"Coming back to the reserve brought up a
lot of memories of her missing mother. It
felt so remote here - so isolated, and what
could she possible do on this rez? Why do
I even have to be here in the first place? I
don't want to be here."
Misko doesn't want to leave Winnipeg where she has lived with her aunt since her mother went missing. At 12, she worries about the isolation she will feel. She also feels compelled by her dreams to return to her grandmother and other relatives. Perhaps once she is there, she will learn more about her mother who disappeared when she was only 4. No one ever really answers the questions that she has. Once she has settled, she feels a strong connection to her grandmother, her cousins and her Ojibway traditions.
Misko also meets a beautiful horse she names Mishtadim because of the unusual connection they seem to have. Appalled by the way Thomas and his father, who live on a nearby ranch, are working to 'break' the horse's spirit, Misko wants to stop them and the violence they are using. Her fight for the rights of Mishtadim prove how strong and determined Misko is when faced with great adversity and cruelty.
Misko and Thomas become friends through their love of Mishtadim, and Thomas' reticence to tame the horse according to his father's wishes. As Misko spends more time with her family, she remembers how important it is to belong. Home will always be where her heart is. She feels the pull of her ancestors at every turn, and as she is immersed in family and her Anishinaabemowin language. So much connects her to life on the rez. What beauty she finds in her surroundings there.
Many important discoveries are made, and lessons learned.
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