Free Thunder on the Plains by Gary Robinson Page B

in the family was ready, we entered the powwow arena together. The drum group, seated in the middle, began an honor song for the family. The arena director led me into the arena first. I circled the drum alone once. Then Grandpa and Uncle stepped in beside me, continuing around the circle.
    Then Mom and Bill fell in behind us. The rest of the family and my friends from summer survival camp joined in. Finally, others in the crowd joined the circling dancers. A large mass of people circled the drum as the singers pounded out the song. It echoed across the fields.
    At sunset, layers of blue, pink, and orange clouds gathered on the horizon. And while the singers sang and the dancers danced, a small circle of dust floated outside the circle.
    I looked closer at the floating dust. I thought I could see the wispy shapes of buffalo dancing around the outer edge of the circle.
    â€œGrandpa!” I shouted.
    â€œYes, Danny, I see them. The buffalo spirits. They’ve come to honor you, too. I told you—they’re proud to be with us once more.”
    I looked again. Among the buffalo spirits there, I swore I saw my father’s spirit dancing with us.
    And he smiled.

About the Author
    Gary Robinson, a writer and filmmaker of Cherokee and Choctaw Indian descent, has spent more than twenty-five years working with American Indian communities to tell the historical and contemporary stories of Native people in all forms of media. His television work has aired on PBS, Turner Broadcasting, Ovation Network, and others. His nonfiction books,
From Warriors to Soldiers
and
The Language of Victory,
reveal little-known aspects of American Indian service in the U.S. military from the Revolutionary War to modern times. In addition to
Thunder on the Plains,
he has written another novel,
Tribal Journey,
and two children’s books that share aspects of Native American culture through popular holiday themes:
Native American Night Before Christmas
and
Native American Twelve Days of Christmas.
He lives in rural central California.

    7th Generation
publications celebrate the stories and achievements of Native people in North America through fiction and biography.
    For more information, visit:
    nativevoicesbooks.com

    Tribal Journey
    Gary Robinson
    978-1-939053-01-5
    $9.95
    A young Native teen is forced to deal with becoming partially paralyzed as the result of a car accident caused when both drivers were texting. Jason’s lucky to be alive—but life in a wheelchair seems too much to bear. Even when he was protecting his mom and siblings from his drunken father, or escaping from home to be with his friends, he never imagined something like this could happen to him.
    Now Jason sees himself only as a kid who will always be paralyzed. But when he becomes part of the Raven Canoe Family and learns to “pull” a canoe, his outlook on life begins to change. After completing a two-week tribal canoe journey with his Duwamish tribal members, Jason is proud to be a Coast Salish Indian. From the hardships and camaraderie of the journey, he gains a new sense of courage and determination to someday swim and walk again.
    Available from your local bookstore or you can buy them directly from:
    Book Publishing Company • P.O. Box 99 • Summertown, TN 38483 1-800-695-2241
    Please include $3.95 per book for shipping and handling.