Buffalo Dreamer

by Violet Duncan

An illuminating novel about the importance of reclaiming the past, based on the author’s family history

Summer and her family always spend relaxed summers in Alberta, Canada, on the reservation where her mom’s family lives. But this year is turning out to be an eye-opening one. First, Summer has begun to have vivid dreams in which she's running away from one of the many real-life residential schools that tore Native children from their families and tried to erase their Native identities. Not long after that, she learns that unmarked children’s graves have been discovered at the school her grandpa attended as a child. Now more folks are speaking up about their harrowing experiences at these places, including her grandfather. Summer cherishes her heritage and is heartbroken about all her grandfather was forced to give up and miss out on. When the town holds a rally, she’s proud to take part to acknowledge the painful past and speak of her hopes for the future, and anxious to find someone who can fill her in on the source of her unsettling dreams.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing a glossary of words from the book.

Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Indigenous, Fiction, Native American, Historical, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published August 27, 2024

About the author

Violet Duncan is Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation. She has toured nationally and internationally as an author, educator, dancer and storyteller.

Violet facilitates workshops to promote spiritual wellness & cultural education across the United States, Canada & Europe.


After becoming a mother of 4 and seeing the need for Native representation in literature, she took it upon herself to author three award winning children's books, I am Native, When We Dance and Lets Hoop Dance! Her newest book, I am Native, released 2020, shares a glimpse into the wonderful world of a multigenerational Native family. This book showcases beautiful imagery of family members passing down traditions in both traditional and modern ways. She has recently joined the family of Random House with two new children’s books coming out 2022.

She is currently the Indigenous Cultural Advisor at the Tempe Center for the Arts where she aims to create space for a permanent program of Indigenous performance and practice.

Some of Violet's accomplishments include holding the “Miss Indian World” title & representing all Indigenous people of North America. In 2013 Music video "Big Hoops" by Nelly Furtado as the Native American Fancy Dancer.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I know my rights," my mom answers sternly.

Every summer, Summer travels from the United States alllll the way up to Alberta, Canada so she (and her family) can spend time on her mother's reservation.

It's always a wonderful time - full of great food, fun adventures, and lazy days spent with family. But this year...it's different.

Every time Summer falls asleep, she dreams that she's in another girl's life - a girl set on running away from an abusive residential school. And when Summer arrives in Canada, she's horrified to realize that there's authorities finding unmarked mass graves on the grounds of such schools.

What happened to the girl in Summer's dreams? And how will her family cope with such a tragedy?

This story...I'm torn on. Because, I like the idea of it - the message was well conveyed, the historical connection was poignant and thought-provoking, and I appreciated how the author refused to shy away from painful details and connections.

Learning about our history - especially the unsavory or terrible actions - is what teaches us to be better in the future. It's important to acknowledge the harm, and strive to do better in the future.

That being said...the writing, word choice, and story structure felt geared to a younger audience than the 'middle grade' advertised.

The story felt like an outline of plot points and emotions to be expressed rather than the final, polished piece. Lots of telling and abrupt shifts in events or tone in the story that I felt could have been smoothed out and expanded upon.

Despite the powerful content, the actual writing brought this piece down for me.

That being said, there was a section at the end that connected the fictional aspects of this book to the real life events that thousands of children experienced. That section, you could absolutely tell that the author really spoke from the heart and it honestly is what pushed this story up to four stars for me.

[Jodi (on "Have to get back to life" hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🍁🇨🇦—It was a fairly good story, but it wasn't told especially well. I thought it was of the 'Young Adult' genre, but it read more like it was written for pre-teens or younger. The author has three earlier publications, all of which are 'Kids' books.

Regardless, I found the writing in Buffalo Dreamer to be a little immature—the story relied on several unlikely coincidences. But it's quite a short book so I continued reading to the end.

I feel slightly conflicted about how to rate it because I think a much younger person would give it 5 stars. As I'd give it a maximum of 3 stars, perhaps the fair thing would be to split the difference, and give it 4 stars. I do commend the author for choosing to write a book about the trauma indigenous elders have faced, and the path toward truth and reconciliation we all must walk. Apparently, it was based on her own family's history. I'd recommend the book for teens and pre-teens.

4 “Every–child–matters” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book about a young indigenous girl who, when traveling back to Canada for the summer, finds herself dreaming of another young girl determined to run away from a residential school.

