Brief Description: 5th book, Omakayas and her family adapt to a new way of life among the plains Indians, learning to hunt buffalo, until they are pressured further west
Geographical Setting: North America, North Dakota, Pembina, Turtle Mountain, United States
Historical Era: 19th Century
Date Range: 1866-1870?
Keywords: American Westward Expansion, Animals, Black Robe, buffalo hunt, Cree, Great Plains, Horses, kidnapping, Metis, Native American Ojibwe Chippewa, oxcart trail, pet buffalo, Red River, St. Paul MN, Thomas Little Shell
Original Publication: 2016
Suitable for Grades: 3-8th
Target Audience: Chapter Book, Middle Grade
Librarian's Review
The book starts with an observation that in the plains, horses replace canoes. Picking up where Chickadee left off, Omakayas’ family settles in Pembina and adapts to a new way of life, learning to ride and train horses and to hunt buffalo with Little Shell’s group (probably based on the real Thomas Little Shell). But the good times are not to last as the buffalo are pressured westward by white settlers, and so venture the families to the Turtle Mountain area. (This story seems to cover a few years, as the twins continue to grow and mature, but the book does not specify how much time has passed. Wikipedia cites that Little Shell moved to Turtle Mountain “around 1880.) I hope the author continues this series!!!