Mona Susan Power chats about her newest no vel \;A Council of Dolls. This conversation highlights how he r work explores Native Rights and Native American culture\, in particular using an important symbol that anchors comfort and companionship in Native life: dolls. \;
\nFrom the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people\, to the bleak and bru tal Indian boarding schools\, \;A Council of Dolls \;is t he story of three women\, told in part through the stories of the dolls th ey carried.
\nSissy\, born 1961: Sissy&rsquo\;s relationship with he r beautiful and volatile mother is difficult\, even dangerous\, but her li fe is also filled with beautiful things\, including a new Christmas presen t\, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy&rsquo \;s ear\, and in one especially terrifying moment\, maybe even saves Sissy &rsquo\;s life.
\nLillian\, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands i n a time of terrible change\, Lillian clings to her sister\, Blanche\, and her doll\, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an &ldquo\;Indian s chool&rdquo\; far from their home\, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the sch ool&rsquo\;s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters\, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls. \; \;
\nCora\, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the &ldquo\;Indian War s\,&rdquo\; Cora isn&rsquo\;t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be &ldquo\;civilized.&rdquo\; When teachers b urn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona\, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost.
\nA modern masterpiece\,& nbsp\;A Council of Dolls \;is gorgeous\, quietly devastating\ , and ultimately hopeful\, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought b y Indian boarding schools\, and the historical massacres of Indigenous peo ple. Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page. \;
\nMona Susan Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Her novel\, \;A Council of Dolls\, \;was longlisted for the National Book Award and the Carol Shields Pr ize for Fiction. She is the author of three previously published works of fiction\, \;The Grass Dancer\, \;which won the Pen/Heming way Prize\, Sacred Wilderness\, \;and \;Roofwalker. Her short stories have been published by \;The Atlantic Monthl y\, The Paris Review\, The Best American Short Stories\, \;and more. Mona is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Iowa Writers&rsquo\; Workshop. She lives in Saint Paul\, Minnesota.
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