Apache Jack: Native Visions & Stories - Paperback

by Jack Random (Author)

A collection of stories, poems and visions centered on the culture and experience of Native Americans. The collection dates to 1996 when Desert Dreams was published as a handbook and 1997 when Apache Pilgrim was published in the same format. Soar on the wings of the canyon crow, behold the white buffalo, share the Ghost Dance with Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, hear the ancient prophecies, visit the Paiute prophet Wavoka, go on pilgrimage to Wounded Knee, watch the desert transformed to a spirit world through the eyes of the crow, the coyote, the wolf, the lizard and the snake. When Desert Dreams found its way to Long Standing Bear Chief in Montana, he wrote: "Let's get beyond the anger of mourning. Is there another way for us to get justice? I think so. Bring the whites to our way of belief and prayer." While the author did not fully appreciate his comments then, he has come to embrace them and hopes the sentiment is alive in this collection. The story Ghost Dance was originally published in Liquid Ohio and The Killing Spirit in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal. Mitakuye Oyasin.

Author Biography

In the summer of 1993 the writer received word that his great grandmother on his father's side, Mary Noriega, who had been thought of Hispanic origin, was in fact a full-blood Apache. While other family members subsequently disputed that report, it affirmed a deep empathy for the native peoples of this continent and led to a series of writings featuring native beliefs, culture and characters. Jack Random is the author of numerous novels including Wasichu: The Killing Spirit, Number Nine: The Adventures of Jake Jones and Ruby Daulton, A Patriot Dirge, Pawns to Players (The Stairway Scandal, A Match for the White House) and Hard Times: The Wrath of an Angry God. He has also penned a memoir (The Grand Canyon Zen Golf Tour), a collection of political essays (The Jazzman Chronicles: Volumes I-X), numerous plays and a second collection of short stories (Random Jack: Tales from Jazztown & Beyond).