Iola Fuller (1906–1993)

This is a novel depicting the life of a woman who bridged two worlds. Oneta was born into the Ojibway tribe in the early 1800's. When she was a young girl her mother became ill at the time her tribe traveled to another location to harvest wild rice, and they were left behind in a trading village on Mackinac Island. Growing up on the island, Oneta finds her life rich with both native heritage and exposure to French and American culture. She gets sent away to boarding school in Ontario but doesn't speak much of her life there, instead focusing on changes that occur when she returns to the island twelve years later. Having been well-educated Oneta now sees life on the island in a different light, and finds that she doesn't quite fit in anywhere.

Through the personal story of her life and those close to her- her brother and adopted French family- are woven greater events. Things change as the fur trade begins to fall off when trappers deplete the natural resources. The native tribes find life more difficult as game becomes scarce and the intruding white men fell trees in greater numbers. As the fur trade diminishes focus shifts to fishing, it was quite interesting how that came about. Unrest grows when the government fails to hold up their side of treaties with the native tribes. Although Oneta is a father self-effacing character, standing quietly in the background to most events, it turns out she has a large part to play in the end.

This was a rich, satisfying read. There are a wide variety of complex, interesting characters. I loved the rich descriptions and subtle symbolism. This is the kind of book that leaves you reflecting long after you've turned the final page. I'm definitely keeping this one on my shelf to read again.

from the Dogear Diary… (meer)

This historical novel set primarily on Mackinac Island shines with the beauty of the northern woods, sings with the sounds of the lake waters and mourns the passing of great cultures and peoples. Set during the early and mid-1800's, it describes how an Ojibway girl becomes "civilized" in her manner and dress through education and isolation from her people. Oneta, proud daughter of Tecumseh, is adopted by a caring yet strict and rigid Quebecois accountant when her widowed mother remarries. Through mission school and convent boarding school, Oneta becomes fluent in at least three or four languages, learns the cleanliness so important to the frontier gentry, and loses more and more of her self in duty and gratitude to her adopted father and grandmother. In a moment poised on the brink of violence, she finds the need to be herself, to be Tecumseh's daughter, and to do what she can to help her people.
Mackinac Island's swiftly changing community is drawn in careful and painstaking beauty, harsh with the winter snows, soft in the spring and crowded with visitors in summer. The trappers provide a noisy and boisterous historical piece to the setting. Timeless and moving, this book is a tremendous story and a worthy tribute to this great state and those who have shaped and guided her. The author, Iola Fuller, was a Michigan native and UM distinguished alumni--this book won UM's Hopwood Award in 1939.

5 out of 5 stars.… (meer)