9th Grade Novels

Killer of Enemies 

Years ago, seventeen-year-old Apache hunter Lozen and her family lived in a world of haves and have-nots. There were the Ones -- people so augmented with technology and genetic enhancements that they were barely human -- and there was everyone else who served them. Then the Cloud came, and everything changed. Tech stopped working. The world plunged back into a new steam age. The Ones' pets -- genetically engineered monsters -- turned on them and are now loose on the world.


Lozen was not one of the lucky ones pre-C, but fate has given her a unique set of survival skills and magical abilities. She hunts monsters for the Ones who survived the apocalyptic events of the Cloud, which ensures the safety of her kidnapped family. But with every monster she takes down, Lozen's powers grow, and she connects those powers to an ancient legend of her people. It soon becomes clear to Lozen that she is not just a hired gun. As the legendary Killer of Enemies was in the ancient days of the Apache people, Lozen is meant to be a more than a hunter. Lozen is meant to be a hero.

Carlisle vs. Army

The Northern Cheyenne Odyssey

Teachers may wish to pair or follow with a variety of texts telling the story of the Northern Cheyenne's return to Montana in 1878-1879 after they were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. 

 A source of good tribal history is Bringing the Story of the Cheyenne People to the Children of Today.  Scroll to pages 81-88. 

Playing the online interactive game, A Cheyenne Odyssey, is a great way for students to learn the background history of the Northern Cheyenne during the coming of the railroad, the disappearance of the buffalo, and the Battle of Little Bighorn. Students assume the identity of 14-year-old Little Fox. 

In your school library, you will find American Indian Tribal Histories DVDs.  Hear Northern Cheyenne elders talk about the return to Montana in 1878-1879 under Chief Little Wolf and Chief Dull Knife.   In particular, view disc 4 of the Northern Cheyenne set, time count 19:33-27:17.

The PDF file (below) is adapted from the handbook to the Yellowstone Western Heritage Center's 2005 exhibition.  It provides 12 pages of nonfiction tribal history. 

See the poem, "We Are the Spirit of These Bones" by Richard Littlebear on page 52 of the Birthright anthology (above) for another text-to-text connection. 

coming_home-_the_northern_cheyenne_odyssey.pdf
coming_home_dice.pdf

Media articles and news reports about the Fort Robinson Spiritual Run are available online.  This article in Indian Country Today from 2015 is a good text for student to read; this article from summer 2016 tells about the dedication of a monument at the reconstructed barracks in Nebraska and includes quotes from a Billings Senior graduate.  Here is a short news report (1 minute 48) that give a glimpse into the 7 day, 400 mile relay and what it means to Northern Cheyenne youth. 

odyssey_comparison.docx

Yellow Bird, a Seventh Generation Affiliate, under the direction of Phillip Whiteman Jr. and Lynette Two Bulls, coordinates the Fort Robinson Spiritual Run each year, starting on January 9th.  Their website is http://yellowbirdprograms.org/. 

Teachers might like to use the graphic organizer below to compare the Northern Cheyenne Odyssey with Homer's epic. 

Buffalo Calf Road Woman

Also known as The Girl Who Saved Her Brother and believed by some to have killed Custer, this award-winning novel, authors Rosemary Agonito and Joseph Agonito depict the life and times of this brave young woman and the devastating effects of white man’s westward migration. Based on true events, this epic tale of love and war is an inspiring journey through one of history’s most moving sagas.

Use these sites for background information:

The league of Extraordinary Women

Sand Creek Massacre 

Rosebud Battlefield 

Fort Robinson Breakout

Lesson Three from this Document  

Thrown from his horse, wounded and outnumbered,

The Cheyenne warrior, ‘Chief Comes in Sight’

Fights for his life against the U.S. army,

At the Rosebud River in Montana.


When his sister spots his predicament,

And jumps on her pony, racing to save him.

Amid the arrows, bullets, and killing,

Where, at the moment, the violence ceases,


As the combatants watch the heroic act,

Of ‘Buffalo Calf Road’ rescuing her brother.

The Northern Cheyenne call her ‘Brave Woman,’

And name the battle in honor of her valor:


‘The Fight Where the Girl Saved Her Brother!’

Who, alongside her husband ‘Black Coyote,’

Defend their land from Custer’s aggression

To relocate them onto reservations.

When Legends Die 

When his father killed another brave, Thomas Black Bull and his parents sought refuge in the wilderness. There they took up life as it had been in the old days, hunting and fishing, battling for survival. But an accident claimed the father's life and the grieving mother died shortly afterward. Left alone, the young Indian boy vowed never to return to the white man's world, to the alien laws that had condemned his father.

Complete lesson plans for teaching When the Legends Die by Hal Borland. Includes introduction to the unit, unit objectives, reading assignments, unit outline, study questions (short answer), study/quiz questions (multiple choice), vocabulary worksheets, daily lessons planned, related nonfiction reading assignment, oral reading evaluation, biographical info about the author, three detailed writing assignments (inform, persuade, personal opinion), vocabulary review games & activities, unit review games & activities, at least one group activity assignment, discussion questions on all levels (factual, critical, interpretive, personal response), 2 short answer unit tests, 2 multiple choice unit tests, 1 advanced short answer unit test, unit and vocabulary crossword puzzles, unit and vocabulary extra worksheets & games, bulletin board ideas, ready-to-copy student materials, answer keys, and more!

Contact Jacie for More information 

Pretty Shield 

Pretty-shield

Pretty-shield, the legendary medicine woman of the Crows, remembered what life was like on the Plains when the buffalo were still plentiful. A powerful healer who was forceful, astute, and compassionate, Pretty-shield experienced many changes as her formerly mobile people were forced to come to terms with reservation life in the late nineteenth century.

Pretty-shield told her story to Frank Linderman through an interpreter and using sign language. The lives, responsibilities, and aspirations of Crow women are vividly brought to life in these pages as Pretty-shield recounts her life on the Plains of long ago. She speaks of the simple games and dolls of an Indian childhood and the work of the girls and women--setting up the lodges, dressing the skins, picking berries, digging roots, and cooking. Through her eyes we come to understand courtship, marriage, childbirth and the care of babies, medicine-dreams, the care of the sick, and other facets of Crow womanhood.

The author, Frank B. Linderman (1869-1938) lived closely with the Flatheads, Blackfeet, Crows, and other Native Americans of the northern Plains for many years. 

pretty-shield-medicine-woman-of-the-studyguide.pdf
pretty-shield-medicine-woman-of-the-lessonplan.pdf

Marrow Thieves

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing "factories."

Teaching Guide_The Marrow Thieves_2021_Updated June15.pdf
Marrow Thieves The (1).pdf

Lakota Way 

Joseph M. Marshall’s thoughtful, illuminating account of how the spiritual beliefs of the Lakota people can help us all lead more meaningful, ethical lives.

Rich with storytelling, history, and folklore, The Lakota Way expresses the heart of Native American philosophy and reveals the path to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Joseph Marshall is a member of the Sicunga Lakota Sioux and has dedicated his entire life to the wisdom he learned from his elders. Here he focuses on the twelve core qualities that are crucial to the Lakota way of life–bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom, respect, honor, perseverance, love, humility, sacrifice, truth, and compassion. Whether teaching a lesson on respect imparted by the mythical Deer Woman or the humility embodied by the legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse, The Lakota Way offers a fresh outlook on spirituality and ethical living.

South Dakota Department of Education and the WoLakota site has additional resources for this collection. 

This Youtube link has stories from the novel and many additional stories. 

Discussion-Guide-2.pdf
Integrity-A Lakota Value.pdf
Lakota Way Introduction