Buffalo Dreamer: Chapters 7–10

by Violet Duncan
Twelve-year-old Summer learns of her grandfather's traumatic childhood suffering because of his indigenous (Cree) heritage. Her family's present happiness and unity within their native community in Alberta, Canada, is a beautiful lesson in resilience, honor, and the healing power of love.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–14, Chapters 15–16, Chapters 17–20, Chapters 21–26, Chapters 27–30
20 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. startle
    surprise greatly
    Instead, she spoke. “Tansi, câpân—hello, my little relative. I am paswâwimostos opowatam. Buffalo Dreamer.”
    Startled, I fell back. It felt like I was falling down a deep well.
  2. vivid
    evoking lifelike images within the mind
    That was the weirdest dream, I think.
    I lie back, looking up at the ceiling. Why am I having all these vivid dreams? What are they supposed to mean?
  3. confirm
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    “She’s really good, you know!” Aunty Crystal confirms. “Autumn helped me track down who took my good shovel. Only took her a day too! I’d been looking for it since last fall.”
  4. thrift
    extreme care in spending money
    “Oh, your dad, always buying new,” Aunty Crystal says with a laugh. “Gotta come shop with me and get you some classy pj’s at the Second Chance thrift store. You’ll be surprised what you can find there!”
  5. banter
    light teasing repartee
    I poke at my eggs as I listen to their half-joking, half-scolding banter. It’s always funny how they rehash old arguments with serious vengeance.
  6. rehash
    discuss again; go back over
    I poke at my eggs as I listen to their half-joking, half-scolding banter. It’s always funny how they rehash old arguments with serious vengeance.
  7. chime in
    break into a conversation
    “Good helper too,” Aunty Crystal chimes in. “Look at him out there chopping wood!”
    “What?!” Mom gets up, running to the window. “Oh my gosh!”
  8. negotiate
    discuss the terms of an arrangement
    When we get to the first garage sale, Aunty Crystal tells us that negotiating the prices is an art form—and we find out they are great at it!
  9. secondhand
    previously used or owned by another
    “It’s good to wash and sometimes even smudge things you get secondhand,” they answer, “to help clear any energy that’s not for you.”
  10. ordinance
    an authoritative rule
    “Ya, that’s a good way to start the day. I can’t burn anything in my apartment because of a smoke ordinance, so I just use a diffuser and sweetgrass oils—same concept,” Aunty says.
  11. culture
    all the knowledge and values shared by a society
    “Yes, that was an Indian boarding school,” Aunty Crystal says. “Sadly, there were a lot of them. You know those schools were created to make kids forget about their own culture so that they could be assimilated into the dominant white culture, right?”
  12. assimilate
    make alike
    “Yes, that was an Indian boarding school,” Aunty Crystal says. “Sadly, there were a lot of them. You know those schools were created to make kids forget about their own culture so that they could be assimilated into the dominant white culture, right?”
  13. dominant
    exercising influence or control
    “Yes, that was an Indian boarding school,” Aunty Crystal says. “Sadly, there were a lot of them. You know those schools were created to make kids forget about their own culture so that they could be assimilated into the dominant white culture, right?”
  14. adopt
    take up and practice as one's own
    “Yes, we know,” Autumn says. “But what exactly does assimilated mean?”
    “It means becoming a part of a group and adopting their ways. The government thought that by taking Indigenous children away from their families and forcing them to adopt European customs, languages, and names like John, Paul, and Peter, they could erase Indigenous cultures altogether,” Mom answers.
  15. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    “Yes, we know,” Autumn says. “But what exactly does assimilated mean?”
    “It means becoming a part of a group and adopting their ways. The government thought that by taking Indigenous children away from their families and forcing them to adopt European customs, languages, and names like John, Paul, and Peter, they could erase Indigenous cultures altogether,” Mom answers.
  16. custom
    accepted or habitual practice
    “Yes, we know,” Autumn says. “But what exactly does assimilated mean?”
    “It means becoming a part of a group and adopting their ways. The government thought that by taking Indigenous children away from their families and forcing them to adopt European customs, languages, and names like John, Paul, and Peter, they could erase Indigenous cultures altogether,” Mom answers.
  17. radar
    measuring instrument using pulses of microwave radiation
    “But back to your question about what’s going on now…What’s happening is people are finding out that the stories many residential school survivors shared about witnessing graves being dug are true. There’s a new technology where they use ground-penetrating radar to find all these burial sites—and they’ve found one at Mosom’s school,” Aunty Crystal tells us.
  18. site
    the piece of land on which something is located
    “But back to your question about what’s going on now…What’s happening is people are finding out that the stories many residential school survivors shared about witnessing graves being dug are true. There’s a new technology where they use ground-penetrating radar to find all these burial sites—and they’ve found one at Mosom’s school,” Aunty Crystal tells us.
  19. traumatize
    inflict an emotional wound or shock upon
    “All the survivors were traumatized by the school. Some went to the city and were swallowed up by drugs and alcohol; others moved far away and never came back. Everyone is healing on their own, and healing doesn’t mean ‘back to normal’ or being okay with what happened.”
  20. generation
    all the people living at the same time or of the same age
    “We’ll help tell our stories,” Autumn says. “Our generation needs to know.”
    “Tapwe! That’s the attitude,” Mom says.
Created on Mon Mar 10 20:21:55 EDT 2025 (updated Mon Mar 31 16:42:57 EDT 2025)

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