Diane

Wilson

Novelist & Memoirist

Food Sovereignty Advocate

Travels from: Minneapolis, MN

“Her delivery was so engaging that I lost track of time.” — Austin Page Turners, 2022

Diane Wilson (Dakota) is a writer, educator, and environmental advocate, who has published four award-winning books as well as essays in numerous publications.

Wilson’s recent novel, The Seed Keeper (Milkweed Editions) was awarded the 2022 Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. Her memoir, Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past (Borealis Books) won a 2006 Minnesota Book Award and was selected for the 2012 One Minneapolis One Read program. Her 2011 nonfiction book, Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life (Borealis Books) was awarded the 2012 Barbara Sudler Award from History Colorado. Wilson’s middle-grade biography, Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector, was an Honor selection for the 2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award. She is a co-author of a 2022 picture book, Where We Come From.

Her most recent essays–which explore seed advocacy, food sovereignty, social justice, and cultural recovery–have been featured in acclaimed anthologies: Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations; We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World; and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.

Wilson is the former Executive Director for the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, a national coalition of tribes and organizations working to support food sovereignty, and Dream of Wild Health, a Native-led farm. Wilson is a Mdewakanton descendent, enrolled on the Rosebud Reservation. She lives near the St. Croix River in Minnesota, where she cares for an Indigenous seed garden, native perennials for pollinators, and a Tamarack bog.

Diane's Featured Titles

The Seed Keeper

Milkweed |

March 9, 2021

Novel

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakh ta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.

Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakh ta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato–where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited.

On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron–women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.

Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

Campus Reads, Civil Discourse & Social Justice, Environmental Concerns, Fiction, Food Sovereignty & Security, Mental Health & Overcoming Trauma, Native American & Indigenous Heritage, Youth Advocacy

Beloved Child

Borealis Books |

September 1, 2011

Biography

“Far greater even than the loss of land, or the relentless coercion to surrender cultural traditions, the deaths of over six hundred children by the spring of 1864 were an unbearable tragedy. Nearly one hundred and fifty years after the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862, Dakota people are still struggling with the effects of this unimaginable loss.”

Among the Dakota, the Beloved Child ceremony marked the special, tender affection that parents felt toward a child whose life had been threatened. In this
moving book, author Diane Wilson explores the work of several modern Dakota people who are continuing to raise beloved children: Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan,
an artist and poet; Clifford Canku, a spiritual leader and language teacher; Alameda Rocha, a boarding school survivor; Harley and Sue Eagle, Canadian activists; and Delores Brunelle, an Ojibwe counselor. each of these humble but powerful people teaches children to believe in the “genius and brilliance” of Dakota culture as a way of surviving historical trauma.

Crucial to true healing, Wilson has learned, is a willingness to begin with yourself. Each of these people works to transform the effects of genocide, restoring a way of life that regards our beloved children as wakan, sacred.

Diane Wilson, director of Dream of Wild Health Farm, is the author of Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past, which won a Minnesota Book award. She is a Mdewakanton descendent; her mother was enrolled on the Rosebud Reservation.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Journalism, Memoir & Personal Journeys, Mental Health & Overcoming Trauma, Native American & Indigenous Heritage

Spirit Car

Borealis Books |

August 1, 2009

Novel

A child of a typical 1950s suburb unearths her mother’s hidden heritage, launching a rich and magical exploration of her own identity and her family’s powerful Native American past.

Fiction, Native American & Indigenous Heritage

Seeds for Seven Generations

Indigenous Seed Reclamation

Telling True Stories: Memoir

Telling True Stories: Fiction

Seeds and Stories

Native Food Sovereignty

Food Sovereignty and Historical Trauma

Honoring Our Wisdom as Women Leaders

“Wow, I will never look at seeds the same way again. I have a new respect for seeds and our collective history. Thank you, Diane, for sharing your wisdom and lived experiences!” — Adtalem Global Education, 2024

“Diane Wilson is not only a phenomenal writer, she is also an inspiring and generous educator. Her visit to MCAD was valued by all who attended her sessions.” — Minneapolis College of Art & Design, 2024

“I would highly recommend Diane Wilson. She is kind, calm, and articulates her work in connection to her books in an effective way with her audience. She was also generous in signing books and in speaking with our guests. We can’t wait to request Diane again next year.” — University of Minnesota, 2024

“Her slides added an atmospheric element without competing with what she was saying. I was super engaged in what she was saying, and I thought, wow this is what I came here for, then I wondered if everyone else felt the same and I looked around the room and saw how deeply engaged the whole audience was. The cadence and tone of her voice were great for a storyteller, and that is what it felt like we were listening to.” — Minot State U, 2024

“So many people came out on a beautiful summer afternoon to sit inside – a testament to how much this book resonated with our community! She was gracious and warm and handled a few less-than respectful questions with kindness and generosity. I had watched quite a few recorded interviews with the author in preparation for the book talks and was pleased that the material she had crafted for us was unique to our event. She was able to bring up difficult emotional topics such as boarding schools, assimilation and the injustices experienced by indigenous peoples in a way that helped our audience to understand the true impacts while still exhibiting a strong hope for the future. Her talk embodied the idea that we need to understand the past and take individual and collective responsibility to move into a better future for all beings. What a wonderful experience it was having her visit!” – Melissa Takush, Eugene Public Library, 2023

“I would highly recommend hosting Diane Wilson. She is a true professional. She was prompt, intentional, and prepared for the program. She was very present during the program and connected her story to the local work surrounding indigenous education/advocacy and food sovereignty with the story. She was able to share her experience and also elevate larger global issues, book banning and climate change. She was a delight and we would love to host her again!” – Alicia O’Dell, NCW Libraries, 2022

“Diane’s presentation was welcoming and inclusive. Her knowledge and passion around food sovereignty, writing, the role of seeds passed down through indigenous peoples and the human connection to all living beings and the planet was deeply inspiring. Participants asked great questions and actively engaged during the breakout groups and reporting out. It was an amazing and deeply meaningful experience for everyone.” – Genesis Spiritual Life & Conference Center, 2022

“In both solo and panel events, Diane immediately connected with audience members through her direct style, personal warmth and gentle humor. She smoothly mixed the poetic and practical in her presentations, and both readers and gardeners responded enthusiastically.” – South Dakota Book Festival, 2022

“I thoroughly enjoyed Diane’s presentation on her book Seed Keeper. Her delivery was so engaging that I lost track of time. By any measure she is a very effective speaker and educator. On behalf of the Austin Public Library, thank you for a memorable presentation and hope you will visit us again.” – Austin Page Turners, 2022

“Diane shares stories in a poetic motion. Every word and teaching, we were holding on and going through the journey with her from seeds to teachings. Diane encouraged us to respect, reciprocate, reclaim and reconnect to the seeds and our teachings. Diane has challenged us to walk and honor our foods in a holistic way at all levels. She left us with an incredible gift and for us to remember, “and now you’re here.” – American Indian Cancer Foundation, 2021

“Diane’s reflections and stories sparked so much engagement from our audience and revealed the yearning we all feel to be more aware of our connections to the land and to one another.” – Center for Rural Strategies, 2021

“Diane’s gentle and welcoming presence came through beautifully even on Zoom, spurring emotional responses from many attendees who expressed their appreciation in the chat section. Her thoughtful reflections on the importance of language and tradition will surely have a lasting impact on all those who heard them.” –South Dakota Book Festival, 2021

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