by Pamela Clare
Chaska thought back to the traumatized woman who’d been reluctant to accept anything from anyone. “We all need each other. That’s why we talk about communities being a circle, a hoop. Each one of us touches so many others. Connected, we’re stronger.”
“You’re starting to sound like Grandpa—a wise man.”
He kissed her hair. “Not wise—not yet.”
But as Old Man had said last time they’d spoken, even a genius could learn.
Chaska turned toward his wife, held her in his arms, and the two of them fell fast asleep.
* * *
Read on for a note about this story from the author.
Author’s Note
One of the most amazing experiences in my life was attending a four-day Sun Dance ceremony on sacred land. It was transformational for me, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
As a journalist, I made a conscious choice to give the voice I had to others, to use my ink to raise awareness about issues that otherwise weren’t getting coverage. I chose to focus on women in prison and Native peoples. I devoted fifteen years of my 20-year career to learning about the challenges these two groups faced and trying to share their struggles with my readership.
From the start, I had two rules for myself when it came to covering Native American issues. The first was not to go to any reservation without being asked to come. The second was never to go to any ceremony without being invited. I did not want to impose myself on anyone or come across as the stereotypical journalist on the reservation who asks the wrong questions about the wrong things of the wrong people at the wrong time—and then gets the answers all wrong in print. As a result, I covered Native issues from my desk in Boulder, Colo., for the first few years of this effort.
That all changed one afternoon when I got a call from a woman in Denver who’d heard from her husband, a Sun Dancer, that the elders wanted me to come to report on the harassment of Sun Dancers by federal agents.
I dropped everything, hopped in my car, and made the twelve-hour drive over rutted, unpaved roads to the Sun Dance site, going off road to get around a federal surveillance van that was blocking the way, attempting to keep people out of this ceremony. (The reason why they were blocking the road and threatening to arrest people who were attending is very long and difficult to explain. It’s also not relevant to what I’m trying to convey here, so we’ll skip it.)
I covered the story to the best of my ability and, in the process, ended up participating in a Sun Dance that was being run by a hereditary Lakota Sun Dance chief. I was one of few non-Natives there. I ate mutton stew, did my reporting, and volunteered in the first-aid tent, giving elders foot massages. At night, I slept in a tent under a piñon pine, waking every morning at sunrise to the sound of the drums. I joined in the ceremony, standing under the arbor, smoking the chanupa for the first time, learning songs and words. Time became irrelevant. The feeling of welcome I experienced was profound.
I did my best to cover the story accurately. As a result, word got around. I was asked by other Native people to cover many other stories. This took me as far north as the Cheyenne River Reservation, where I reported on the Si Tanka riders in the coldest weather I’ve ever experienced (-60F with wind chill) and as far south as Navajoland in Arizona where it was 114F. I met Hopis, Cherokee, Diné, Canadian Cree, Quechua, Inuit, and Lakota/Dakota people. I listened to the stories of Native leaders of all kinds—tribal presidents, spiritual leaders, and community activists. In 2005, I even found myself in an inipi ceremony with Native spiritual leaders and NASA scientists. Who was pouring water at that inipi? The Sun Dance chief from that first Sun Dance I attended. He became a friend, though we have since lost touch.
Through the years, I participated in other ceremonies and was eventually asked by three different spiritual leaders from three different Indian Nations to act as a bridge between the white world and the Native world. This book is one attempt to continue being that bridge despite the fact that I no longer work in journalism.
I have tried to share what I know in a way that is respectful and mindful of Lakota traditions. I have attempted to bring to life a contemporary Native couple—plus relatives—who might live down the street in Anytown, USA. Any mistakes I’ve made with regard to Lakota customs and language are my own. I offer this story with respect and gratitude and in the hope that this broken wheel can be mended, bringing all of us together as one.
Mitakuye Oyasin.
* * *
Pamela Clare
June 26, 2017
Thanks for reading Tempting Fate. I hope you enjoyed Chaska and Naomi’s story. Follow me on Facebook or on Twitter @Pamela_Clare. Join the Scarlet Springs Readers Group on Facebook to be a part of a never-ending conversation with other Scarlet Springs fans and get inside information on the series and on life in Colorado’s mountains. You can also sign up to be added to my mailing list at my website to keep up to date on all my releases and to be a part of special newsletter giveaways.
Also by Pamela Clare
Romantic Suspense:
* * *
I-Team Series
Extreme Exposure (Book 1)
Heaven Can’t Wait (Book 1.5)
Hard Evidence (Book 2)
Unlawful Contact (Book 3)
Naked Edge (Book 4)
Breaking Point (Book 5)
Skin Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 5.5)
First Strike: The Prequel to Striking Distance (Book 5.9)
Striking Distance (Book 6)
Soul Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 6.5)
Seduction Game (Book 7)
Dead by Midnight: An I-Team Christmas (Book 7.5)
* * *
Contemporary Romance:
* * *
Colorado High Country Series
Barely Breathing (Book 1)
Slow Burn (Book 2)
Falling Hard (Book 3)
Tempting Fate (Book 4)
* * *
Historical Romance:
* * *
Kenleigh-Blakewell Family Saga
Sweet Release (Book 1)
Carnal Gift (Book 2)
Ride the Fire (Book 3)
* * *
MacKinnon’s Rangers Series
Surrender (Book I)
Untamed (Book 2)
Defiant (Book 3)
Upon A Winter’s Night: A MacKinnon’s Rangers Christmas (Book 3.5)
About the Author
USA Today best-selling author Pamela Clare began her writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor-in-chief of two different newspapers. Along the way, she and her team won numerous state and national honors, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, Clare was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. A single mother with two sons, she writes historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Visit her website at www.pamelaclare.com.
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