An honest, inside look at life in an Indian residential school in the 1950s, and how one indomitable young spirit survived it.


At six years old, Seepeetza is taken from her happy family life on Joyaska Ranch to live as a boarder at the Kalamak Indian Residential School. Life at the school is not easy, but Seepeetza still manages to find some bright spots. Always, thoughts of home make her school life bearable.


Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:


CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2


Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.


CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1


Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.


CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6


Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.