Runs with Courage

by Joan M. Wolf

Ten-year-old Four Winds is a young Lakota girl caught up in the changes brought about by her people's forced move to the reservation. Set in the Dakota Territory, it is the year 1880. Four Winds has been taken away from her family and brought to a boarding school run by whites. It is here she is taught English and learns how to assimilate into white culture. But soon she discovers that the teachers at this school are not interested in assimilation but rather in erasing her culture. On the reservation, Four Winds had to fight against starvation. Now she must fight to hold on to who she is.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Cultural, Juvenile, Native American, 19th Century, Childrens

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2016

About the author

I write, I teach, I read books, I eat chocolate. I have been a public school teacher in Minnesota for a long time now. I have had the chance to teach just about everything (really), from primary ages all the way to adults.

And I am also a writer. Although I have written a LOT, I have published five books (so far.) Four of them are for teachers and one is for kids/young adults.

I feel really lucky to have found two jobs that keep me challenged and happy!

Reviews

[Barbara Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it is written for middle graders, I enjoyed this book and learned a little more about a dark part of America's history from the perspective of a spunky young girl. I think it would be a great book for kids to read to learn more about her struggles and her story.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four Winds is ten years old when her family allows her to be taken to a boarding school for Native Americans. The Lakota girl is terribly homesick, of course, and confused by the teachers' insistence that she no longer speak her language or adhere to any of her cultural beliefs. Still, she works hard, determined to serve as a bridge between her people and the white world. Once she realizes that the school's officials are determined to remove all traces of her culture, she leaves the school only to learn that her family will be denied food benefits unless they comply with this compulsory education. Many passages in the book are heart-rending as readers witness Four Winds' clothing being burned and her hair cut as well as her harsh treatment at the hands of the adults in the school. Once she becomes allied with Catches Fire, a boy who does manual labor in the school, she is able to hold fast to parts of her identity and culture and come up with a plan that allows her to use her newly-acquired knowledge to help her people on her own terms, a victory of sorts in and of itself. The story is set in the Dakota Territory in 1880 and describes vividly a shameful period in American history. I cannot vouch for its cultural authenticity, but I do know that Four Winds' story moved me, even though this is territory that has been explored in previous books.

[Chuy Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it for my daughter, but enjoyed reading it myself. An interesting, heartbreaking story told through a young Lakota girl's eyes about one of the many atrocities this country likes to pretend didn't happen or quickly gloss over.

[Kira Scheidegger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was going to be about something very different, but I liked it

[Camden Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite 6th grade books I've read! Plus, my students enjoyed it and it covers some important topics.

[Elizabeth Dennehy-Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this historical fiction, ten-year-old Four Winds, a Lakota child, has been removed from her home and forced onto a reservation in the Dakota territory. Her family, verging on starvation, must make an impossible decision at her expense to send her with the whites to their boarding school. Here Four Winds earns her English name, Sarah, and is brutally stripped of her Lakota identity - her hair cut, her clothes burned, and punished for speaking her Lakota language. After running away home to her family, she ultimately returns to the boarding school, considering the consequences that a refusal would bring about for her family.

This novel begins with a list of Lakota vocabulary and is suited for use in the classroom. Its simple language might give young readers a basic understanding of some issues involved in the removal of indigenous people and the establishment of missionary schools. Wolf does an admirable job at capturing Four Winds’s alienation and forced acculturation in a way that does not quite capture the brutality and abuse at the “educators’” hands that we know to be the case. This is a good selection for a 4th or 5th grade social studies unit looking at westward expansion or the history of the Great Sioux Reservation . It provides a young audience a palatable version of one of the United States’s most shameful histories, and may also provide a foundation for further inquiry into indigenous cultures.

[Macee Grisenti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow
I think it took me 3 hours to read this book.
I read it because my 5th graders were reading it and I planned to stay at least a couple chapters ahead of them. I told myself I knew it would be a hard book to read due to the horrible nature of the story, however once I started there was no way I could stop.
I cried, sobbed more like it nearly every chapter as I experienced this with Four Winds. Her story was devastating and I hated the same people she did. When she called her anger lightning I definitely related to it. I have been known to act quickly and get myself into more trouble due to my anger. I wished I could’ve reached through the book and snatched her out and hugged her.

This story is a historical fiction so it’s based on real events and while I know many girls and natives went though much worse I am so glad I read this book and got even a glimpse of it. My fifth graders are already in love with the book and the characters and are having amazing discussions about this story and the time period.

I truly believe every American citizen should be forced to read this book. I can’t stress this enough to people. It needs to be a part of curriculum.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because I so enjoyed another book by Joan Wolf, Someone Named Eva. Like Eva, this book tackled another frightening issue in our history that is not discussed much, the "Christianization" of American Indian children. I know that when people are passionate about something and truly believe they are right, it can blind them to the reality of the situation, but reading about this is hard because from our distance you can see how cruel they were. We look back at events and beliefs in the past with scorn but I hope more than just feeling bad, this knowledge helps to open my eyes to anything in our current time that could be avoided if I look at it from all perspectives. This would be a fabulous book to compare and contrast with Eva in the classroom since the situations are similar and the characters have equal fervor believing that they are right when they are both so wrong.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, powerful historical fiction book recommended by the Bookworm.

Four Winds is a feisty, outspoken, 10-year-old Lakota girl who is forced to go to a boarding school run by whites to save her family from starvation when her people are forced move to a reservation. Set in 1880 in the Dakota Territory.

