The Seed Keeper

“In chapters that shift among the perspectives of four Dakhóta women—including Rosalie’s great-aunt, who grew plants because the seeds in her pocket were ‘all that’s left of my family’—Wilson tracks Rosalie’s attempts to understand her family and her roots, and considers how memory cultivates a sense of connection to the land.”

“It’s a moving multi-generational story about the destruction of Native American families, communities and lands—but also about reconnection, hope and the natural world … Wilson offers a different kind of idealism: one where community, family and the seeds can create the future we’re seeking.”

“A stunning, lyrical story … And though this book pulls no punches in its condemnation of white settlers and colonizers and their continued abuse of the land, it is also heartfelt and hopeful, carrying a steadfast belief in the strength of family, will, and growth.”

“Through the voices of … women from past and present, Wilson deepens the reader’s understanding of what loss of language and culture has done to Indigenous people. In depicting the way Rosalie’s ancestor Marie Blackbird and other women sew seeds into their clothing as the war breaks out, Wilson shows these women’s relationship to and reverence for the land: a sharp contrast to ‘a country that destroys its soil,’ using methods of modern agriculture and its effects upon waterways. A thought-provoking and engaging read.” 

“Uprooted from their land, the seeds Dakhóta women carried with them were not just a source of sustenance, but their link to the past and hope for the future, a symbol of their profound bond with the Earth. They provide a powerful symbol for Rosalie’s rediscovery of her lost family and the ways of ‘the old ones.’ A thoughtful, moving meditation on connections to the past and the land that humans abandon at their peril.”

“[The Seed Keeper] is a gorgeous and moving work of fiction with memorable characters that will stay in your heart and body for a long time.”

“Through its examination of the protagonist’s life in the foster care system, The Seed Keeper confronts the legacy of American Indian genocide and sets Diane Wilson apart as a rising star.”

“[Wilson’s] writing is almost like a lullaby, guiding you gently across the tale. There is poetry in the words, a love for nature you can feel seeping through each page.”

“Spend a long afternoon with this beautiful, immersive novel. It traces Rosalie Iron Wing’s family history through four generations of women who have loved, lost, and fought to retain their Dakota culture and the seeds that sustain them.”

“[The Seed Keeper] tells the story of Rosalie Iron Wing, a Dakota woman who, after surviving the foster care system to make a life of her own in the world, must confront the harsh realities—climate change, capitalism—of contemporary farming life. In looking to her past for answers Rosalie finds unexpected communion with her ancestors, the women—strong, resilient, proud—who made her who she is.”

“After her father doesn’t return from checking his traps near their home, Rosalie Iron Wing, a Dakota girl who’s grown up surrounded by the woods and stories of plants, is sent to live with a foster family. Decades later, widowed and grieving, she returns to her childhood home to confront the past and find identity and community—and a cache of seeds, passed down from one generation of women to the next.”

“A moving, resonant song of remembrance, lineage, womanhood, kinship, loss, and land.”

“[Wilson] expertly weaves history and fiction to show how colonialism has long been a driver of environmental destruction. But the novel is also celebratory, a powerful and compelling ode to the resilience and wisdom of Indigenous cultures.”

“[A] moving and monumental debut novel … Wilson opens her book with the poem ‘The Seeds Speak,’ in which the seeds declare, ‘We hold time in this space, we hold a thread to / infinity that reaches to the stars.’ This novel illuminates that expansiveness with elegance and gravity.”

“Like watching a garden grow from seed to harvest, this novel quietly unfolds to tell the story of several generations of Dakhóta women and the land that connects them.”

“Told through the voices of four remarkable women, this is a book about preservation … This beautiful generational saga challenges conventional American history, asking us to reckon with the traumas brought upon Native Americans.”

“A powerful story recounting the attempted genocide of Indigenous people in America — and how they continue to survive.”

“The Seed Keeper is a deeply empathetic portrayal of a character grappling with a vibrant heritage complicated by pain, loss, and dysfunction. Ultimately, Rosalie comes to terms with who she is, understanding that for her, survival itself is a remarkable feat.”

“Wilson offers finely wrought descriptions of the natural world, as the voice of the seeds provides connective threads to the stories of her people. This powerful work achieves a deep resonance often lacking from activist novels, and makes a powerful statement along the way.”

“Told through the voices of strong, albeit fractured, women across generations, The Seed Keeper is a novel about legacies, generational trauma, and the inescapable call of one’s roots … With a focus on women who carry the scars of the past alongside hope for the future, The Seed Keeper is a profound novel about resilience and rebirth.”

“[Diane Wilson] has lured us in with her upcoming novel about generations of Dakota women tasked with preserving their culture’s traditions, namely a cache of seeds, against nasty and unscrupulous threats from the modern world.”

“In elegant prose, Wilson tells a story of one woman’s reflections on her life, loss, family and the seeds she knows are her ancestors and an imperative legacy she must protect at all costs.”

“In [Wilson’s] first novel, the writing sings in compact, careful sentences, lending a timelessness to the narrative and making it clear that this compelling story is not just about these characters but also about culture, landscape and how we can—and often cannot—understand each other. Haunting and beautiful, the seeds and words of this novel will find their way into your world, however far from the Dakhóta lands that might be.”

“Direct and beautiful … A compelling read.”