North Dakota Books

I picked up Dinomummy up from the public library for my son to enjoy. My son just finished reading it to me and then got out his dinosaur card game out to find all the dino's listed in the book. I enjoyed the book as much as he did!

At the age of sixteen, Tyler Lyson made one of perhaps the most amazing discoveries when it comes to dinosaurs: a highly intact and detailed dinomummy. Not just a fossil as many discoveries of dinosaurs are, this one came complete with actual dinosaur skin and possible organs! Although he had always been fascinated with dinosaurs, Tyler hardly knew at the age of six, when he discovered the fossilized jaw of a duck-billed hadrosaur along with his brother, that one day his persistence and dedication would lead to such an amazing find.

Tyler Lyson grew up in Marmarth, South Dakota, and spent a large amount of his time exploring the grounds of Hell Creek, a remote, huge area of badlands not far from where he lived. At sixteen, he discovered the dinomummy, who was eventually named "Dakota" for the state where it was found. He contacted Dr. Phillip Lars Manning, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester in the U.K., and the real fun -- and work -- began.

Together with a large group of scientists from numerous fields and eager volunteers, Tyler and Dr. Manning set about uncovering this enormous and amazing dinomummy. We can follow their journey from head to tail through stunning full-color photographs included within the pages of DINOMUMMY. Dr. Manning also describes the techniques and equipment used to unearth, protect, and transport Dakota back to his lab for further study.

For anyone who loves dinosaurs, DINOMUMMY is a must-read! This is a fascinating look into a truly important discovery, and its easy-to-read language and helpful illustrations and captions make it perfect for even the youngest reader.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

My son loves this book. He carried it around on Christmas day like a trophy,and read it to his siblings right away. Now he wants the adult version to learn more.

My son is interested in archaeology,and dinosaurs especially, and so is really enjoying this book. It's very well written and illustrated.

My 9 year old granddaughter, interested in dinosaurs since she could walk, received Dinomummy for Xmas. Our Santa handed it out---about the 3rd present she received. When she opened it, we lost her! She read the entire book as fast as she could, loved it and lost interest in other presents for a while. The pictures are stunning, as is indicated just looking at the cover. Wonderful book. Hallett Luscombe

Recently, I laid down Roxanne Henke's latest book, Learning to Fly, with a satisfied sigh. Though I hated to say "good-bye" to the very real characters, it was time for them to move on. They'd been through so much. And thanks to Henke's great story-telling ability, so had I. Experiencing Lily's journey, from her first day of life until she was ready to leave the nest, was a delight indeed.

I was reminded of sweet and stressful times with my own children. So real were the characters, I rooted for them, wept with them and, exasperated, yelled out loud at some of Jo-Jo's parenting choices. I kept hoping Tiffany would understand the gift of having a true friend, and that her mother would do the same. Through the triumphs and struggles of two families, two women, and two daughters, I couldn't keep from turning the pages rapidly. The story hooked me right away and drew me in. As always with a Roxanne Henke book, I found a wealth of wisdom tucked into a very compelling story.

Roxanne Henke offers her readers a compelling and unique novel in her latest release, Learning to Fly. Susan Shaffer and JoJo Nash went to the same school and meet in the grocery store years later, following the birth of their daughters.

Susan and JoJo are from different worlds but become best friends as do their daughters. Susan, Lily's mother, is a middle-class woman who believes in God and relies on Him and parenting advice she received from Darla, her hospital roommate when Lily was born. "Use common sense. â¦you're Lily's parent. Not her best friendâ¦" JoJo Nash, a single parent to a young son, married into money, talks to God occasionally, knows in her heart what's right, but is unable or unwilling to say no to her daughter, Tiffany.

Learning to Fly follows Lily and Tiffany from the toddler years through high school. We revel in Lily's accomplishments and smart at the sting of childhood disappointments. The lack of discipline and limit setting by Tiffany's parents, particularly, JoJo, is a dire warning of things to come.

Learning to Fly began slowly but its compelling message soon took over. All the self-help books or parenting classes in the world will not score a direct hit like Henke's message that children want limits, even if they consciously do not understand the concept. "Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it." Disregard the message and suffer the consequences.

