Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past

The road to discovering the details of one's family tree can be an emotional ride, especially when potentially painful memories are uncovered. Diane Wilson, the daughter of a Swedish American father and a mother with Native American roots, sets out to fill in the blanks of her maternal ancestry while her mother is still alive to confirm them. She wants to figure out her place within the wider view of the world, and more specifically, within the history and geography of her part of it: Minnesota and the Dakotas and their Native populations. Her narrative weaves back and forth: from her own genealogical research and interviews with her mother and aunts, to the fate of the Dakota Sioux who lived along the Minnesota River in 1862. By working both ends, she comes upon her own truths, somewhere in the middle. Here she provides insights that traditional history texts cannot. Wilson relates her story within the framework of her participation in the Dakota Commemorative March of 2002, which duplicated another "Trail of Tears" march of 150 miles from the Lower Sioux Agency in Redwood to Fort Snelling in Minneapolis. To walk where her own people have walked serves as a powerful culmination to her research. Anyone who has driven the interstates and back roads of the Northern Plains will recognize many of Wilson's routes, but probably not her specific destinations. With her genealogical mission in mind, she feels at times as though her car is filled with the ghosts of her ancestors, all demanding her attention and to tell their own stories. Surely hers took on the characteristics of a magical quest in search of self. "Spirit Car" is one woman's story and memoir, successfully connecting the Then to the Now in a very personal way. Readers should be grateful to be able to tag along.

Jumping into this work was like being wrapped in a time machine and taken back to places and circumstances hidden from history. It carries the feel of a story being shared by Lakota elders in the context of one families linage. So personnal, yet compelling as it takes you on a journey into the depths of Souix people at the apex of cultural modification programs for Native Americans. It's a view of history reserved for those who made the trip. A great read anyway you look at it!!

I couldn't put it down...read it over the weekend. This was a great book to get an intimate perspective of dakota native american life during the 1860's that was woven into the tracing of family roots. I learned a lot of details from that time and bonded with the family-I loved seeing pictures of several generations and following the impact of how events that happened long ago still impact us generations later.