The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) will host a free, online book and author event for the public featuring the PEN Award–winning Native American author, Mona Susan Power (Standing Rock Tribe), on March 26 from 12-1 Mountain Daylight Time. Power will discuss her new book, A Council of Dolls, with College Fund President, Cheryl Crazy Bull.
Mona Susan Power is the author of four books of fiction: The Grass Dancer (awarded the PEN/Hemingway prize), Roofwalker, Sacred Wilderness, and her most recent novel, A Council of Dolls (longlisted for the National Book Award). She has received numerous fellowships in support of her work, including an Iowa Arts Fellowship, James Michener Fellowship, Radcliffe Bunting Institute Fellowship, Princeton Hodder Fellowship, USA Artists Fellowship, McKnight Fellowship, and Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Fellowship. Her short stories and essays have been widely published in journals, magazines and anthologies, and her essay, “Bloodthread,” is forthcoming in The Georgia Review. Power was born and raised in Chicago and currently lives in Minnesota.
The profoundly moving and unforgettable new novel spans three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day. Power takes the reader to the mid-century metropolis of Chicago, the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, and bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools. A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.
Sissy, born in 1961, has a difficult relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new a doll called Ethel Sissy received for Christmas. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy’s ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, the doll maybe even saves Sissy’s life.
Lillian, born in 1925 in her ancestral lands during a time of terrible change, clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an “Indian school” far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school’s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, Mae finds a way to defend the sisters.
Cora, born in 1888 during the brutal legacy of the “Indian Wars,” is not afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be “civilized.” When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll, Winona, Cora discovers the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost.
A Council of Dolls is a modern masterpiece: gorgeous, quietly devastating, and hopeful. Mona Susan Power shines a light on the damage wrought by Indian boarding schools and historical massacres that echo throughout generations of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, she artfully weaves a spell of love and healing with her storytelling.
To register for this free event, please visit www.collegefund.org/bookclub.
More Stories Like This
Native Forward Scholars Fund Announces 2025 Students of the Year at Empowering Scholars SummitNavajo Nation Speaker Curley and Council Delegate Dr. Nez Join Education Leaders to Address Federal Budget Cuts
Mackie Moore (Cherokee) Named Interim President of Haskell Indian Nations University
Mohawk Students File Legal Suit Over Changes Impacting Access to Federal Financial Aid
Trump Administration Proposes Deep Cuts to Tribal College Funding, Threatening Their Survival
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
