In 1929, a corrupt land agent used fire and frightening tactics to grab the farm of a Lakota family in Lower Brule, South Dakota.

In 1929 Alfred is eleven years old and has many responsibilities not expected of a young boy. He and his Lakota family are being forced to leave behind their tribal values and traditions and assimilate into mainstream American culture and society. His Lalá (grandfather), has instilled in his grandson many Lakota traditions which Alfred respects, but at times struggles to understand the message they convey. From falling into a den of rattlesnakes, fending off a pack of wolves, to skirmishes with a ruthless land agent and his cronies, this is a page turner of historical fiction.

The Legend of Big Heart Series takes place during the early twentieth century amid the forced assimilation of Native tribes into mainstream America. The series features the exciting adventures of young Alfred Swallow as he matures into a man and helps his family survive and prosper on the Lower Brule Lakota Reservation in South Dakota.

Read the thrilling adventures of Alfred in Book 2, The Roan Stallion!

This is a work of historical fiction. All incidents, events, dialogue, names, and characters except for some well-known historical figures are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are fictional and are not intended to depict actual events. In all other respects, any likeness to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Author

Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo is a storyteller, poet, artist, and illustrator. Her recent book, The Day the Earth Rose Up, is her Lakota version of the story of the Pleiades star constellation. She is a member of the Lower Brule Lakota Nation, Kul Wicasa Oyate, Lower Brule, South Dakota. Alfreda grew up surrounded by her tiyóspaye, her circle of family and friends and uses stories she heard as a child, along with various art forms, in all her work. “As long as I have a story left to tell, I feel I have a responsibility to gift that story forward.” Alfreda currently lives in beautiful Palisade, Colorado.