I loved this short and sweet story that celebrates heart and survival. Our cultural history is long with the injustices we have inflicted on the native population. This book is a remembrance and a celebration of their resilience.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book, and wish the execution flowed more smoothly to tell it successfully. The dialogue felt clunky at times, and the climax was undermined by how it was told to the reader. We need more stories about residential schools and the horror that affected children experienced within them, and I wish that had been told more effectively in this one.

[Victor The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Buffalo” centers on Summer, a young Native American girl, traveling with her family on their annual summer trip to their family reservation in Alberta, Canada to meet all their relatives as well as her grandparents. As she enjoys her time here, Summer begins to have strange dreams centered on her grandfather’s stories on how he, and other Native children, attended a school where they were forced to abandon their heritage or face severe punishment. It all brings an unexpected discovery and will have Summer and others to speak up, protect their heritage and have the voices of other people who also survived at that residential school heard.

It starts off as a story about family and heritage, but laters also becomes one about confronting the past and finding closure. Hearing about the story of her “mosum”’s childhood and other voices involving heritage shaming is slightly dark and tragic. This emotional novella is a truly sobering one that shows you to embrace heritage, finding justice and having family help you to heal. A (95%/Outstanding)

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this was a short book, it packed a heck of punch and looked at the lasting impact of residential schools. I appreciated the storytelling and the connection that Summer has with her heritage leading her to better understand the significance of her dreams. I featured this title in a weekly vlog. Be sure to check out more of my thoughts here: https://youtu.be/tsLTSPur8Bg

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this emotional and honest story that explores terrible legacy of residential schools in Canada and America. The spiritual and magical realistic elements worked really nicely in this story -- it provided a vehicle to learn about people who were forced to attend the residential schools while still keeping the focus on Summer as protagonist. A quick but essential read.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book lots!! It’s a short book but it tells you so much about this girls family. I love any kind of book that has a main character as not white, which is why I really enjoyed this, also it talks about the many terrible stories of the Residential School the Native American children had to go to, which is hard to read but also fascinating! I would recommend this read to anybody, also a great family read!

[Stephanie Affinito · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world needs this book. In Buffalo Dreamer, we meet Summer, a 12-year-old girl spending the summer on the Cree reservation where her mother’s family lives. She delights in her family, the abundance of nature and the customs and traditions she’s comforted by. But she starts having haunting dreams of herself running away one of the many real-life residential schools that tore Native children from their families in the past. As Summer’s reality blends with her dreams, she’s heartbroken to learn about the former practices that stole children from their families and understand the magnitude of what really took place. This book is so many things: powerful and emotional, lyrical and real, unsettling and hopeful.

[Gary Anderson]

Buffalo Dreamer is Violet Duncan’s forthcoming middle-grade novel that blends historical fiction and contemporary Indigenous life through the eyes of Summer, a smart young girl with Cree and Apache heritage. In the first chapter, Summer and her mother cross from the United States into Canada on their way to visit Summer’s grandparents on the reservation in Northern Alberta. As a border agent hassles them, this captivating episode establishes Summer as perceptive and sensitive and her mother as a proud and astute advocate for Native rights.

The central drama in Buffalo Dreamer involves the Canadian and American residential schools that shamefully sought to erase the identities of Native children through cruel and often violent means. Summer’s grandfather is a residential school survivor who doesn’t talk much about his experience, but the recent discovery of mass graves at the school he attended stirs his willingness to share what happened to him and other children.

While staying with her grandparents on the reservation, Summer is visited by strange recurring dreams about Mary, a residential school runaway. Buffalo Dreamer eventually explains these dreams in a way that connects Summer and her generation to their ancestors and deepens her resolve to honor and remember her family, culture, and traditions.

Many middle-grade teachers are looking for high interest titles representing marginalized perspectives with a preference for relatively short books offering literary substance. Buffalo Dreamer checks all of those boxes, and I will be recommending it as a solid choice for independent reading, lit circles, book clubs, or as a whole-class novel. Young readers will be enticed by this book’s mysteries, charmed by its warmth, and inspired by its call for activism.

