Runs With Courage

by Joan M. Wolf

Overview

Ten-year-old Four Winds is a young Lakota girl caught up in the changes brought about by her people's forced move to the reservation. Set in the Dakota Territory, it is the year 1880. Four Winds has been taken away from her family and brought to a boarding school run by whites. It is here she is taught English and learns how to assimilate into white culture. But soon she discovers that the teachers at this school are not interested in assimilation but rather in erasing her culture. On the reservation, Four Winds had to fight against starvation. Now she must fight to hold on to who she is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585369850
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	151,570
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 11 Years

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2016
Gr 4–6—Set in the Dakota Territory in 1880, this historical novel follows a 10-year-old Lakota girl, Four Winds, of the Great Sioux Reservation. She is taken from her tribe to live in a U.S. government residential boarding school for girls. The boarding school program was designed to force American Indians to assimilate while newcomers took possession of their homelands. This fictional account is a sincere attempt to depict this tragic federal policy of assimilation and make it accessible to children. As the story unfolds, Wolf portrays several realistic situations and historical facts about residential school life (the destruction of all indigenous items, cutting of children's hair, prohibition of Native language, and verbal and physical abuse). The adults at the school are Christians who view the girls as "uncivilized savages." The only exception is Miss Beatrice, who notices Four Winds as a leader. The universal emotions of anger, frustration, loneliness, and resentment of unfair treatment are realistically conveyed. By the end of the book, Four Winds is given a new name, "Runs with Courage," as she decides to become a teacher and help her people. Unfortunately, some of the dialogue and descriptions do not authentically reflect indigenous ways of being. For example, scenes of the children discussing how "warrior-like" fellow classmates will be reveal a stereotypical and incorrect understanding of status in Native communities. VERDICT As a first impression of the American Indian residential boarding school experience, this lacks authenticity and reinforces some stereotypes. Readers would do better by picking up Shirley Sterling's My Name Is Seepeetza.—Naomi Caldwell, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL

School Library Journal

2016-07-02
In the Dakota Territory of the 1880s, 9-year-old Four Winds struggles to find her way after being abruptly taken from her family and coerced into attending an Indian boarding school. Subjected to a series of cruel humiliations intended to “kill the Indian, save the man,” she sees her clothes burned and her hair cut (something normally reserved for mourning in her culture). Physically punished for speaking Lakota and labelled a “savage” for expressing emotion through dance, the newly named Sarah slowly begins to adjust to white cultural norms, ultimately negotiating a resolution that allows her to use her suffering to help guide her community. In her second book focusing on forced acculturation, Wolf (Someone Named Eva, 2007) skillfully educates readers about the historical context. Unfortunately most of the characters remain emotionally flat—there is far more telling than showing—and the plot moves slowly. While Four Winds’ interior monologue feels natural and realistic, the dialogue of both Natives and whites is stilted, further distancing readers. The most intriguing character is Catches Fire, a Lakota boy whose apparent mental slowness hides a surprising back story, but this strand of the tale is not fleshed out. This quiet story about a tragic and shameful episode in American history may not be compelling enough to attract those who are not die-hard fans of the genre. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews