The Birchbark HouseOmakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847. For as long as Omakayas can remember, she and her family have lived on the land her people call the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. Although the chimookoman, white people, encroach more and more on their land, life continues much as it always has. Every summer the family builds a new birchbark house; every fall they go to ricing camp to harvest and feast; they move to the cedar log house before the first snows arrive, and celebrate the end of the long, cold winters at maple-sugaring camp. In between, Omakayas fights with her annoying little brother, Pinch, plays with the adorable baby, Neewo, and tries to be grown-up like her beautiful older sister, Angeline. But the satisfying rhythms of their lives are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever. Set on an island in Lake Superior in 1847, and filled with fascinating details of traditional Ojibwa life, The Birchbark House is a breathtaking novel by one of America's most gifted and original writers. |
Contents
The Girl from Spirit Island | 1 |
NEEBIN Summer | 3 |
The Birchbark House | 5 |
Copyright | |
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Ahneen Andeg Angeline Angeline's Anishinabe Anishinabeg arms asked Baby Neewo bark basswood beads bear berries Big Pinch birchbark house bird blanket breath cabin camp canoe chimookoman cold corn cradle board crow dance dark deep Deydey Deydey's dream earth eyes face fell fire fish Fishtail gathering Gaygo Golden-Breasted Woodpecker Grandma grandmother hands head heard heart inside island jumped kinnikinnick lake LaPautre laugh little brother looked loved Madeline Island makazins makuks Mama Mama's maple maple sugar Midewiwin mother Muskrat Nanabozho night Nokomis Nokomis's Ojibwa Old Tallow Omakayas felt Omakayas knew Omakayas thought Omakayas's pipe rabbit rice rock sewed sickness sister skin sleep slept smallpox smile smoke snow spirit stick story sugar sweet syrup talk Ten Snow things tikinagun tiny tobacco told took tree tried voice waited walked warm white-throated sparrows wild rice winter woke woods yelled Yellow Kettle