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Violet Duncan is Plains Cree and Taíno from Kehewin Cree Nation. As an accomplished author, educator, dancer, and storyteller, she has toured both nationally and internationally, sharing her talents and promoting wellness and cultural education across the US, Canada, and Europe. More about this author >
Filed in the following archives
From the publisher:
Summer and her family always spend relaxed summers in Alberta, Canada, on the reservation where her mom’s family lives. But this year is turning out to be an eye-opening one. First, Summer has begun to have vivid dreams in which she’s running away from one of the many real-life residential schools that tore Native children from their families and tried to erase their Native identities. Not long after that, she learns that unmarked children’s graves have been discovered at the school her grandpa attended as a child. Now more folks are speaking up about their harrowing experiences at these places, including her grandfather. Summer cherishes her heritage and is heartbroken about all her grandfather was forced to give up and miss out on. When the town holds a rally, she’s proud to take part to acknowledge the painful past and speak of her hopes for the future, and anxious to find someone who can fill her in on the source of her unsettling dreams.
Buffalo Dreamer beautifully evokes a full-hearted Cree community held together by familial bonds, ancestral memory, and lived experience. Violet Duncan has written a story that is vital and vibrant while gently facing the history of violence and erasure endured by North American Indigenous families. Through simple but powerful prose, Duncan honors oral traditions that preserve Indigenous wisdom and identity. Buffalo Dreamer is a call to protect and uplift Indigenous voices in today’s world.