Armchair Interviews says: A must read for all mothers and mothers-to-be. Our children's lives may depend on hearing the message and acting on it.

What an excellent book describing the journey of motherhood.I'm giving this book to expectant mothers and also to my friends that have children graduating this year.There is such a lesson in this book for young mothers that I insisted my daughter who has her own three babies read it now! Thanks,Roxy!

Roxanne nailed parenting on the head! This book should be required reading for new parents so they realize the importance of discipline. I just so enjoy Roxanne's writing style because she always has little bits of wisdom that may not seem real important but then, lo and behold, something happens and you realize how profound they are. This is a great read and patrons who have read it have commented over and over again how she hit the nail on the head with this book. Keep it up, Roxy....we look forward to the next one!

This engrossing novel is better than a parenting book! And if you you see a frustrated, self-conscious mom in the store with a kid having a conniption fit, do her a favor and tell her about this book. Seriously. You may just save her some heartache.

Learning to Fly is about parenting and the heart of a mother. But it's even more than that. It's about marriage and friendship and peer pressure. It's about the consequences of not speaking up and of letting your child get what they want all the time. It's about the dysfunction of reliving your childhood through your child and the damage it can do. It's about so many things. And the most exciting part of this book is it's every mother. There is a bit of Susan and Jo Jo in all moms, so everyone can relate.

I love reading about dysfunction when the authors have deep insight into the situation and wisdom that shows up in their characterization. Roxanne Henke nails so many things in the process of telling you this story that will grip your heart in many, many ways. In fact, this is the perfect gift for a parent with little ones. Readers can't help but see just how much it hurts your child to give in to them. It's not a pretty sight and only gets worse as they get older. The takeaway value of this book is that it's worth it to be consistent and to listen to your child and not make excuses for their bad behavior. Plus, the characters are so well done it's hard not to love them and understand them by book's end. I highly recommend this book!

This was a brilliant book packed with creative stories and pictures. The pictures act as a portal too far off places and add life to her tales. Her passion and enthusiasm for family, animals, and nature can be felt throughout her work. The book reads like a diary which helps you follow her day-to-day throughout Europe and Norway. It feels as though she's telling you in person of her amazing journeys. This book was a delightful read and holds a little something for everybody.

Excellent writings of poetry and travel adventures! Pictures and illustrations add so much to the book as a whole! Author knows how to make one feel as though they were visiting Norway alongside her. Let us all remember our heritage! Good reading!

WHAT A REFRESHING BOOK. IT TAKES YOU BACK TO THE FARM AND WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE THAT MUST BE AND FOR CITY FOLK MAKES YOU WISH THAT IS WHERE YOU HAD BEEN RAISED. AND WHAT GREAT HISTORY. SHERIE, THROUGH YOUR WORDS AND DESCRIPTIONS YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE US FEEL AS THOUGH WE WERE THERE,TOO. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.

Few artists have been affected more deeply and left less scared by their pain than this modern force of poetic nature.

Beaver Creek Blues is a refreshing work of art. Kleven-Jensen has a profound gift for beautiful, rich, spine-tingling prose, and she uses it to weave a delightful tapestry of essays and poems about genuine life on the prairie and beyond. Her eye for small details brings her poignant short stories to life, sometimes mournful and sometimes joyful in the same page. The works are original, void of cliché'. Some of her phrases are stunning; you feel compelled to read them over and over, like a fine bouquet of wine lingering on your palate. Her writing is nicely complemented by relevant and interesting photos interspersed throughout the book. This is a rare find. I ordered extra copies as gifts for friends.

