"History might have cost me my family and my language, but I was reclaiming a relationship with the earth, water, stars, and seeds that was thousands of years old."
To kick off #nativeamericanheritagemonth we’ve got this gorgeous novel. Weaving together historical fiction with indigenous ecology, culture, and land stewardship, The Seed Keeper follows four generations of women in the Iron Wing family in Mní Sota Makhóčhe, otherwise known as Minnesota. It's a story of survival, and the different ways survival may look in different times and places. We primarily follow the story of Rosalie Iron Wing, who was raised by her dad until she is thrust into the cruel indifference of the foster care system. The novel depicts growing up native in a white community that's ignorant to their own history, and clashing approaches to land, agriculture, family, and culture. Rosalie mostly endures, with what sometimes feels like frustrating passivity, but can also be seen as endurance, or preservation of energy - like a seed biding its time. The book builds slow and steady, to a powerful wakeup call to pay heed to both our past and our future. We really enjoyed the space this novel reclaims, and highly recommend it.
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