This review is also posted on my What's Not Wrong? blog in slightly different form.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the message of this book. I loved the close family relationships. The writing did get to me, though. Many of the conversations didn't feel real (the exception to this, for me, was when the elders spoke) and there are so many exclamation points. Still, I think I'd recommend this to younger middle grade readers as a good introduction to the residential school system and the ongoing impact it has had on native communities in the United States and Canada. Older readers would really need to be interested in the topic to overlook the clunky dialogue.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in such a reading slump with moving and just blah books that I'm actually reading (plus the aux cord in my car needed replaced so now I'm slowing down on my audiobooks (though just replaced it and now I'm cruising along).
This book though! SUCH a great book for kids to explore and learn about Indigenous history in an appropriate and meaningful way. When thinking about what to rate this book, I realized that I wanted my kids to read this book so it had to get five stars because I would love it on my bookshelves. It's superb and short, incredibly powerful. While talking about residential schools, I really enjoyed that the book itself was grounded in Indigenous joy despite it all, specifically of Indigenous children's joy. Highly recommend!
contains mentions of residential schools and children's deaths, no mention of other violence enacted on children

[Katie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful little book is so powerful and important. It’s a perfect YA introduction to the horrors of residential schools for Native Americans. It’s inspired me to learn more and to want to make sure others know this story and so many others like it. The voices of so many children were silenced. But now, their stories are being told.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short but important story. I especially like how it emphasized the importance of younger generations to lift up the people who came before them and the struggles they faced.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise is unique, and it's an important story to tell. The book is a little too short to be fully realized. It could have used more character and plot development. That being said, I do like seeing shorter middle grade books being published.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historically relevant and educational book! The dialogue was a bit clunky, even for a kids' book, but the message was beautiful.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

National Book Award Finalist. Over the years I've read books, been to sites of Indian Boarding Schools and am always appalled at the situation and that so little is known and done about the situation. Even in the area around the "cabin that was" there were at least 10 schools even 20 years ago. It is outrageous how these children were children. Just as outrageous as I fear what is going to happen to indigenous and minority student in the next few years. This is an easy to read book, appropriate for elementary and middle grade students.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent new middle grade book that teaches young readers about the legacy of trauma felt by Residential school survivors and their descendants. This is sure to be an eye-opening read for some but is a much needed addition to the canon. I loved the premise of a young Cree girl visiting her extended family on a reservation and dreaming about her ancestors and their experiences in Residential schools. The Buffalo spirit was an amazing part of the story and I am obsessed with this cover!! Perfect for fans of authors like David Robertson and HIGHLY recommended!!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summer’s family travels every year from Phoenix to Northern Alberta to spend time with her mother’s family on the rez. Her father is a member of an Arizona Apache Tribe and her mother is a member of a Canadian Cree Tribe.

After they arrive at her grandparent’s land on the reservation, twelve year old Summer begins to have strange dreams of a girl running away from a school: a girl by the name of Mary, but who is also called Buffalo Dreamer.

Her family arrives just as graves are discovered at a former Native boarding school – graves of unknown children. Summer learns that when her grandparents were young, and earlier, many children were taken away by the government, some as young as five years old, and put in special boarding schools. The schools

“were created to make kids forget about their own culture so that they could be assimilated into the dominant white culture…” in an attempt to “erase Indigenous cultures.”

Her grandfather was one of those children. He tells Summer that

“We were subjected to harsh discipline and treated as if we were less than human.”

The children were traumatized by the schools and some tried to run away. Now, years later, they don’t like to talk about this dark period, but finding the unmarked graves, where children were dumped, brings the old wounds alive again.

Summer and her family attend a powwow where speakers share their boarding school experience. A march is part of the powwow and a group holds a big banner that reads “Every Child Matters.”

It is rather obvious that the purpose of Buffalo Dreamer is to introduce the boarding school tragedy to middle grade children. Author Violet Duncan, a member of the Plains Cree and Taino tribes, explores it in a clear, honest and sensitive manor. Summer’s dream experience, though, seems a bit awkward, and could easily be deleted.

Buffalo Dreamer is a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreams bring a young girl back to the past.
🦬
Summer and her family always spend the summers in Alberta, Canada at her mother’s childhood reservation visiting family and relaxing. This year, however, Summer starts having vivid dreams the minute they cross the border. In these dreams she sees a girl named Buffalo Dreamer on the run, close to death due to the elements and starvation. At the same time she also learns that unmarked graves are being discovered all over at old Residential schools. Can these two things be connected?
🦬
I can definitely see why this MG book has won awards. It’s short for our young readers, but packs quite a punch. It deals with truth and history, usually not taught from textbooks and it’s only through #books like these that we will never forget the atrocities that happened to the Native and Indigenous people at the hands of the U.S. government. I loved learning more about the Cree culture from Violet Duncan. This would be a great pairing this month with nonfiction titles!