Growing up nurtured in the many faces and realities of nature - and the beauties & dangers therein - provided a school of knowledge for Archie Fire Lame Deer. Along side of this, were the brutalities and horrors of another type of school; this school sought to shame, beat, and abuse the native spirit out of him. This place was one of the many much written about Christian Indian Schools. Within both settings were men who set examples for Archie of humans who realized they had to do nothing else but provide him with acceptance and kindness: his grandfather and a priest at the Indian School. Archie was sent to this school by his Grandfather for the knowledge to be gained there. Grandfather was a Shaman;he knew that Archie would be one someday,too. I think the real reason he sent him to that school was to expose him - first hand - to the ugliest parts of human nature that he knew about. Archie going to Indian School was tantamount to hurricane Katrina being stopped by the frivolous levy systems in New Orleans. Despite all this violence, Archie was able to learn...the kindly Priest at the school was there, right on time, to provide support when Archie needed it most. After freeing himself from this place, his journey was soaked by alcohol. It accompanied Archie everywhere: with lots of women; in lots of fights; in just as many jail cells. It then took him to Hollywood where he became a stuntman. Under all of this was his calling as a healer and a Shaman: this is a terrifying calling. The physical and emotional demands are overwhelming. Here are the facts: only someone willing to throw away, time and again, friends, relatives, jobs, and opportunites is fit for such a job. It seems that such a person would be a narcissist; on the contrary, this kind of person walks with death and loss every day. They have no ego; they have no feelings. We have called them sociopaths. The difference between a sociopath and someone who grabs THE GIFT OF POWER is simple; the former dies or goes insane, while the latter somehow recognizes the destruction in him/herself - and in the wake they cast - as only another possession to be tossed aside. Then that empty hole is filled with the GIFT OF POWER. Archie's natural Father died. In this dying he passed the gift on to his son. Archie was born and raised in the Badlands; but other lands were just as bad. There is beauty in the Badlands...you just have to recognize it. This book should be on all required reading lists.

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Archie Fire Lame Deer is the son of John Fire Lame Deer and succeeded him as head of his spiritual lineage upon his father's death. A "modern" medicine man with an incredible life story. He's funny, charming, impactful, tells the truth. If I were making a list of "must meet" holy men, he'd be on it.

This is a first-person account of the life of a "medicine man," or Native-American shaman. The style is personal and engaging. This is a good introduction to the topic for the novice.

This book was totally amazing. Written in Archie Lame Deer's own words. Archie really takes us deep into the Lakota culture and brings us into the world of American Indian life. The style in which Archie teaches instills in the reader the importance of laughter to the American Indian people as a way of dealing with the horror dealt by the government and settlers throughout history.

If you like me, before I read this book, are naive to what true American Indian culture is all about (or maybe you won't realize how naive you are until you read the book), then this biography of Archie Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota Indian is definitely an excellent crash course to bring you up to date! Much of American Indian culture, especially their religion and intense beliefs about people, animals and our earth make a lot of sense to me. So many suppressed or simply not understood parts of this culture are clearly explained and described in fascinating detail. Though I don't plan to change my personal Christian beliefs, I'm moved by the depth and intensity of this culture; Archie Fire's descriptions moved me to intense shame regarding the many horrible things that were, and are still being done in the name of Christianity to this culturally rich, intelligent, colorful and generally peaceful people (Archie Fire Lame Deer, somewhat similarly, also expresses his shame of so many false medicine men promoting Indian religion & culture). And we claim to be a free country guaranteeing freedom of religion? As has become apparent to me, so many things that we believe to be a part of our white North American cultures are actually rooted in American Indian tradition. I say thanks very much to Archie Fire for recording this valuable, enlightening information for we, the unindoctrinated. I wish him and the American Indian people the realization of all of the wonderful dreams described here (as I wish to share in them also).

Character is key. This is what Lori Armstrong seems to understand perfectly. Julie Collins, already such a strong character in Blood Ties returns even more full-fleshed. Julie is cranky, smokes and drinks a lot, engages in shallow sex, enjoys rock music and is one tough woman.
The convoluted plot starts out with a missing persons case. Looking for this Native American kid the dead bodies start to turn up quickly when the mob gets involved and rival casinos take on each other. Also love blooms for Julie in the person of the shady owner of a biker bar.
Although the book is a bit too long (almost 500 pages) there's enough action and surprises to keep you entertained.
I loved the characters, the action and writing. What could make this book even more perfect was maybe cut it down in size somewhat and trim a few plot elements.

