Wynema: A Child of the Forest (AmazonClassics Edition)

Wynema Harjo is an idealistic young Muscogee woman who finds meaning as a teacher for the young people of her village. After the Wounded Knee Massacre and the subsequent Ghost Dance movement, Wynema feels a need to take further action, and she and her husband adopt a Lakota girl. As the years roll by and injustices mount, Wynema and a fellow teacher, Genevieve Weir, consider the repercussions of the oppression that surrounds them—and wonder how their society might eventually be improved.

The first known work of fiction by a woman of Native American descent, Callahan’s “reform novel” provides a beautiful portrait of her tribe’s culture and offers a frank argument against American military behavior and for women’s suffrage. Falling into obscurity following its publication in 1891, Wynema: A Child of the Forest is essential for reevaluation.

Revised edition: Previously published as Wynema: A Child of the Forest, this edition of Wynema: A Child of the Forest (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.