(My daughter asked in a whisper, “You DID make extra for supper, didn’t you?” Yes, honey, I did.)

“She made the bread she made the bread!!!” The second grade was practically swarming, and I felt super bad for whichever parent brought in candy corn because it was knocked to the floor in the ensuing melee to get to the fry bread. I ALWAYS bring in fry bread, and bless their hearts, those little children go crazy for it.

In addition to the Three Sisters stew she took to school for Thanksgiving, my daughter also had me bring in fry bread. I am also thrilled that her interest came so close to the holidays - it made picking a present easy. She’s tough and proud and interested, but Charles Alexander Eastman? I wasn’t prepared for her to read his works until at least third grade (ha!).īut surprisingly, if taken slowly and thoughtfully, From the Deep Woods is not the worst book in the world for children, and I am thrilled my little girl is showing such interest in her heritage. This year she made - almost completely by herself, mind you - a Three Sisters stew to take to her Thanksgiving party at school, she desperately wants my father to take his beaded breastplate out of its glass case (that’s not going to happen) and she is more than willing to go toe to toe if someone makes a crack about how long her brother’s hair is. One of her most prized possessions is a bag my Monacan grandmother made from a turtle shell. She’s reading From the Deep Woods to Civilization by Charles Alexander Eastman, the Santee Dakota writer and physician. I found my 7-year-old reading this book a few weeks ago, and she hasn’t put it down since. It can’t be more than 6 by 4 inches, and the text on its 313 pages (not counting the index) is tiny and dense. It’s hardcover with an imprinted gold title on the front and the spine. I’m holding a little black book in my hand.

Fry bread kevin noble maillard