I'm glad I read this novel. I read it several months ago, and I'm still glad, so that's a good review from me right there. I didn't read the first novel in this series, but that didn't hurt my enjoyment of Hallowed Ground. Great pace, great characters, satisfying ending, and the writing shone throughout. The main character, Julie, is an interesting blend of traits and a complex balance of hard and soft. I thought it would be difficult to keep her consistent for the entire novel, especially with all she was dealing with, but the author pulled it off.

No kidding, this book kept me sitting in a chair all day and into the night. I've been waiting for the sequel to Blood Ties and I wasn't disappointed. It was a great read! I can't wait for the next book.

I had been awaiting Ms. Armstrong's second book in the Julie series, and I wasn't disappointed!! "On Hallowed Ground" is filled with excitement and action with every turn of the page -- I had a difficult time putting it down. I loved it. How soon is book #3 coming out???

I read Blood Ties months ago and couldn't wait for HALLOWED GROUND to come out. Boy was it worth the wait! The relationship between Julie and Tony totally made the book for me, but the action and adventure kept me glued to the book when I should have been feeding my kids. The mystery had me guessing right until the very end, which is how it should be. This was a fantastically exciting read and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

This is one of the best series that I have ever read. It is a must see but beware, once you pick it up you will not want to put it down.

Very interesting book and brings to mind the hardships and heartache endured by those who opened up this country as they moved west, yet they endured.

There is much happiness and hope in this book. Ingeborg's marriage to Haakan is a wonderful blessing to her and her children. There are some new characters to add spice to the books and the discovery of Grace's deafness to add tears, but Kaaren and Ingeborg's faith continues to grown in the face of the difficulties that come from farming and joys of proving up their homesteads.

Those pioneers are sooo brave! I wish I could be like them. Lauraine is an excellent author. Keep it up!

Book 3 in Red River of the North opens with Penny writing to the absent Hjelmer who has fled the area to avoid a "shotgun wedding" trick. Even though he is young and immature, he is a hard worker with an eye for the future and inside information on the plans of the railroad. Kaaren delivers twins, nearly dying. One twin is not healthy and Lars cannot accept his deaf daughter. School is in full swing in the prairie schoolhouse, with Kaaren as teacher.

Ingeborg and Haaken travel a far distance by train to escort home the seriously injured younger sister of Kaaren. Solveig is a bitter, disappointed young woman who was on her way to join her sister, but whose future is crushed in a train wreck. Face scarred and barely walking, she goes home with Ingeborg and Haaken. Olaf, Kaaren's long lost uncle, mysteriously turns up after a long absence and his many talents make him useful and loved.

Penny has finally decided to travel to Fargo for work and further schooling. The farms continue to progress - a large wooden barn now graces the homestead of Ingeborg who gives birth to another baby, Haaken's first biological child. Metiz continues to weave in and out of the lives of the pioneer families. Her grandson, Baptiste, stays with his friend Thorliff to go to school and help with the farm work.

As much as she balks, Ingeborg gives up her plowing and hunting after teaching young Thorliff to take her place. As usual, tragedy does not pass over them without leaving scars. A tragic fire, blizzards and failing farms cause loss of life and dreams. Agnes give birth to a stillborn daugher. She harbors intensive anger toward Hjelmer for hurting her dear niece, Penny.

The railroad is coming and the time for proving up their land arrives. Both the Bjorkland widows are remarried with families. Extra people share both homes now. A large sack house stores their grain for direct loading on the train.

The book ends with their town becoming a water stop for the railroad, a real town with a real name, Blessing. In spite of the author's confusion with family relationships and forgetting Kaaren's married name, book 3 still deserves 4 stars.

This book inspired me to look into my own heart and realize there was a message I needed to hear. All of Roxanne's books are truly wonderful and i can promise you will not be disappointed if you take the time to read them.

This book beautifully shares the truth that "getting older will be, and is, a joy as long as you do it with the Lord at your side!"

We plan and God answers with a nudge, reminding us that He is in charge. That He knows what is best for us and that it is so much more than we ever imagined it could be.

