Native American Legends

When Callie and the other children stumble upon an ancient artifact, they find themselves facing a terrible danger from the long-ago past. Time overlaps in a mysterious way, while the children fight to help an ancient tribe in both the past and in the present.

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.

When Miggle creates a make-believe treasure hunt, she never dreams it could turn into a very real and dangerous battle against an ancient evil—or that nearby strip-mining could be a threat not only to the landscape but also to the existence of the Fair Folk who dwell within the mountain. In the end, it's up to Miggle and her siblings and cousins to help these mysterious and beautiful people find their way to safety.

At war with his stepmother, in trouble at school, and desperately unhappy, thirteen-year-old Ray finds himself shipped off to distant family in the high mountain hollows of Western Virginia. There Ray encounters a strange world of mystery, where nothing quite makes sense. The mystery deepens when he discovers a great stone snake carved on the wall of an old coal mine high in the hollow. A piece of that stone draws Ray into a conflict that echoes an ancient tragedy played out over sixteen hundred years before.

In 1859, in a small town jail, deep in the forests of Canada, an elderly woman sits behind bars. She came to Dunmore via the Underground Railroad to escape enslavement, but an American bounty hunter tracked her down. Now she's in jail for killing him. Lensinda Martin, a smart young reporter, wants to tell the woman's version of events, hoping that it will lead to her acquittal, but the woman will only tell her story on one condition: she gets one from Lensinda in return. As the women swap stories, it becomes apparent that their histories are interconnected.

Dave finds a curious silver medallion in a cave by the Ohio River—and then finds he has changed places with Dewi, a sixteenth-century boy in medieval Wales. When he travels across the sea with explorers searching for the legendary cities of the New World, Dave hopes to find a way back to his own time and place. Meanwhile, Dewi is adjusting to life in the modern world. As the boys journey through time, caught up in a world where prophecies come true and past becomes the future, they find that they may be better suited to the other's time than for their own.

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.

As the adventures continue for the characters from The Wolves of Aam, they face more dangers in the jeweled caverns and darkness of the Shadowlands. The tale moves to a dramatic conclusion that unlocks the final mysteries of the magic stones. These books lay the foundation for the events told in later books in the series.

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).

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