Inspired by the Land and Legacy: J. Stanion’s Rural Roots and Family Heritage in Storytelling

The legacy of land and heritage often shapes a writer’s storytelling, and for J. Stanion, these elements are deeply woven into her work. In her novel My Place Among Them, Stanion draws from her family’s history and the larger cultural backdrop of America’s complex relationship with its Indigenous people. This novel has garnered significant attention, earning several prestigious awards, including the BREW Seal of Excellence, 2024 Silver Medal Global Book Award for Cultural Heritage Fiction and the 2023 NYC Big Book Award for Cultural Heritage.

Set against the historical tension of government-run assimilation schools, the story revolves around a young Lakota boy, John Iron Horse, and his relationship with a white teacher, Carter Heath. Through the lens of historical fiction, Stanion explores themes of survival, cultural identity, and the intertwined fates of the characters within a rigid and often oppressive system.

In this interview, J. Stanion reflects on how her rural upbringing and family history influenced her writing, particularly in crafting a narrative that speaks to the connection between people and the land.

WE: Your rural upbringing and family heritage play a significant role in your writing. Can you share how your life on the farm has influenced your storytelling and the themes you explore in your work?

JS: Life on the farm is all about circles…cycles of life that repeat over and over. Many Indigenous groups honor the cycles of life from birth to death, the seasons, rainfall to floods to lack of water, everything that’s natural to the earth. While some people might find our lives monotonous, I don’t see it that way. Every day brings new opportunities, whether it’s the birth of a new calf, the growth of new leaves in the spring, or new clouds on the horizon. Yet, all those new and unique details are part of a cycle that hasn’t changed in hundreds or thousands of years.

I look at each day as a new opportunity. Yesterday is gone, and I can’t change what I said or did. Tomorrow hasn’t arrived, but I can plan how I will cope with the things life throws at me. Today is the only day I can actually make a change in what is happening in my life. I can wish I had exercised yesterday…I can plan a time to exercise tomorrow…but I can exercise today and make a positive difference in my life.

WE: How has your family heritage shaped your approach to writing and the subjects you choose to write about?

JS: Although neither of my parents were particularly outdoorsy types, I’ve always felt that I was somewhat of a “throwback,” blessed with a spirit that enjoyed all things outdoors…animals, forests, rivers, the beauty of a sunset or a dark sky filled with stars. That must have come from somewhere in my DNA. The Indigenous people would say it’s my spirit. It’s definitely something I’ll always include in my writing.

WE: In what ways do you incorporate elements of your rural life into your characters and plots?

JS: I feel like my characters are somewhat like me in that they accept the cycles of life without bitterness or blame. The same is true with any storyline I might write. Life is a series of give and take, cycles that repeat with birth, maturity, death…not as a rut, but as a series of experiences, some of which are good and some of which are bad. Happiness can only come from finding the gifts in each.

WE: Your multi-award-winning book has garnered much acclaim. How do the themes of this book reflect your rural background and family influences?

JS: Life is resilient. That is perhaps the strongest theme in “My Place Among Them.” The characters struggle in much the same way all people struggle today. Not over the same issues, but still, we struggle. The rural lifestyle is very much a life of struggle…struggles against nature, including the weather and the ever-changing uniqueness of living beings like cattle…struggles against the system, where our finances are dictated by a market economy over which we have no control…and perhaps the hardest battle of all is the struggle within ourselves to find the strength to keep going when we are tired or the budget is stretched too tight, and tomorrow looks like it might be even harder than today.

WE: Can you describe a specific instance where your family or rural life directly inspired a particular story or aspect of your writing?

JS: I hope in the future to write a novel based on my life as a farmer’s wife and our experiences raising our children and staying on a large family farm.

WE: How do you balance the demands of farming life with your writing career? Does one aspect of your life inspire or influence the other?

JS: The only way to find balance is to discipline myself in the use of the hours in each day. Thankfully, writing is something that can be worked in around other duties like giving milk bottles to baby calves or rounding up cattle when they’ve wandered through a fence and into the road.

At the same time, those kinds of interruptions can directly influence my writing because it’s easy to lose focus on an idea when the phone rings loudly and it’s some kind of animal emergency. I seldom keep life balanced to the best advantage of both writing and farming, but my commitment to both keeps me working.

WE: What challenges have you faced in bringing the richness of rural life and family heritage into your storytelling, and how have you overcome them?

JS: As fewer and fewer people live the rural lifestyle, it is harder and harder to describe it accurately for others. I’ve had several editors tell me I was far too “wordy,” and sometimes I tend toward long descriptive passages about the natural world where my characters exist. I’ve had to edit more than one of those.

WE: Are there any particular family traditions or stories that have found their way into your writing? If so, how do they contribute to the narratives you create?

JS: “My Place Among Them” is a family story, based on real events, real people, and real attitudes.

WE: How do you see your rural roots and family heritage influencing the themes and messages of your future writing projects?

JS: I have two future novels in my head right now. One is the coming-of-age story of Hannah, the daughter of John Iron Horse and Stella in “My Place Among Them.” The second is a story of the life of a farm family, from the devastating agricultural economy of the Carter years to the modern changes in technology and a growing global population today.

WE: Looking back at your journey as both a farmer and an author, what advice would you give to others who want to blend personal heritage and lifestyle into their creative work?

JS: I can only suggest that they not focus too much on personal heritage unless it’s true to the characters in their story.

J. Stanion’s Journey

J. Stanion is the multi-award-winning and bestselling author of My Place Among Them, a novel celebrated for its realistic portrayal of Indigenous history. The book has won multiple honors, including the BREW Seal of Excellence, the 2023 NYC Big Book Award for Cultural Heritage, and the 2024 Silver Medal Global Book Award for Literary Heritage. It centers around John Iron Horse, a twelve-year-old who survives the Wounded Knee massacre.

After a 31-year career in teaching, J. Stanion fulfilled her late father’s dream by publishing My Place Among Them. She currently lives on a cattle farm, caring for horses, a three-legged dog, and barn cats, while collecting Pine Ridge Pottery, ledger art, and turquoise jewelry in her spare time. J. Stanion is now working on a second novel, which will draw inspiration from either history or farm life.

J. Stanion has appeared in hundreds of news and media sites including but not limited to Google News, Bing News, Yahoo News, Newsweek, MSN News, Big News Network, The World’s Best Magazine, The Chrysalis BREW Project, Vents Magazine, Benzinga, Digital Journal, FOX 40, and other FOX, ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliated media sites.

Explore My Place Among Them on Amazon, and find more about her work and blog at www.jstanion.com.

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