The Middle Five

Firefly & Fern Summary

The Middle Five is a pioneering autobiographical account by Francis La Flesche, a member of the Omaha Nation, who shares his childhood experiences and education during a transformative period in American Indian history. Through vivid personal stories, young readers discover what daily life was like for Native American children navigating between traditional tribal culture and the pressures of the American education system. This honest, insightful narrative offers a unique window into resilience, identity, and the power of education told from an Indigenous voice that was rarely heard in early 20th-century literature.