Rosalie Iron Wing was twelve when her father died. Instead of looking for relatives, the state removed her from her tribe and placed her with a foster family hours from home. In her case, the foster family was only in it for the money and free labor, not to help a girl who lost her parent.
As Rosalie grows up, she has few encounters with other Lakota. One friend at school reminds her of a home that is fading from memory.
When Rosalie takes a job working in a corn field her senior year - in the hopes of saving money to move away on her eighteenth birthday - she recalls her father teaching her about plants near their cabin. This fertilizes a long dormant seed in her about her family and being Lakota.
I will admit I am biased in favor of any book about plants or animals, but The Seed Keeper is also an important look at the history of how the US and state governments treat Native Americans.
Read-A-Like for plant lovers / gardeners The Overstory.
Wilson, Diane. (2021). The Seed Keeper. Canada: Milkweed Editions.
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