In Always Jan, Roxanne Henke welcomes us to Brewster, North Dakota, the kind of town where most people would love to live and raise a family. It's a place where people know your name and reach out to help each other. It's where folks gather at the restaurant or gas station to gossip and commiserate with each other. It's a place, like most others, only smaller, where the inhabitants have hopes and dreams, love their friends, family and neighbors and share the sadness of broken dreams and deep hurts. It's also a place where God lives.

Jan believes she is "getting old" and losing her beauty. Kenny owns the local gas station but there isn't enough money for his growing family. Ida, Kenny's aunt, values independence, health and a vital future. Each character experiences a "challenge" that they didn't expect and didn't want. Henke weaves each character's life dilemma through the lives of the others in a seamless manner. Jan, Kenny and Ida are each broken, in their own way, and each must learn through their personal trials that God's plan is the best plan.

There was a time when I didn't enjoy Christian fiction because it wasn't real life. It seemed that life in Christian fiction was always "happy ever after," if only we believed. Real life isn't always perfect, even when we trust and believe.

Roxanne Henke's novel Always Jan approaches life in a "real" way: real people, with real problems, who struggle to live their faith. I smiled, I squeezed the tears threatening to break free and I kept reading. I didn't want the story to end because I felt I knew these people and I liked them, "warts" and all. I can't wait to read her other novels. If you haven't read Roxanne Henke's novels, please do so and "Welcome to Brewster...it's a good place to call home."

Always Jan really got to me. I have enjoyed every book Roxanne Henke has written, even learning something while I experienced a terrific, page-turning read. But this one hit home in a special way. Maybe it is because of my age - and the book is about aging; maybe it is because of a close relative's life which rather parallels Ida's in the story. I'm not sure. But I found this book to be so much more than just a wonderful read.

The story is told in multiple, first person, points of view - a style that well suits Henke's clear, concise writing. Jan: the beauty who is fearful of aging, Kenny: the sports-playing dad who wants to replay those high school days, and Ida: Kenny's elderly Aunt who struggles to live alone as her health declines and loneliness threatens to overcome. Roxanne weaves these three lives together in a beautiful tale that grabs your heart and won't let go until the last line.

I absolutely loved it! And recommend this wonderful book to every person who likes to read the best in inspirational lit.

Having read all of Roxanne's books, I looked forward to this one and was not disappointed. Roxy has a way of making you see her characters as the person living next door or down the street. Hopefully you have all had an "Ida Bauer" in your life--or will be an Ida Bauer to someone else. One of the most profound messages was given by one of the lesser characters (I won't go into it because it would give you too much of the storyline) so you can see Roxy develops her characters well. Lessons on aging, on friendship, on unconditional love, on giving someone a chance, on "glory days"...very well done! I'm a librarian in a small town and can't keep the other books in the series on the shelf!

I admire Grace Stoltz's courage and honesty to write about her experience of having entered a convent at the tender age of 15. She clearly states the stuggles she faced as she left her family to travel her jouney of faith. She takes us to places we have never been... and tho she sometimes disagreed with the discipline and rules, she continued due to her devotion to God. Even when she finally left the convent, she continued with her strong faith in Christ and never wavers in her desire to serve God. It is a story of a life lived in faith....

I feel the author had wonderful way of presenting her thoughts in literary form.Her way of presenting the information is captivating as well as causing you not to want to put the book down.
Not being a Catholic, I found myself moving in and out of many emotions especially hearing about many past rituals that had gotten a grip on the religions people of that day and their opposition to change.
I also could share in the many steps the author took in her life as she continually was vulnerable to ridicule and sometimes hatred.

This book really captures the human emotions every young person experiences as they journey into and through early adult hood. The author shows true courage in her forthright and completely honest description of her spiritual, teaching and family experiences. Although most of us did not attempt convent life, we dealt with supervisors, irrelevance and opposition to change. But,not many of us could be so disclosing in such a public venue. Many readers will be comforted and relieved to see how commonly we all share our human insecurities and frustrations. Being a cradle Catholic and having experienced a first year of teaching many years aago, I identified with her through the entire story.
Reviewer Karen Anderson

I have enjoyed reading this book written by Grace Stoltz because it gives a good insight on living in a convent. I have know Grace and her family for many years which makes both of her books especially interesting to me and I am hoping she will write a third one!

