Valley of the Shadow (Dakota Moons #1)
Stephanie Grace Whitson

Someday someone is going to call you a stupid squaw. When they do, you must remember who you are. You are the daughter of a French nobleman. Your father speaks four languages. He has studied at schools most whites could never hope to enter. You are the granddaughter of a Dakota warrior who earned an entire headress of eagle feathers in battle. Never forget these things. Remember that they can call you a stupid squaw, but you do not have to be one.
"I won't go and you can't make me!" Eighteen-year-old Genevieve LaCroix protests when her father tells her it's time to leave home and get further education at nearby Renville mission. The daughter of Good Song Woman and Etienne LaCroix, she carries in her blood the proud heritage of a Dakota warrior and a French aristocrat. But when Gen arrives at Renville mission, she learns that her heritage is not valued in the changing world created by new white immigrants.
At first the lessons learned at the mission are difficult and lonely. But soon Gen finds new friends and begins to understand this strange culture she has become immersed in. When the missionary family takes in Two Stars, an injured young Dakota warrior, Gen begins to learn how quickly a life can change.
When the Minnesota Sioux Uprising destroys the world she has known and threatens the people she loves most, Gen begins to question everything she has been taught about God. Valley of the Shadow , the first book in the Dakota Moons Series, is a story of one woman's walk "through the valley of the shadow of death."