“Do not begrudge the white man his presence on this land. Though he doesn’t know it yet, he has come here to learn from us.” ― A Shoshone elder The genius of the Native Americans has always been their profound spirituality and their deep understanding of the land and its ways. For three decades, author Kent Nerburn has lived and worked among the Native American people. Voices in the Stones is a unique collection of his encounters, experiences, and reflections during that time. He takes us inside a traditional Native feast to show us how the children are taught to respect the elders. He brings us to an isolated prairie rock outcropping where a young Native man and his father show us how the power of ceremony connects the present with the ancient voices of the past. At a dusty roadside café he introduces us to an elder who remembers the time when his ancestors could talk to animals. In these and other deeply touching stories, Nerburn reveals the spiritual awareness that animates all of Native American life, and shows us how we have much to learn from one another if only we have the heart to listen. Kent Nerburn speaks reverently of the bridge between our Judeo-Christian tradition and the spiritual gifts of the Native Americans. There is much healing to be had in our lives and for the land by crossing this bridge. Richard Rohr, bestselling author of Falling Upwards and The Divine Dance Kent Nerburn reminds us that in the timeless Native American ways of seeing and being, the truth of life is not found in knowledge but in something closer to prayer. Even today, amidst coffee shops, graveyards, old cars, and cafeterias, the wisdom keepers Nerburn follows in his sensitively told narratives still follow the voices of stones, streams, and dreams, listening to the wind with open ears and open hearts, not knowing where it will lead, or what they will learn. Evan Pritchard, director of the Center for Algonquin Culture and author of No Word for Time and Bird Medicine " “Kent Nerburn speaks reverently of the bridge between our Judeo-Christian tradition and the spiritual gifts of the Native Americans. There is much healing to be had in our lives and for the land by crossing this bridge.” ― Richard Rohr, bestselling author of Falling Upwards and The Divine Dance “Kent Nerburn reminds us that in the timeless Native American ways of seeing and being, the truth of life is not found in knowledge but in something closer to prayer. Even today, amidst coffee shops, graveyards, old cars, and cafeterias, the wisdom keepers Nerburn follows in his sensitively told narratives still follow the voices of stones, streams, and dreams, listening to the wind with open ears and open hearts, not knowing where it will lead, or what they will learn.” ― Evan Pritchard, director of the Center for Algonquin Culture and author of No Word for Time and Bird Medicine 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), Neither Wolf Nor Dog , and The Wisdom of the Native Americans . He lives in Portland, OR. Voices in the Stones Life Lessons from the Native Way By Kent Nerburn New World Library Copyright © 2016 Kent Nerburn All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60868-390-1 NATURE IS A VOICE TO BE HEARD, NOT A FORCE TO BE CONTROLLED The Indian and the white man sense things differently because the white man has put distance between himself and nature; and assuming a lofty place in the scheme of order of things he has lost for him both reverence and understanding — Luther Standing Bear I am standing on a lonely, peaceful prairie in the southwestern corner of Minnesota, not far from the South Dakota border. The two men standing beside me —Martin and his father, Raymond — are Tlingit men from the small coastal village of Yakutat in Southeastern Alaska. Raymond is a quiet man in his late 60’s, carrying the burdens of a long life spent fighting for the rights of his people against cruise lines, oil tankers, and insults against the environment. He also carries the scars of difficult times in Viet Nam and the weight of childhood experiences in the Native boarding schools. He is a survivor with a deep gentleness in his heart. Martin, his son, is a young man just coming into his own, carrying burdens of a different sort. He is trying to live in two worlds – the traditional Native world and the world of modern American culture. It is not an easy challenge, for the two do not easily fit together. But when someone masters the challenge, it is a beauty to behold, because their life embraces the richness and promise of the American experience in a way that those of us from a single cultural experience can only dream of understanding. It is a warm September day. The three of us are walking through the knee high grasses toward a low rock ou