Buffalo Dreamer

June 1, 2024
Grades 5-8 Past and present converge in Duncan's novel about an extended Canadian Cree family spending vacation time together. Summer, from the U.S., has traveled to her mother's homeland, where she's looking forward to being with her cousin, collecting sweetgrass and wild berries, swimming, and riding her horse. However, just after crossing the border, she locks eyes with an elderly Cree woman and begins having disturbing dreams of a girl running away from a residential school that Indigenous children were once forced to attend, cutting them off from family and culture. The dreams blend, and reflect on, local and family history. Nearby is an old school whose grounds are being dug up as a gruesome secret is exposed. Using Summer's dreams to spur them toward learning about the school and their grandfather's youth, the girls also join a protest of what the school represents, and Summer once again crosses paths with the woman, Buffalo Dreamer, who has haunted her sleep. This story of maturation and involvement in community will appeal to readers interested in the past and in present-day social action.

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Starred review from July 15, 2024
Drawing inspiration from her own family's experiences, Duncan (Kehewin Cree/Taino) tells the story of an Indigenous girl who confronts hard truths one summer. Twelve-year-old Summer, her brother, Sage, her mother, who's Cree, and her father, who's Apache, are visiting Summer's maternal grandparents, who live on the Cree reservation in northern Alberta. Though Summer enjoys her time with her extended family--picking sweetgrass, fishing, listening to stories--she's been having strange dreams about an Indigenous girl named Buffalo Dreamer fleeing in the night. Unmarked graves of children have been found at a nearby residential school, and many members of the community are grappling with the abuse they faced there--including Summer's Mosom (grandfather), who rarely talks about the experience. Summer learns more about how Indigenous children were forced into residential schools by the Canadian government. Are her dreams connected to this painful history? At a community rally and, later, a powwow, survivors acknowledge their wounds and begin to help one another heal. Duncan shines a light on a devastating aspect of Indigenous history, never sugarcoating the topic yet leaving readers with hope. Her writing is seamless, tight, and immersive, making stellar use of sensory descriptions, and she braids important truths into her captivating narrative: "We are the living proof of our ancestors' resilience and the strong spirit of our people." Compelling yet heartbreaking--and essential reading for all young people. (glossary, author's note)(Fiction. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 22, 2024
Twelve-year-old Summer is excited to leave Arizona and visit her family on the Cree reservation in Northern Alberta, where she will ride horses and enjoy fish fries with her cousin, kokom, and mosom, who attended a residential school as a child. Shortly before reaching the reservation, however, Summer begins experiencing vivid, persistent dreams about a girl from the past struggling to escape a nearby residential school where, in Summer’s waking world, a crew has begun searching for recently discovered unmarked graves. In the dream narrative, the girl, who identifies herself as Buffalo Dreamer, is given the name Mary at the school, which is attempting to separate students from their Indigenous heritage. Buffalo Dreamer moves quickly in her escape attempt, taking back paths to avoid detection until she’s caught in a snowstorm. Suddenly, the dreams stop, leaving Summer to wonder if she survived. Plains Cree and Taino author Duncan juxtaposes Summer’s intense dreams with the low-conflict nature of her everyday life, which includes detailed descriptions of Native traditions such as picking sweetgrass, making for a brief look into Indigenous customs and history. Ages 10–up.

September 1, 2024
Twelve-year-old Summer is excited for her annual visit to her maternal grandparents and extended family on a Cree reservation in Canada. After crossing the border, Summer falls asleep in the car and dreams that she is a young Cree girl trying to escape a residential school. Shortly after she wakes up, she and her mother pass the residential school the government once forced her mosom (grandfather) to attend. The strange dreams continue while she's on the rez; Summer learns that the young Cree girl's name is Buffalo Dreamer, but the school calls her Mary. When Summer tells her cousin Autumn about her dreams, the two decide to investigate what became of Buffalo Dreamer. Along with providing a glimpse into life on a Cree reservation today, Duncan's middle grade-friendly narrative introduces readers to the devastating impact of residential schools. For example, readers learn that Mosom had to learn Cree customs from his wife because the school prohibited him from engaging in them. The chapters that follow Buffalo Dreamer reveal the dangers of trying to escape from the school. An author's note adds personal context; a glossary (unseen) is appended. Nicholl Denice Montgomery

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from August 16, 2024

Gr 3-7-An important middle grade novel about a family reunion, as well as the histories of the Indian residential schools that were set up across the U.S. and Canada. Summer, 12, and her little brother Sage have traveled from their home in Arizona to visit their grandparents in Canada. Summer's mother is Cree and her father is Apache Indian. Upon arrival at Kokom and Mosom's (her grandma and grandpa) home, Summer is reunited with beloved family members including her favorite cousin Autumn. While on her travels, Summer has been dreaming about Buffalo Dreamer, a girl who is running to escape the horrors of residential school. Summer is puzzled and ponders their relevance to the excavation that is currently happening at the site of the old residential school that her grandfather attended as a child. When unmarked children's graves are unearthed at the site, it devastates Summer while leading to more people in her life opening up about their experiences at these traumatic institutions. Based on Duncan's family history, this novel balances an exploration of painful events with idyllic scenes of intergenerational love and connection. Beautiful descriptions of traditional Native American culture and dress make scenes vivid for readers as Summer's family rides horses, picks berries, prepares meals, and shares stories, even ones that have remained unspoken. VERDICT A powerful addition to all middle grade library shelves highlighting a time in history that has been hidden and often forgotten in both Canada and the U.S.-Tracy Cronce

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2024
Twelve-year-old Summer is excited for her annual visit to her maternal grandparents and extended family on a Cree reservation in Canada. After crossing the border, Summer falls asleep in the car and dreams that she is a young Cree girl trying to escape a residential school. Shortly after she wakes up, she and her mother pass the residential school the government once forced her mosom (grandfather) to attend. The strange dreams continue while she's on the rez; Summer learns that the young Cree girl's name is Buffalo Dreamer, but the school calls her Mary. When Summer tells her cousin Autumn about her dreams, the two decide to investigate what became of Buffalo Dreamer. Along with providing a glimpse into life on a Cree reservation today, Duncan's middle grade friendly narrative introduces readers to the devastating impact of residential schools. For example, readers learn that Mosom had to learn Cree customs from his wife because the school prohibited him from engaging in them. The chapters that follow Buffalo Dreamer reveal the dangers of trying to escape from the school. An author's note adds personal context; a glossary (unseen) is appended.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)