Ck van Dam Boeken

In the years after the Civil War thousands of women went West to claim a piece a land as part of the Homestead Act. Historical records found that only 12 percent of the homestead applicants were women, but 42 percent of women homesteaders successfully proved up their claims, while only 37 percent of the men homesteaders received title to their lands. That statistic was the inspiration for this novel. It made me wonder why these women went West and why they succeeded when so many men failed.Proving Her Claim is the story of Anna Olson, a "girl homesteader" who starts a new life in Dakota Territory, finds love, adventure (of course) and a sense of accomplishment. Anna is blessed with strong women in her life, from her Norwegian immigrant mother with a sense of adventure, to her aunt, a midwife, who teaches her self- confidence. In Dakota Territory she meets Yellow Bird, a Lakota medicine woman, and Two Hawks, the son of Yellow Bird and a Scots fur trapper. Together, Anna and Two Hawks build a life on the always beautiful and sometimes terrifying prairies of Dakota Territory.