Four Winds learns English and realizes the teachers have no interest in her as a person or her history. She is forced to assimilate into white culture and erase her culture, cutting her hair and giving up any artifacts or mementos.

Four Winds must decide to fight for what she believes and hold on to who she is, or stay quiet and help her family.

[CharityJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sad and, at times, difficult story of some of America's less fortunate history. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but Wolf manages to fit a lot into just over 200 pages-strong characters, realistic plot development. I loved the way the story unfolded. The way she makes you think about the cruel reality the Lakota are facing but without beating you over the head with it. The only thing I didn't like was how short it was. I wanted a more in-depth look into their story. Should be a Newbery contender. Put it on the list.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that the author wants to give "a voice to children who were silenced for so long." I'm not sure as a teacher the best way to introduce these difficult topics but I know it is important. I'm forever correcting the students use of the term "tribes" for "nations" and that has lead to some good conversations about how language can be used to oppress people or influence the way we think less of a group of people (or less of ourselves if those terms are used to describe our communities). This is definitely one I need to get for the classroom library.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four Winds is a Lakota girl taken to a white boarding school against her will and stays in order to keep her tribe from starving. It's a fascinating story of resistance and culture, and I'm sure would be interesting for students to read about the horrible boarding schools that native children were forced into. I am not sure how much of it is historically accurate or avoids stereotyping, but it was a quick read that I enjoyed.

[Readersaurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad books like this are being written now. I grew up utterly ignorant of the Indian boarding schools that wrenched children away from their families from the 1800s all the way into the 1960s. It's one more shameful and disgusting parts of our national history. Wolf's book provides an introduction to the topic that is appropriate for upper elementary aged readers without minimizing what the children had to endure and tells a good story.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really powerful and great. I was surprised how the author is so against the catholic church and I want to know more about Runs with Courage's relationship today with both her tribe and her school friends. :)

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me more insight into a shameful part of American history. The schools set up to indoctrinate Native Americans and erase their culture demonstrated a frightening intolerance for anyone who was not Christian.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sad story of the American history!! I just don't understand people and why one race thinks they are better than others. This was a well written, poignant book. Highly recommend it as additional reading for US History class.

[Jennifer Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read for middle grade students and approaches the realities of Native Americans in the 1800s in a clear way. I enjoyed the fact that the author did extensive research prior to writing this story.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerfully written, emotional and spoken in a way that is can help younger readers begin to understand this difficult topic.

[Lilah Kottke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Coloradobetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this was a YA novel and not what I expected. It was short and I learned some things, but I would not say it was compelling or a must-read.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It was really interesting, and I love the way the book was split up. It was definitely a good book to start the year!

[Kaylee Rivera-Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

a MUST read! Great, easy and digestible but covers history about this country I was unaware of. Very enlightening.

[Mark Leibowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of this Lakota girl named Four Winds. It's a powerful story and a necessary story for everyone.

[Anaïs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and so touching ! I could not put this book down ! ! !

[Bethany???556764 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good and it was fun

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical when I started reading -- how predictable would this be? would it focus on the pain? would there be hope?

I was pleased on all counts. This is a keeper.

[amanda frekot · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book, but the ending was anticlimactic at the end, so only 4 stars.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book about the forced placement of indigenous children in boarding schools.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolf, Joan M. Runs with Courage, 211 pages. Sleeping Bear Press, 2016. $17. Content: G (some mild abuse).

Four Winds has been told by her tribe that she is going to a school to learn the white man’s ways so that she can become a bridge for her people. When she arrives, however, the teachers of the school try to strip away her identity as a Lakota. When she runs back to her tribe, she learns that her being at the school is the only thing keeping them from starving on the reservation they have been forced to inhabit. Four Winds returns to the school, determined to find a real way to help her people survive.

Wolf has written an excellent book about the Indian Schools and the struggles and abuses of the system. I am afraid that the only way this book will get attention, however, is if a teacher decides to read it with their class. So make sure you share this with your Language Arts and history classes.

EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

[The Book Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

also posted on my blog


Runs with Courage by Joan M. Wolf follows a little girl named Four Winds. She is a young Lakota girl that has never seen a white person before, her family was moved to a reservation which is slowly killing her tribe. She will soon meet white people when she is taken against her will to keep her tribe from starving to death. She will make great sacrifices, endure endless abuse to ensure her people are safe.

This is the gripping, fascinating story for resistance and culture, a book eager at sharing the truth. An essential read for all American children today about the horrible boarding schools that Native children were forced into. The Federal Government began sending Native children to boarding schools in the 1870s. This was a time when the government was at war with indigenous people, in the end, a war ended up becoming a genocide that nearly wiped entire cultures from the map.

While this is a great story and I know children endure horrific abuse inside of these boarding schools I am unsure of how accurate this story is. I didn't find any white washing or stereotyping in this book. I found for such a dense read this book was relatively quick to get through.

This is a middle school book that doesn't shy away from the tough topics. It shows the rough and dark spot of American history from the perspective of a young girl that could have gone through it. Her story is just one of countless stories that actually happened. It is a great book for children to learn history, face their struggles, and ultimately learn to use the past to help change the future.

I received this book for review from Sleeping Bear Press in exchange for my honest but completely unbiased review. All thoughts, opinions are my own.