A fascinating look into one of the Catholic Chuch's least understood arms: the convent and the Sisters who work within them.


This particular Sister tells the story of how a young woman from North Dakota came to love the Church and join it's ranks as a nun as well as how she came to realize that she had to leave that way of life after the upheavals caused by Vatican II.


This is a great read for any Christian and a must read for any Catholic.

I have published an award-winning law review article on Federal Indian Law, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (until I couldn't hold my nose any longer), and had the great good luck to learn Indian Law from Prof. Raymond Cross at The University of Montana School of Law. But Paul VanDevelder taught me new things about all three.

Mr. VanDevelder deftly explains some of the more arcane aspects of Federal Indian Law in a way that, at least for me, filled in more of the puzzle pieces - but while also making it easily accessible to even the non-professional. Mr. VanDevelder taught me that the Corps of Engineers can be even more insidious and arrogant than even I had suspected. And, given the good professor's reluctance to blow his own horn, Mr. VanDevelder taught me that merely having known Raymond Cross was far more an honor than I could have ever guessed.

If you have any curiosity about Indian legal rights, or seek understanding about the grave damage government administrators can do when they embody the worst kinds of ignorance, arrogance, and egomania, or merely hope to be inspired by a ripping good yarn about the undeniable perseverance of the human spirit, Coyote Warrior is your book.

At first glance this book would appear to be a rather standard documentary of the struggles faced by a particular Indian nation. That is true to a certain extent, as the book covers the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara), who until the 1950s were the most successful and self-sufficient Indians in the country, then saw their productive lands disappear under a Missouri River reservoir. After forced relocation and disenfranchisement, and political bullying from government agencies pushing through water reclamation projects that were probably a giant boondoggle, the tribes went instantly from success to destitution and dependence on the government. VanDevelder illustrates their long-term suffering through the decades-long travails and heartbreaks of the Cross family, whose father Martin led a valiant but hopeless struggle to save the tribes' livelihood and culture. The story continues through their traumatic uprooting and torn connections to their community, up to the current successes of son Raymond who has become one of the leading Indian attorneys in the nation.

VanDevelder's extensive coverage of the careers of Martin and Raymond Cross is what makes this book unique, and much more than your typical respectful but depressing expose on current Indian affairs. VanDevelder unveils the extremely complicated nature of Indian law in general, with issues of sovereignty and broken treaties from centuries ago still mucking up court cases to this day. He also gives in-depth (though occasionally over-detailed) coverage of the particular legal maneuvers and challenges faced by the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Cross family, which thanks to the legal brilliance of Raymond and some powerful allies, finally resulted in partial justice after several decades of suffering and cultural ruination at the hands of the U.S. Government. VanDevelder writes of legal maneuvering and governmental shenanigans with a surprising amount of suspense, and somehow even makes a Supreme Court exploratory hearing seem dramatic. A bonus is VanDevelder's unique descriptions of legal precedents going back to medieval Europe in the thirteenth century, and the far-reaching historical development of Indian law in America to the present day. [~doomsdayer520~]

Considering that very few people will witness Raymond Cross's dynamism in person or read his eloquent legal briefs and law review articles, Paul VanDevelder's "Coyote Warrior" provides a persuasive account of another Native community's fight for justice in America. The legal struggles of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara peoples for their land and sovereignty, as seen from their standpoint, provides valuable insights into the institutionalized bad faith of federal Indian policy. The author achieved his goal of making the compelling story of three tribe's contentious political relationship with the United States accessible to a wider audience.

This book is an eminently readable account of the disasters which befell the Arikara,Hidatsa and Mandan tribes when they were displaced by the damning of the Missouri.
It is also a disturbing revelation of the shenanigans of government, producing a sense of shame in those of us who look for"justice for all" from our representatives in DC.
It falls to bold Coyote Warriors,Martin Cross and later his brilliant son Raymond to combat in court,the injustices perpetrated on Native peoples.
As a piece of reporting VanDevelder's work is carefully phrased,occasionally lyrical, avoiding heavily loaded language.
It is also supplemented with an exhaustive bibliography(of which the author says there is more),one bound to satisfy demanding researchers.

