A haunting dream that will not relent pulls author Kent Nerburn back into the hidden world of Native America, where dreams have meaning, animals are teachers, and the “old ones” still have powers beyond our understanding. In this moving narrative, we travel through the lands of the Lakota and the Ojibwe, where we encounter a strange little girl with an unnerving connection to the past, a forgotten asylum that history has tried to hide, and the complex, unforgettable characters we have come to know from Neither Wolf nor Dog and The Wolf at Twilight . Part history, part mystery, part spiritual journey and teaching story, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo is filled with the profound insight into humanity and Native American culture we have come to expect from Nerburn’s journeys. As the American Indian College Fund has stated, once you have encountered Nerburn’s stirring evocations of America’s high plains and incisive insights into the human heart, “you can never look at the world, or at people, the same way again.” “A touching and enlightening pursuit of spirit.” — Chris Eyre , director of Smoke Signals "With poignant prose and a compelling story, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo demonstrates Kent Nerburn's gift: not just to build bridges between the Native and non-Native world, but to transcend those differences with a narrative that speaks to the heart of the human experience." — Anton Treuer , executive director of the Bemidji State University American Indian Resource Center “Simply riveting. Kent Nerburn has the very rare ability to gently and compassionately teach in a respectful way. I love this book. And so does the rest of our staff.” — Susan White , manager of Birchbark Books Praise for Kent Nerburn's books: “This is storytelling with a greatness of heart.” — Louise Erdrich , National Book Award winner and author of The Round House “Offers a sensitive, insightful glimpse into a Lakota soul, a feat unattainable by most non-Native writers.” — Joseph M. Marshall III , author of The Lakota Way and The Journey of Crazy Horse “Perhaps the most significant and insightful work on Native Americans since the writings of Vine Deloria Jr.” — Roger Jourdain , former tribal chairman of the Red Lake Ojibwe nation A two-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award, Kent Nerburn is the author of thirteen 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. The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo A Child, an Elder, and the Light From an Ancient Sky By Kent Nerburn New World Library Copyright © 2013 Kent Nerburn All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60868-015-3 Contents Preface. A World beyond Our Understanding, Part 1. Forgotten Secrets, Chapter 1. A Shout in the Night, Chapter 2. "I Have Something to Tell Him", Chapter 3. Spirit Lodge, Chapter 4. The Notebook, Chapter 5. "I Knew You Were Coming", Chapter 6. "He Is Measuring Your Fear", Chapter 7. The Place of Black Soot, Chapter 8. The Woman in Pearls, Chapter 9. "We Didn't Know Any Better", Chapter 10. Unquiet Ground, Chapter 11. Haunted With Ghosts, Part 2. Into the West, Chapter 12. The Lakota Two-Step, Chapter 13. The Eagle Man Versus the Wichasha Wakan, Chapter 14. A Strong Heart to Serve, Chapter 15. "Your Silence Makes a Lot of Noise", Chapter 16. Priests and Pelicans, Chapter 17. No Bullshit, Chapter 18. "I'm a Really Good Dog", Chapter 19. A Respect Bigger than Friendship, Chapter 20. Eyes Without Light, Chapter 21. The Big Leagues, Chapter 22. Kicked Out of the Creator's Living Room, Chapter 23. Watcher in the Shadows, Chapter 24. Two Worlds inside You, Chapter 25. The Tremendous Tonto, Chapter 26. Indian Science and the Little Fellows, Part 3. Northern Light, Chapter 27. Roll Call of the Dead, Chapter 28. A World of Other Laws, Chapter 29. Stolen Words, Chapter 30. The Night of the Dancing Ghosts, Chapter 31. The Singing Skies, Chapter 32. Tatanka Never Lies, Chapter 33. The Gift, Epilogue, Postscript, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 A Shout in the Night It was early spring when the dreams began. They were not ordinary dreams. They had none of that unreality that separates night from day. Their colors were the colors of sunlight, their sounds as real as everyday life. I would wake from them with my heart pounding and my palms sweating, not knowing where the dream left off and the waking world began. But there was something else about them. They were always the same — Dan's sister, Yellow Bird, with her little bowl haircut, standing in front of a monolithic red-brick building wearing a faded white dress; Mary, the old woman I had visited when I was searching for her, standing by her side. Mary smiles at me. I see the wrinkles on her face and the yellow stains on her teeth. She begins talking, but no words com