The Precious Gift: A Navaho Creation Myth

A drop of fresh water must be retrieved in order for First Man to create a stream or lake in his parched homeland, and the members of his village are unable to do so, but, through an unexpected twist of fate, their doomed destiny may be saved.

Chicora And The Little People

“Listen!” Chicora pleaded. “Last night, I opened my eyes and saw tiny hands reaching through the lodge flap. I screamed, ‘Leave me alone!’ and the little hands disappeared.” The legend of Chicora and the Little People: The Legend of the Indian Corn, begins long ago in the time known as the Moon of the Turning Leaves. Chicora, a young Lumbee girl, is awakened from her sleep by gruff giggling and little hands reaching through the flap of her home lodge. She attempts to tell the villagers of the appearance of the little people and the new corn. How can Chicora convince her tribe of the truth?

Bears Make Rock Soup: And Other Stories

A collection of stories inspired by paintings that depict the special relationships betweens the Plains Indians and such animals as bear, deer, moose, crows, and loons.

Gift Days

Young Nassali longs to read and write like her brother, but since her mother’s death, Nassali is responsible for looking after her younger siblings and running the household. There is no time for books and learning. Then one day, she wakes up to discover that her chores have been taken care of. It is her first gift day. From that day on, once a week, her brother gives Nassali the gift of time so that she can pursue her dream of an education, just as her mother would have wanted.

The People Of The Sea

When young Donald and his friends head down to the water to play, they have no idea that they are soon to encounter a mermaid, one of the creatures that his elders have told him about. Terrified, the boys run back to their camp, ready to tell everyone what they have just seen. They can’t seem to remember it clearly. It is up to Donald’s grandmother to explain to them the magical creature they just encountered