description: Native American Times 2002 Read of the YearIn the fall of 1957, Ruby was at crossroads. Despite continual debasement of her race and culture, and sexual and physical abuse, Ruby struggles to retain her Indian identity. Sharing the story are the two central women in her life: her mother Theresa, an ardent Catholic who is determined to shed everything Indian from her life and escape the reservation, and her grandmother and spiritual rock, Cecilia Pitwoniquot, a respected Ojibwe elder. Th schism between these two generations widens when, despite Theresa's strong feeling against it, Cecilia plans Ruby's Ojibwe coming of age ceremony, hoping to solidify her Indian identity, to inoculate her against the Robes. When Ruby returns to St. Nicholas, she is the first to experience the chair, the school's latest punishment. If the madness at St. Nics is to be stopped, it will be up to her. Careful research, including interviews with boarding school survivors and the guidance of a respected Ojibwe spiritual leader, make this novel timely, relevant and haunting.
language: English
title: The Education of Ruby Loonfoot
titlecomplete: The Education of Ruby Loonfoot
genres: Fiction
ratings_count: 23
publisher: Five Star