
#10 Sacred Instructions
The wind whips angrily as branches release yellow leaves into the raging current. They rush across the sky before falling to the ground, a yellow

#9 They Want you Over There
Sunshine warms his sweat glazed skin. The air is punctuated by the bang of axe on wood. Thump, creak. Thump, creak. The firewood falls free

#8 In the Army Now
An open shoe box with its lid tossed aside and contents scattered over the kitchen table waits. “What’s all this?” I ask. “It’s my army

# 7 What’s in a Name?
“Where is he?” The smell of morning coffee answers me as I crawl out of bed. Wanbdi sits in his favorite chair reading his newspaper

# 6 Just Let Go!
They say six months in army boot camp, if you can hack it, will turn a boy into a man. This was true for Wanbdi.

# 5 I’m Not Going Back
It should have been the happiest day – but it wasn’t. It was a defining day, the kind that changes the course of one’s life

#4 It was Indian Residential School, a National Tragedy
I sit quietly making prayers while I wait. For years, my husband had waited for a chance to tell his story. Finally, the Canadian government

# 3 The Storm
The wind whips and howls, raging in the night. Even the darkness sneaks in between window frame and blind searching for refuge. Snow drifts grow into

#2 He Knows
White hair explodes outward in all directions. Black rimmed glasses frame eyes deep and knowing. Dakota features sport a handsome face, sturdy and dignified. Meet Wanbdi

#1 Why I Write …
The room is dark with only a faint sliver of light sneaking its way under the door. I smell sage burning on the altar in front