A book program designed to help us learn about the many varied cultures, landscapes, and stories of the American West past and present. Before the program, read the selected book, then join us as we gather together to engage in meaningful conversations and shared experiences.

First 10 households to register receive a free copy of the book!*

Artists Frederic Remington & Charles Russell both lamented a west that had passed, as evidenced through their romanticized paintings of cowboys working the range and Plains Indian families moving camp. Through their artwork, they tried to hold on to a part of the nation’s history that, at the height of each of their careers, was quickly transforming. But what of the efforts to recover the painful truths about our nation’s past? Writer Diane Wilson (Dakhóta) reclaims some of that history through a novel inspired by the aftermath of the U.S.–Dakota War in 1862.

Part fiction, part history, part treatise, part nonfiction, The Seed Keeper weaves together these elements in the story of Rosalie Iron Wing, as she re-discovers her family, her history, and her sacred tradition. Wilson weaves back and forth from Rosalie’s ancestors in the mid-1800s to her present in 2002, giving wider context to her Dakota heritage.

“A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.

Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited.

On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.

Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.”

Join us for our next Tall Tales book discussion as we read and discuss The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. Please read the selected book prior to the program.

Registration: Required – opens September 10

Ages: 18+
Contact: Director of Adult Programs at adulteducation@SidRichardsonMuseum.org or 817.332.6554 if you have any questions or would like to be added to the wait list when registration is full.

* Registrants who receive a free copy of the book can elect to pick it up at the front desk during museum hours or have it mailed for a $7 fee. Staff will confirm your option after you register.