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The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich provides a glimpse into life on this continent before European settlers overtook the land. These non-Indian settlers and travelers, known by the Ojibwa tribe as “chimookomanug,” are making their way across the Great Lakes region of what we now call the United States. What should be done? Does a person trade with them, as Deydey does, even though he laughs at the Europeans behind their backs? Should one learn their language, like Fishtail tries, so he can learn what the treaties say? Or should the Europeans just be shunned completely, as Old Tallow believes?

Omayakas is the hero of this story; she is a seven-year-old girl who is in the process of helping her grandmother, Nokomis, search for the birch bark that they will use for the house they are building. One evening at the dance lodge, one of the European voyagers appears at the entrance, and seems to be very sick. The illness he carries is smallpox, and the tribe falls prey to the deadly disease. Everyone in Omakayas’ family gets quite ill– except for Omakaya, who cares for them without rest until her spirit begins to suffer. Only in the very last pages of the book do we discover Omakaya’s secret which brings the story to a satisfying conclusion.

The Birchbark House gives us a very real look into the lives of Native people’s rituals and trials. The author herself is a member of the Turtle Band of Ojibwa, and has written several wonderful books for adults. The Birchbark House has been nominated by the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and should not be missed.