An extraordinary look at the forces that disenfrnchised an Indian Nation from its heritage and its land. An insightful look into the destructive forces that rend family and community ties when frderal policies that de-humanize Native people are allowed to be implemented behind one man's ego, and a government's indifference. It is an all too familiar story -- well told -- of disenfranchisement of Indian people and governments. And finally, a story of the courage and incredible intellect of one families battle against irresistible forces.

This book is a wonderful for all who are inspired to serve their own churches, a biography of Bishop Harold Jones of South Dakota, the trials and trbulations of a man making a name for himself within the Episcopal church, still leaves a lasting impression on clergy that knew this wonderful man, a man who can wonderfully sing lakota hymns ( told to me by a priest i know, who knew him well) and preach the gospel with great reverence. Bishop Jones is still talk of the South Dakota Episcopal Diocese now and the future, a role model for all who takes compassion, people and God as a way of life.

I am an Episcopalian Christian and a native of the state of Montana. As such, I was unable to finish "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" (Dee Brown) because of what is sometimes called white guilt. I did finish Cochran's book,"Dakota Cross Bearer." In fact, I could hardly put it down.

Some may prefer "Bury My Heart" over Mary Cochran's book, because of Brown's righteous and radical anger, absent from Cochran's voice.

Like Brown's account, this story speaks sorrowfully of the shameful history of betrayal of Native Americans, even by the church. It touched me deeply because it recounts the the open-mindedness of many Lakotah people toward the god of the Europeans who were displacing, impoverishing, and trying to stamp out the cultures of tribes throughout the west. While many missionaries in this account had benevolent intentions, the fruit of their labors was a mixed blessing at best.

Mary and her husband, The Rt. Rev. David Cochran (former bishop in the Dakotas) were entrusted with the story of the Lakotah people and prejudice in the church from Bishop Harold Jones' point of view. His lack of rancor in living through many insults and challenges is a powerful witness to the best in the Christian faith tradition, and even more so, the best in his tribal traditions. The picture of life on the Lakotah reservations during the early 20th century was fascinating. For example, Lakota women took the lead consistently in raising the funds necessary to start new churches. They had almost no money and were phenomenally ingenious!

I will never stop grieving what happened to the native peoples of the west as my people invaded their homeland. Bishop Jones' spirit will help me live with it.

Dakota Cross-Bearer: The Life And World Of A Native American Bishop is the biography of Harold S. Jones, a Dakota Indian born in 1909, who joined the Episcopal Church and rose in its ranks to become the first Native American bishop of a Christian church. Offering key insights into twentieth-century missionary activity among Native American communities, revealing instances of dispute and discrimination amid the Episcopal Church, as well as the demands of clerical training and the relocation in service of the institution, Dakota Cross-Bearer offers a view like no other into the life of an unusual but no less dedicated man of the cloth and faith.

What a find this book is!!! Having spent time this summer working on the Pine Ridge Reservation among the Lakota, I was thrilled to read a book containing not only historical facts, but "real life" detail. The joy, humor, sorrow, endurance, and faithfulness of this man of God (and those whose lives entwined with his) truly touched me. This book may be sucessfully used for historical, theological, sociological, or devotional purposes. Make sure to read and reread Fr. Deloria's (Tipi Sapa) testimony concerning Jesus, several times. It is the most compelling witness I have ever heard. It is no wonder that the little one, who listened to this wise man speak, grew up to be a Bishop.

Mary E. Cochran presents the story of Harold S. Jones, who in 1921 became the first American Indian bishop of the Episcopal Church. While much of Jones's narrative is in the third person, whenever possible editor Cochran allowed Jones to present his story "in his own words." Raymond A. Bucko and Martin Brokenleg's introduction does a good job of contextualizing Jones's story. The volume sheds considerable light on missionary activities among American Indians in the 20th century and offers welcome documentation of the complex interactions between Christian missionaries and Native peoples of the Plains. Choice, vol 28, no. 7 (March 2001).