Waabi is a Dakota living in the land his people call Mni Sota. In 1850, the white settlers were part of Waabi's life for a while. The settlers have asked to mine on the Dakota's land for resources in return for winter provisions. One year, the government officials were late with the provisions, causing Waabi's father and many others to perish. Waabi struggles with the changes happening around him, especially as the United States goes to War against itself. Samuel Copeland and his family lived a peaceful life in Vermont, but after an injury to his father's leg, they go into debt. When Samuel hears of free land in the new state of Minnesota, he convinces his family to relocate. Living in Minnesota isn't as easy as the Copeland's imagined and tensions soon arise over resources with the settlers and the Dakota who never gave up their land. As War rages between the North and South, another revolt is rising as the Ojibwe and Dakota combine forces to reclaim their land and attack Fort Snelling. Together, Samuel and Waabi find a way to fight for a better future.
Reclaiming Mni Sota is an alternate historical fiction story recounting the Dakota War of 1862. The author is clearly passionate about this time period and while not a Native American himself, has put in a lot of effort into bringing their story to light and to think about what would have happened if the outcome of the war was flipped. With alternating points of view of both Samuel, a white settler in Minnesota and Waabi, a Native Dakota, the struggle of both groups to survive with one another is apparent. As the characters say, it is a war that was put in motion long before the men fighting were born. Though from different backgrounds, Waabi and Samuel are both young men trying to find their way in a quickly changing world. They both carry anger and grief from incidents stemming from interactions with the other's culture. However, they both find killing unfulfilling. I was intrigued by Waabi and Samuel's alliance to fight for what they thought would help them move forward. With an alternate ending to the war, with Mni Sota Makoce becoming a Sovereign Independent Nation, we are reminded of the ways we have come to own land and be stewards of that land as well as what land ownership means in modern times.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Reclaiming Mni Sota is an alternate historical fiction story recounting the Dakota War of 1862. The author is clearly passionate about this time period and while not a Native American himself, has put in a lot of effort into bringing their story to light and to think about what would have happened if the outcome of the war was flipped. With alternating points of view of both Samuel, a white settler in Minnesota and Waabi, a Native Dakota, the struggle of both groups to survive with one another is apparent. As the characters say, it is a war that was put in motion long before the men fighting were born. Though from different backgrounds, Waabi and Samuel are both young men trying to find their way in a quickly changing world. They both carry anger and grief from incidents stemming from interactions with the other's culture. However, they both find killing unfulfilling. I was intrigued by Waabi and Samuel's alliance to fight for what they thought would help them move forward. With an alternate ending to the war, with Mni Sota Makoce becoming a Sovereign Independent Nation, we are reminded of the ways we have come to own land and be stewards of that land as well as what land ownership means in modern times.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
