Beneath the Same Stars: A Novel of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War by Phyllis Cole-Dai is a remarkable novel based on true facts. The story takes place in southwestern Minnesota.
The Dakota Sioux, desperate for food, have been betrayed by the whites. They’ve been promised food and provisions if they would stay on a reservation. But relief isn’t forthcoming, creating suffering, distrust and bitterness.
John and Sarah Wakefield have come to the reservation where John will work as a physician. On occasion Sarah has assisted her husband in medical treatment of the sick and wounded. Not all is bliss in the Wakefield household, however. John gets angry, even abusive, when Sarah points out the unkept promises of the American government toward the Indians. When an uprising is feared, John sends Sarah and their two young children to what he considers a safe place. However, their wagon is waylaid by two Dakota Sioux, and they are taken captive.
Ćaske, a Dakota Sioux warrior, stops a wagon carrying a woman and her two children. He takes them as captors to his village. As it happens, Sarah and Ćaske recognize each other from when she and her husband treated him for a head wound. He takes them to his mother’s tipi where Sarah and the children are treated well, although they are resented by some in the village. Sarah has learned some of the native language through working with her husband, and Ćaske knows a little English. Together they are able to communicate. An affection between them grows, but how can it possibly endure? When it becomes apparent that war is at hand, Ćaske urges Sarah to return to her people, but she is loathe to leave.
Beneath the Same Stars is a gripping story of two people struggling between worlds. Sarah Wakefield was a true character who was caught up in the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, a conflict between the Dakota nation and American traders, settlers and troops in southwestern Minnesota. The conflict lasted only six weeks but resulted in more American casualties than any other Indian war. The author’s vivid descriptions of the Dakota village and its people are fascinating, as are her insights of the Dakota Sioux regarding how the white man lives and their dishonor in not keeping their word. The novel turns historical figures into realistic, living characters. I very much appreciated the author’s insights into the plight of Native Americans.