Native American Legends

Indian lore of the Cuyamaca Mountains and surrounding region in San Diego County, California, abounds in myths and legends handed down from generation to generation by tribal song and squaw-tale. Yet so swiftly has the hand of civilization wiped out the old traditions and customs, that but few Indians remain who remember them, and fewer still are those willing to divulge them. Only when one comes into intimate contact with them is one accorded the privilege and honor of hearing the tales of their ancestors.

Legend of the Shaman is the third book in the Wyakin Trilogy. It continues with the tale of Cortez Modrables, as he continues his life as shaman/healer to a non-treaty band of Nez Perce Native Americans during their tragic conflicts with the US government over the lands of the Northwest in the 1870s. Cortez was intimately involved with the famed trek of the Nez Perce from Idaho Territory to British North America (Canada).

Travel along with Chief Natchitos on this legendary and historic adventure as he leads his tribe from the banks of the Sabine River to the lush area of the Cane River, where he meets the French explorers, led by Louis de St. Denis. Then, travel with them to the bayous of South Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain where his tribe must flee to escape a terrible famine.

In these 11 adventures, a diverse cast of female protagonists lends their daring and determination to everything from battling evil wizards in Russia to outsmarting tricky demons in South Africa. In the title story, a young member of the Zuni Native-American tribe proves her resourcefulness as she confronts cultural double standards and malicious winter spirits.

Insightful, telling, ironic, and moving, 14 Native-American legends reflect a nomadic non-property-owning culture, with a reverence for all things natural.

The US Census Bureau defines the Midwest as consisting of a dozen states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Outsiders often deride the region, and for many who have never been there, America's heartland is just a bunch of "flyover states" with little influence, little history, and little interest.

In this exquisite collection of children’s folktales, Zitkála-Šá shares the legends that were handed down to her through generations of Yankton storytellers. These tales display the wide range of insights and observations that accrue to such stories through repeated iteration, but they also benefit from the sharp ear and finely tuned sensibility of Zitkála-Šá as a writer. Her characters seem to speak to us—often crying out to us—in the same tones that Zitkála-Šá must once have heard.