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. “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 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. the Wolf at Twilight An Indian Elder's Journey through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows By Kent Nerburn New World Library Copyright © 2009 Kent Nerburn All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57731-578-0 Contents PREFACE A Truth That Lodges Deep in the Heart.....................xiiiCHAPTER 1 "Fatback's Dead"..........................................3CHAPTER 2 Return....................................................9CHAPTER 3 Burial....................................................17CHAPTER 4 Scars on the Moon.........................................26CHAPTER 5 Reservation Fortune Cookie................................36CHAPTER 6 The Jarburetor............................................43CHAPTER 7 Looking for Mr. Peanut....................................58CHAPTER 8 Bibles and Broomsticks....................................71CHAPTER 9 Tiospaye..................................................82CHAPTER 10 Charles Bronson...........................................95CHAPTER 11 Prayer for a Hot Dog......................................101CHAPTER 12 Indians and Cavemen.......................................110CHAPTER 13 Snakes and Bears..........................................120CHAPTER 14 Message from a Dog........................................128CHAPTER 15 Yellow Bird's Ghost.......................................140CHAPTER 16 Talking Stones............................................153CHAPTER 17 A Clock in the Head.......................................170CHAPTER 18 Twenty-Eight French Fries.................................178CHAPTER 19 Ratberry Sandwiches.......................................199CHAPTER 20 A Girl Named Sarah........................................216CHAPTER 21 "Go Home to Your Family"..................................222CHAPTER 22 A Haunted Heart...........................................229CHAPTER 23 Fading Tracks.............................................238CHAPTER 24 A Glow in the Distance....................................249CHAPTER 25 One White Eye.............................................259CHAPTER 26 Secret in the Snows.......................................265CHAPTER 27 A Hard Winter.............................................272CHAPTER 28 Vigil.....................................................281CHAPTER 29 Collecting Rent on the Homeland...........................287CHAPTER 30 The Longest Night.........................................293CHAPTER 31 Reaching Across...........................................310CHAPTER 32 Zintkala Zi...............................................319CHAPTER 33 A Blue Da