This conversation highlights how her work explores Native Rights and Native American culture\, in particular using a n 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 brutal Indian boa rding schools\, \;A Council of Dolls \;is the story of three women \, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried....
\nSissy\, born 1961: Sissy&rsquo\;s relationship with her beautiful and vola tile mother is difficult\, even dangerous\, but her life is also filled wi th beautiful things\, including a new Christmas present\, a doll called Et hel. 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 in a time of terrible change\, Lillian clings to her sister\, Blanche\, and her doll\, Mae. Whe n the sisters are forced to attend an &ldquo\;Indian school&rdquo\; far fr om their home\, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school&rsquo\;s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters\, the doll Mae finds her way t o defend the girls. \; \;
\nCora\, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the &ldquo\;Indian Wars\,&rdquo\; Cora isn &rsquo\;t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the co untry to be &ldquo\;civilized.&rdquo\; When teachers burn her beloved buck skin and beaded doll Winona\, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost...
\nA modern masterpiece\, \;A Council of Dolls \;is gorgeous\, quietly devastating\, and ultimately hopeful\, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools\, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. Mona Susan Power weave s a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page. Register now t o join the conversation! \;
\nClick here for a list of Mona Susan Power's books \;at the Oakville Public Library. \;
\nAbout the Author: Mona Susan Pow er is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Her novel\,&nbs p\;A Council of Dolls\, \;was longlisted for the National Book Award a nd the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. She is the author of three previou sly published works of fiction\, \;The Grass Dancer\, \;which won the Pen/Hemingway Prize\, Sacred Wilderness\, \;and \;Roofwalker. Her short stories have been published by \;The Atlantic Monthly\, 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.
\nThe views expressed b y presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not impl y an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any sp ecific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendat ion by Oakville Public Library.
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