CW: death, forced assimilation, hospitalization, kidnapping, cultural genocide, generational trauma

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan is a middle grade historical fiction that this nothing like the books I had access to when I was in Middle School. This short novel tells the the dark history of residential schools, which is a dark period in American and Canadian history.

Embarrassingly, I did not learn about residential schools until I read Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars in 2024. Finally, historically silenced voices are sharing these stories.

As an adult reader, it is easy for me to say I wanted more character development and a longer story. But, I know that this is the pretty length and content introduction for the age group.

Beautiful and important story.

[Alisha (booksmellz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer and her family always spend their summers up in Alberta, Canada, on the reservation where her mom’s family lives. As soon as they cross the Canadian border, Summer begins to have vivid dreams about running away from one of the many residential schools Canada used to have. Not long after arriving at the reservation, Summer learns that unmarked children’s graves have been discovered at the school her grandpa attended as a child.

As more folks begin to speak out about their experiences in the residential school where they were torn from their families at young ages and forced to try and erase their Native identities, Summer is heartbroken to hear about everything her grandpa endured and missed out on. When the town holds a rally for the lost children in unmarked graves, she is proud to take part in the acknowledgement of the painful past and her hopes for the future. She’s also anxious to find someone who can help her better understand her unsettling dreams.

Buffalo Dreamer is a good beginning novel for middle grade readers to learn about the residential schools that were in both the United States and Canada. It talks about the residential schools but not in a way that’s super detailed but still with respect.

Overall, this is also a beautiful novel about a twelve-year-old who honors her culture and lifts up and encourages her ancestors and elders to tell their story.

*Thank you Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph Beaudoin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
ᐸᐢᑳᐧᐃᐧᒧᐢᑐᐢ qᐅᐳᐊᐧᑕᒼ
paskwâwimostos ᐸᐢᑳᐧᐃᐧᒧᐢᑐᐢ buffalo opowatam ᐅᐳᐊᐧᑕᒼ dreamer
This book is a treasure. As an adult the language was not too young for me. The story shines a light on the disgusting history of so-called us and so-called canada and the residential sch**ls. They are an absolute disgrace and part of the ongoing genocide against Indigenous People of Turtle Island. I really loved the dreams and visions, the family aspect, and summer Rez life.

This is my second book for #25for25

[Alyssa Lentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be a great choice for young readers who are interested in historical fiction and starting to dip their toe into chapter books--it moves very quickly and the language is accessible, with short chapters. It does a great job showcasing what Native life is like for kids now as well as shedding light on such a horrible historical tragedy, not sugarcoating the information in the least but delivering it age-appropriately.

[Bethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Summer spends each summer vacation at mom’s Rez
chapters of her dreams about the residential home her gpa was in as a child, one dream has buffalo speak to her
Learns more about her family and gpa past at residential school, takes part in a remembrance march and spoiler








Meets woman in her dreams Buffalo dreamer, who also has been dreaming of her
Short chapters, short book packed with family culture love and pride
Cover art

[Emily | emilyisoverbooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well done middle grade book that is honestly perfect for readers of all ages, BUFFALO DREAMER touches on Canadian residential schools and the impact on Native families. This is only 128 pages, or two hours on audio, and absolutely worth the listen to learn about the heartbreak and resilience of Native families through the eyes of 12-year-old Summer.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short, beautifully told story that will introduce middle grades to some of the atrocities our Native Americans faced. Takes place modern day, but with visions/dreams/remembrances from a girl who escaped a residential school, and conversations with the grandfather who attended one while the town is finding mass graves near the school building. I will add it to my 4th grade classroom!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and gentle way to introduce young readers to the topic of Native American residential schools in North America, along with some beautiful aspects of culture woven in. The story at first gave me The Devil's Arithmetic vibes, since the main character, Summer, has dreams/memories of another girl's experience of running away from a residential school. Lovely story.

[Isaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

To see a full review check it out here.

Wow. This book did not shy away from the history. This might be one of the most indepth look at residential schools I have seen aimed at kids.

[Gary Parkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and thoughtful middle grade read that combines a contemporary story line with the past, illuminating a part of history and our treatment of Native Americans which I was unaware.