By AJ Eversole
Today we’re welcoming award-winning author Carole Lindstrom (Anishinaabe/Metis) to discuss her new middle grade novel, Red River Rose (Bloomsbury, March 2026) and the importance of presenting authentic experiences in historical fiction.
You’re making your middle grade debut with Red River Rose. What drew you to expand into longer narrative fiction, and how was the experience different from picture book writing?
Miigwech for your kind words. Yes, Rose first appeared in The Gift Of The Great Buffalo (illustrated by Aly McKnight, Bloomsbury, 2025). I loved writing about Rose and her family in the picture book. The middle grade was a pretty organic idea that grew from the picture book. I knew I wanted to write a historical fiction middle grade, and my editor and I felt there was more of Rose’s story to tell. We felt strongly about setting it in the period of the late 1880’s to offer the authentic experience of a Native child/family/community as a counter to the typical historical narratives that mostly represented the settler point of view.
For me, that was the Little House on the Prairie series (by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper & Brothers, 1932 -1943). That was really the only series available when I was a child and I was very conflicted and hurt while reading it. I loved the family dynamic and Pa and Laura’s relationship, but at the same time, I saw how they felt about Native Americans, and it hurt me to feel that the [Ingalls] family I loved didn’t love me in return.
This novel is also in response to that series and a way for me to heal myself and others who may have felt the same as me.
But most of all Rose was such a compelling character – full of courage and pluck – and we thought the connection to the picture book would give readers of all ages a chance to meet her.
This book will be in conversation with stories like Little House on the Prairie and the Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (Hyperion, 1999). Would you talk about what was important to you about creating a historical novel that centers Métis prairie life?
The settling of Canada is not familiar with many people. Since Canada is part of Turtle Island to us Native Peoples, I felt that was a story that needed to be told. Also, Métis culture and history is not well known among many people that I knew or encountered in my life. I’m very proud of my historical Red River Métis ancestors and how they fought to keep their land and way of life. I felt that story needed to be told as an alternative look at life on the prairie in the late 1800s. I’m grateful my editor also felt strongly about the story and loves Rose and her family as much as I do.
You worked with Kade Ferris, an anthropologist, archaeologist, and knowledge keeper for the Red River Métis Nation, who turned out to be your cousin. Can you share what you learned from him and how his guidance shaped the book?
I am so touched and deeply grateful that you mentioned my dear cousin, Kade. We didn’t know we were cousins until we started talking about our kin from Turtle Mountain and realized that we were related. I was giddy with joy. Kade was such a gentle giant of a man. Such a kind and giving and loving soul to his wife and family. Sadly, he passed away over two years ago now. We all miss him so much in the Métis community.
He was such a knowledgeable and brilliant mind. I could message him at any time of day with a question, and he would message me back immediately with an answer or that he would have one for me, if he didn’t know at that moment. He also was a staunch defender of our historic Métis Nation. His love for our culture and people was one of the things that was so special about him. Miigwech, I appreciate this opportunity to speak of such a special person.
Rose is determined to help protect her family and community, even though she knows her efforts won’t change the outcome of history. Why was it important to show a young Métis girl taking action despite the limitations placed on her?
I feel all young people feel strongly that if they were allowed to help adults with big people situations they might be able to help in some way. Because they are young, they are often told they might get hurt, or they aren’t strong enough, big enough, etc….but in their minds, they see their family struggling and they want to help. They don’t have to solve all things. They don’t have to save the day. They just want to be part of making things better.
Rose also has a strong sense of what is right and feels she must fight for what she believes in.
The book shows Rose tracking rabbits, gathering roots, watching the ferry arrive. How did you research and recreate the everyday details of Métis life in Batoche, Saskatchewan in 1885?
Meticulously! Ha I love research. My graduate degree was from a research center. Sometimes I get lost in the research and forget to start writing. There is a wonderful resource called the Gabriel Dumont Institute that has extensive documents and photos of the Metis people. I studied photos, sketches, images and maps to get a feel for the area. Photos were so helpful in my research to put myself into the setting and actually be there as a character.
A lot of my research was focused on the time of year and the weather because it was so important to the outcome of the historical events, and for the book. I wanted to be sure I was accurate in the foods they ate and how they would have lived during that time to give the reader an authentic experience and allow them to feel they were part of that time period. Like I did.
What themes carry through from your picture book work into Red River Rose?
Resilience, persistence, resistance, courage, fortitude, determination, community, friendship, love, family, loyalty, hope.
The description says this book illuminates the less often told side of history. What do you hope readers, both Native and non-Native, learn about the Northwest Resistance and Métis history?
That they might want to continue to know more about the Northwest Resistance and the Red River Métis by exploring more about our culture and heritage.
There’s a through-line from We Are Water Protectors (illustrated by Michaela Goade, Roaring Brook Press, 2020) to Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior (illustrated by Bridget George, Roaring Brook Press, 2023) to Rose fighting to protect her homeland.
How do you see Rose’s story connecting to contemporary Indigenous resistance movements?
Very much so. Indigenous peoples are still fighting to protect and steward their homelands to this day.
What are you working on next?
A middle grade fantasy/portal story and more from Rose. I’m working on Book Two of Red River Rose. And always playing around with picture books.
Miigwech for this opportunity to share Red River Rose with your readers.
Cynsations Notes
Carole Lindstrom is the author of the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Award-winning We Are Water Protectors. She is Anishinabe/Métis and is a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Indians. She was born and raised in Nebraska and currently makes her home in Maryland.
A.J. Eversole grew up in rural Oklahoma, where wide open spaces fueled her imagination and a lifelong love of stories. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, she writes across adult and children’s literature, from stories centering Cherokee identity and cultural reclamation to fantasy, speculative fiction, and narratives of everyday courage.
Her work appears in Legendary Frybread Drive-In (Heartdrum/HarperCollins), a Michael L. Printz Award–winning anthology, Beyond the Glittering World (Torrey House Press), and Never Whistle at Night Part II (Vintage, 2026). Through her fiction, Eversole centers Native voices and futures while honoring the living presence of tradition, community, and story.
In addition to her creative work, she reports on Native voices in literature for Cynsations. She lives and writes in Oklahoma. Find her on social media @ajeversole.