The Gift of the Great Buffalo

K-Gr 3–Bestselling Ojibwe-Métis Lindstrom’s latest is her “version of the Little House series,” an antidote to the “deep hurt and confusion as a Native child trying to navigate a world that wanted to forget that I existed,” her author’s note reveals. “Being portrayed as a ‘savage’ in a book where I felt an actual kinship to Laura Ingalls was very difficult for me to understand.” Fellow Canadian Ayalik of Inuit descent is Lindstrom’s cipher, providing a soft narration, breathy with emotion embodying young Rose’s experiences at the biannual buffalo hunt which reunites hundreds of Métis families. Settlers, colonization, the iron horses have dramatically dwindled the buffalo population and the men, led by Rose’s father, aren’t able to track any herds. Despite warnings, Rose sets out to scout alone, succeeding where the men failed. Sounds of camp life and nature’s surrounds enhance Ayalik’s affecting performance.