Cekpa: A Memoir in Beaded Essays

by Leah Altman

For Leah Altman, growing up as an adoptee outside of her culture meant growing up without her cekpa, the Lakota connection to family and homeland. Now an adult, Leah departs her life in Portland, Oregon, to seek out her birth family and reconnect to her heritage—each chapter of her journey a bead in this literary cekpa crafted for her own children.

Born “Baby Girl Blackfeather,” Leah Altman was separated from her birth family through placement by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to be adopted and raised by a family in Portland, Oregon. At twenty-one, she journeys across the West twice to rediscover her roots—to her father's Lakota family in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and to her mother's Persian relatives in Denver, Colorado.

As an adoptee, Leah felt the hole in her heart where her cekpa was missing. Lacking this tradition so essential to Lakota culture manifested in a troubled youth of reckless decisions, substance abuse, and struggling to fit in at school. A child without a cekpa is left unanchored, and without hers, Leah was at a loss in life. In an intimate portrayal of self-discovery, Leah’s memoir tells a painstaking construction of her search for identity, written to ensure her own children grow up with an understanding of their roots.

In this collection of personal essays dedicated to her two daughters, Altman masterfully weaves together her own literary cekpa in a coming-of-age story about transracial adoption, tribal enrollment, motherhood, and what it truly means to be connected to one’s culture, homeland, and family.

Genres: Memoir, Essays, Adoption

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2025

Reviews

[Clare D · Rating 3 out of 5]

In awe of Altman's capacity for healing and joy following familial and relationship trauma. I also enjoyed the exploration of identity and resonated with the desire to find footing in one's paternal and maternal cultures. Admittedly this read felt a little flat, as both the language used and structure of the passages written felt akin to what one typically encounters in YA novels.

[Casandra Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heartbreaking, path to self Identity and family. This book is full of love, hurt, anger and resilience. Leah walked a path many of us do towards self identity and culture. Thank you for sharing.

[Allison Larkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

With admirable honesty and a masterful sense of narrative, Leah Altman shares the story of herself. Cekpa is an empathetic tapestry woven from the tangled threads of ancestry and found family. The generous intimacy of this memoir will make you feel that you've known Altman forever, rooting for her the whole way.

[salomea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! Read in February, writing the review at the end of April.

Very emotional memoir, but at times I got confused about when things were happening and the general timeline of her life.