Native America Calling: Native Bookshelf: ‘Special Places, Sacred Circles’ by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

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Native America Calling: Native Bookshelf: ‘Special Places, Sacred Circles’ by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Friday, January 23, 2026

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Native Bookshelf: “Special Places, Sacred Circles” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Sicangu Lakota and Ponca) mistook her first interaction with racism — a separate gas station outhouse reserved for “Indians” — as a privileged courtesy for her and her people.

It is one of the “Special Places, Sacred Circles: A Memoir” that she recalls in the account of her life on the dry, windy plains of South Dakota. She tells of the Great Depression, grandmothers who taught her the power of words, and the navigation of a literary world that embraced her.

“Special Places, Sacred Circles: A Memoir” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (South Dakota Historical Press 2025)

Sneve was one of the first authors to offer an alternative to children’s literature flush with stereotypes. Her insightful writing took her from her home along Ponca Creek to a presidential honor at the White House.

Tune into Native America Calling to hear Sneve talk about her life as a writer and public school educator.