The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder's Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows

by Kent Nerburn

Overview

A note is left on a car windshield, an old dog dies, and Kent Nerburn finds himself back on the Lakota reservation where he traveled more than a decade before with a tribal elder named Dan. The touching, funny, and haunting journey that ensues goes deep into reservation boarding-school mysteries, the dark confines of sweat lodges, and isolated Native homesteads far back in the Dakota hills in search of ghosts that have haunted Dan since childhood.

In this fictionalized account of actual events, Nerburn brings the land of the northern High Plains alive and reveals the Native American way of teaching and learning with a depth that few outsiders have ever captured.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781577315780
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	11/03/2009
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	61,189
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kent Nerburn is the author of twelve books on spirituality and Native themes, including Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce (featured on the History Channel), Simple Truths, and The Wisdom of the Native Americans. He lives in northern Minnesota.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Kent Nerburn offers a sensitive, insightful glimpse into a Lakota soul, a feat unattainable by most non-Native writers.”
— Joseph M. Marshall III, Sicangu Lakota, author of The Lakota Way and The Journey of Crazy Horse

“Kent Nerburn’s creative and compassionate book [is] humorous, hilarious, and at times very sad. Thank you, Kent, for a good book to read.”
— Leonard Peltier, author, artist, and activist

“Elegant, yet powerful...Nerburn crosses borders with a single-minded dedication to preserving an oral tradition. The emotional truth that resides in the rich storytelling is a testament to the strength and endurance of Lakota culture and...removes barriers to understanding our common humanity.”
— Winona LaDuke, founder and executive director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project

“The best storytellers make you feel that they are speaking directly to you, and the best-told stories resonate in the heart and soul forever. A story about the triumph of love and the spirit of a people..., The Wolf at Twilight will be permanently etched in your consciousness.”
— Dan Agent, former editor of the Cherokee Phoenix and screenwriter for Our Spirits Don’t Speak English: Indian Boarding School

“The story of this unique and captivating journey...is a remarkable gift that we are honored to receive and obligated to pass on.”
— Steven R. Heape, Cherokee Nation citizen and producer of the award-winning documentary The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy

Editorial Reviews

“Kent Nerburn offers a sensitive, insightful glimpse into a Lakota soul, a feat unattainable by most non-Native writers.”
— Joseph M. Marshall III, Sicangu Lakota, author of The Lakota Way and The Journey of Crazy Horse

“Kent Nerburn’s creative and compassionate book [is] humorous, hilarious, and at times very sad. Thank you, Kent, for a good book to read.”
— Leonard Peltier, author, artist, and activist

“Elegant, yet powerful...Nerburn crosses borders with a single-minded dedication to preserving an oral tradition. The emotional truth that resides in the rich storytelling is a testament to the strength and endurance of Lakota culture and...removes barriers to understanding our common humanity.”
— Winona LaDuke, founder and executive director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project

“The best storytellers make you feel that they are speaking directly to you, and the best-told stories resonate in the heart and soul forever. A story about the triumph of love and the spirit of a people..., The Wolf at Twilight will be permanently etched in your consciousness.”
— Dan Agent, former editor of the Cherokee Phoenix and screenwriter for Our Spirits Don’t Speak English: Indian Boarding School

“The story of this unique and captivating journey...is a remarkable gift that we are honored to receive and obligated to pass on.”
— Steven R. Heape, Cherokee Nation citizen and producer of the award-winning documentary The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy

From the Publisher

In Neither Wolf nor Dog, Nerburn recounted a trip he undertook with a Lakota elder named Dan. The narrative was primarily a conversation between the two men, who exchanged their perspectives on the relationship between Native Americans and whites in the 20th century. Throughout, it was clear that there was a cultural barrier separating the men, and by extension their ethnic groups, that would always interfere with their ability to understand each other fully. This new work continues Dan's story, although he is not its primary focus. Instead, Nerburn relates his search for Dan's sister, Yellowbird, who was sent to a boarding school when she was a child and was never heard from again. Parts of the book are fictionalized to maintain the privacy of Dan and his family. VERDICT Nerburn's fans may want to read this work to continue Dan's story. In the end, however, the small amount of new information included would have worked just as well as one good additional chapter in a new edition of Neither Wolf nor Dog.—John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY\

Library Journal