RED DOVE, LISTEN TO THE WIND

Thirteen-year-old Red Dove’s impetuous nature crosses the line when it comes to roles she should abide by in the traditional Lakota culture during the late summer of 1890.

Her frustrated mother blames Red Dove’s disobedience on heritage from her white father, who abandoned the family years ago. When Red Dove and her brother are taken to the mission boarding school, she considers it “an adventure” to leave her family and learn white ways. Her grandfather offers Red Dove a pouch with a mysterious power that will keep them psychically linked and enable her to understand English. At the mission boarding school, Red Dove quickly learns that the adventure she expected is quite the opposite, as when she speaks her Lakota language she is punished, and then her hair is cut off. One of the nuns, Sister Mary Rose, befriends Red Dove, teaching Red Dove that there are similarities between the two and sharing secrets about “magic” with her. Tension on the plains is mounting, leading to violence; when a wounded white soldier arrives at the school, Red Dove seizes the chance and runs away to find her family. Though the book alludes to some of the abuse children experienced in mission schools, it soft-pedals the trauma with the incorporation of kind white characters. The climax relies on the magic of the pouch, cementing the unfortunate association of the Native characters with mysticism.

Stereotypical depictions of Native Americans undermine this effort.