Reclaiming Mni Sota: an Alternate History of the U.s. – Dakota War of 1862

Winner — 34th Annual Midwest Book Award for Literary, Contemporary & Historical FictionIn the mid-nineteenth century, two cultures collide on the northern frontier of the United States—one struggling to preserve its homeland and traditions, the other chasing the promise of freedom, prosperity, and abundance.Samuel Copeland is just a teenager in 1859 when his family leaves Vermont for a new life in Minnesota. But the frontier proves far harsher and more dangerous than he imagined. After his father is killed in a violent encounter, Samuel joins the Union Army, believing military service will offer safety and purpose on the edge of a restless nation.WaabiskiMakwa was still a boy when his father died at Sandy Lake, a victim of U.S. government negligence that devastated Dakota communities. As his way of life crumbles, WaabiskiMakwa leaves his home to grieve, to search for meaning, and to reclaim a future that might include his lost love, Agnes.Neither Samuel nor WaabiskiMakwa can see the collision course set before them—one shaped by broken treaties, cultural misunderstanding, and a nation at war with itself. When conflict erupts in Minnesota, their individual paths intertwine amid the violence of the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862.As Dakota leader Little Crow and Ojibwe chief Bagone-giizhig form a fragile alliance to reclaim Native lands, early victories at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm send shockwaves across the region. The fighting soon turns toward Fort Snelling, the symbolic stronghold of American power in the Upper Midwest—once thought unassailable, now facing an uncertain fate.Reclaiming Mni Sota is a work of historical fiction that challenges familiar narratives of American expansion and destiny. It asks difficult questions about power, loss, and responsibility—and imagines a history shaped not only by conquest, but by consequence. What if the defeated had prevailed? What truths might such a reckoning reveal about the past—and the world we inhabit today?