Dovetails in Tall Grass by Samantha Specks

Dovetails in Tall Grass

by Samantha Specks

As war overtakes the frontier, Emma's family farmstead is attacked by Dakota-Sioux warriors; on that same prairie, Oenikika desperately tries to hold on to her calling as a healer and follow the orders of her father, Chief Little Crow. When the war is over and revenge-fueled war trials begin, each young woman is faced with an impossible choice. In a swiftly changing world, both Emma and Oenikika must look deep within and fight for the truth of their convictions - even as horror and injustice unfolds all around them. Inspired by the true story of the thirty-eight Dakota-Sioux men hanged in Minnesota in 1862 - the largest mass execution in US history - Dovetails in Tall Grass is a powerful tale of two young women connected by the fate of one man.

Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on

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My favorite books teach me something about myself and the world I live in. Dovetails in Tall Grass taught me about the land I grew up on and I finally learned WHY there are few (or maybe none) indigenous people in southern Minnesota — a question I never asked in any of my history courses growing up.

Dovetails in Tall Grass is a bittersweet story of two women - one Dakota and one white - learning to survive in a world that is at odds with what they each personally believe.

Based on true events, Dovetails in Tall Grass brings light to a particular dark moment in Midwest and especially Minnesota history with an understanding there are multiple sides to every conflict and we must stop, listen and learn to respect each other.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • 27 January, 2021: Started reading
  • 27 January, 2021: on page 0 out of 328 0%
  • 2 February, 2021: Finished reading
  • 3 February, 2021: Reviewed