This is a historical novel about the last great land giveaway in the United States, the Land Run of 1893. In Mesquite Roots you will discover how the early homesteaders learned to live on the prairies in the Indian Territory. You will learn how to build a soddy, an over-jet, and a cat and clay chimney. Many of the events and people described in this book are factually true as are all of the locations. You will be captivated by vivid descriptions of age-old Cherokee Indian rituals for birth, death, and marriage. You will read how our government’s shameful treatment of the Native Americans affected the life of Tiana, a Cherokee princess, and her Indian family. You will follow the life of an Indian boy abandoned on the open prairie who was adopted by the young homesteading couple who found him, the remarkable way he obtained great personal wealth, and how he rose to prominence in Oklahoma and the United States Congress. The Land Run of 1893 is where this story begins.