Inspiration: Land of the Burnt Thigh
Medicine Creek Claim is about two sisters who staked claims in Dakota Territory – much like Edith and Ida Mary Ammons. The Ammons sisters came to South Dakota in 1907, homesteading near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. I
Two More (Fictional) Women Who Tamed the Frontier
The third book in the On the Dakota Frontier series, Medicine Creek Claim, is the story of two sisters who lived in Missouri during the Civil War.
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions women have made to the United States and recognizes the achievements women have made in a variety of fields.
A story of women’s friendships
A key storyline in Lone Tree Claim is the women’s friendships on the frontier. Throughout the book, there’s a recurring theme about the importance of women’s friendships.
All things Norwegian
Happy Syttende Mai! For those of you unfamiliar, Syttende Mai, the Seventeenth of May, is Norwegian Constitution Day. It’s the day in 1814 that the Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll, Norway. It’s (sort of) similar to the Fourth of July in the United States — without the fireworks. Flags are flown, there are […]
Divorced women on the frontier
The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed “any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years” to file for a homestead. Many of these female homesteaders were single, widowed or divorced women. By stating that “any person” was eligible, Congress included women in this landmark legislation. As USD […]
March is Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week in 1982. But in 1987, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month. The month celebrates the contributions and recognizes the achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Proving Her Claim is based on the women pioneers who settled on the frontier. […]
The prairie was their medicine cabinet
When we look at a field of prairie flowers or walk through a shaded forest, we see the beauty of nature. But before the advent of the corner drug store, our ancestors saw medicinal plants and other homeopathic remedies as nature’s medicine cabinet. In Proving Her Claim, the heroine and her Lakota neighbors use medicinal plants to treat […]
Metis children connected two worlds
In an earlier blog, I wrote about the fur trappers who explored of the lands west of the Mississippi River. The voyageurs (“travelers” in French) worked for the fur trade companies to transport trade goods throughout the territories to rendezvous posts, connecting two worlds: the Native Peoples and the Europeans. Oftentimes, Metis children — children of mixed […]