Transplanted from what he considered civilization to the desolation of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, a ten-year-old boy becomes resourceful. What he learns will shape the ways in which he
eventually would teach. Rather than stunting development, the reservation's history, culture and education become the stimuli for it. The boy immerses himself in the peaceful Lakota culture,
reacts against its developing militancy, and eventually learns acceptance. Accustomed to team sports and ice cream shops, the fifth-grader relocates with his family to the reservation in 1957
and finds nothing familiar. He and his friends live in the poorest region of South Dakota; their only resources are their imaginations and curiosity. They explore, build, hunt, and become
interested in girls. This is their story of Survival on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. It's easy for a kid to poke fun at foods and traditions different from his own. The author notes, "The
more experiences I had with the Lakota culture, the more respect I developed for it. I reached a point at which it was difficult to view the Lakota objectively. I'd become part of them."