until they can travel again. Malian is worried, but she knows what she needs to do: she will protect her grandparents just like they protect her. She spends these weeks listening and learning from her grandparents’ stories. Malian misses her parents, but knows she can video chat with them whenever they manage to get signal.

When she needs company, one of the dogs living on the rez shows up in her grandparents’ yard. They have stories to tell about him, given their instant knowledge that he will protect the family as well. Malian names him Malsum. The two become inseparable with Malsum guarding the house, yet being incredibly gentle and loving with the family. The foursome spend this sheltering time learning from each other and making sure their knowledge and history are passed down to people who can make a difference.

This book was more insightful than I thought it would be. There are so many stories shared throughout that I wish I would have written down all of them, so I could look them up later (I did start doing that about halfway through). Malian and her grandparents are keepers of history, just like the author. He highlights how Indigenous communities cared for each other in the past and today in this insightful novel set against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This title is also available as a Playaway audiobook, Libby eBook, and Libby eAudiobook.

“We need to be kind to each other and to all living things, make the circle strong for those who come after us. Instead of just standing up alone like those first stone people, we need to bend our knees and touch the earth.” ― Joseph Bruchac, Rez Dogs

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

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Darcie Little Badger came to my attention in 2020 with her debut book, Elatsoe (haven’t read this title yet, but it’s on my list to read in 2022). While I was searching Libby for a new book to read, I found A Snake Falls to Earth written by Darcie Little Badger as well and decided to give that title a try.

I wondered how anyone found each other in a place where it was so easy to become lost.
― Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth

A Snake Falls to Earth is Darcie Little Badger’s second young adult speculative fiction title. The themes in this book are relevant to adults as well. This magical novel is full of Apache mythology and shapeshifting as a young Lipan Indian girl works to figure out the history of her family.

Nina has always felt like more exists outside of our world. As a Lipan girl, she has felt like she’s straddling different cultures for her entire life. Listening to the old stories told to her by family proves to solidify her feelings. After an older female relative tells one last story before she passes away, Nina sets out to translate what she was told. This task proves difficult as her translation app mangled the recording, but she persists. She hopes that through this translation, she will find out more about her family history.

Oli is also trying to figure out more about his family. He is a cottonmouth kid, living in the reflective world of spirits and monsters. Like his many brothers and sisters, Oli was forced to leave home and sent searching for a new home. After many trials and tribulations, Oli found a new home on the banks of the bottomless lake. He has also found a best friend. Life seems to be going pretty well until a strange sickness hits Oli’s best friend. The healers tell Oli that it’s probably due to a catastrophic event that has happened on Earth. On a quest to help his best friend, Oli sets off on a journey that will lead to his world and Nina’s world crashing together. Outside forces will stop at nothing to keep those two apart.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is one woman’s story of struggling to find her identity when forced to view what she thought was true through a different perspective.

Daunis Fontaine has never fit in. She is a biracial, unenrolled Ojibwe tribal member and the product of a scandal. Her family members are split between her hometown, where her mother’s family lives, and the nearby Ojibwe reservation, where her father’s family lives. Not recognized as complete by either side of her family, Daunis both yearns to escape to a new place and to stay to help her people move forward in life.

Daunis defers going to the University of Michigan in order to stay home, help care for her ailing grandmother, and to be a support system for her mother.  With her future on hold, she works to turn her life into something of which she can be proud. Daunis spends an increased amount of time with her brother Levi and his friends. Levi is a star hockey player, like Daunis, and she soon finds herself becoming quick friends with Jamie, the new recruit on Levi’s team. The more she falls for Jamie, the more confused she becomes. Daunis can’t help thinking that Jamie is hiding something. Things aren’t adding up.

One night Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that jolts her out of what little comfort she has. Now in the middle of a criminal investigation, Daunis finds herself forced into life as an undercover informant. She is asked to inform on her family and friends, looking for criminals and searching for any clues about what is plaguing her area. Daunis has an in-depth knowledge of both traditional medicine and chemistry, a skill that her uncle helped foster within her.

The deeper her investigation goes, the harder it is for Daunis to figure out who is telling the truth. She must learn to rely on herself, to draw strength from her ancestors, and to figure out how far she is willing to go.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club – ‘The Night Watchman’ on September 30

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On Wednesday, September 30th at 2pm, Virtual Book Club will be discussing The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. This book club is held virtually. More information about how to join is listed below.

Want to know more about what The Night Watchman? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C., this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman. In the Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from this revered cultural treasure.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club
Wed, Sep 30, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CDT)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/810260757

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (312) 757-3121

Access Code: 810-260-757

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/810260757