Cekpa: A Memoir in Beaded Essays

Journalist Altman debuts with a raw account of her family history, Lakota heritage, and jagged journey toward self-acceptance. Born Baby Girl Blackfeather somewhere in Colorado, Altman was adopted in infancy by a family in Portland, Ore. Though she was raised in a loving home, “a fog of emotional pain I kept burying or running from” led her to drug abuse and self-harm as a teenager. After turning to peyote ceremonies to relieve her adolescent turmoil, Altman enrolled in a South Dakota college with hopes of tracking down her birth family. Through dogged research, she found her Lakota father, Edwin Blackfeather, and Persian mother, June Beyk—both of whom, Altman learned, struggled with substance abuse—and visited the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where her father lived. The book’s title comes from the Lakota custom of making leather bags to hold a baby’s umbilical cord, in a nod to Altman’s own roots and her desire to remain connected to her daughters. With admirable strength, she succeeds in crafting a literary container for her self-exploration. Readers will be moved. (Nov.)