Cover photo: Spirit of Coyote above ceremonial tipis on the reclaimed Arrow Lakes/Sinixt central salmon fishery, Hayes Island, at Kettle Falls, Washington; dry land for the first time in almost fifty years.
|
A Twist in Coyote’s Tale
By Celia M Gunn
A Twist in Coyote’s Tale is the true account of a young Englishwoman who was drawn into the extraordinary renascence of a Native North American tribe. Fragmented and disinherited, and eventually deemed extinct by the Canadian government some thirty years earlier, the Arrow Lakes people began their long journey back to their roots and their identity as the Sinixt First Nation upon learning of the removal of ancestral remains from an ancient settlement in the beautiful Slocan Valley of British Columbia, Canada.
|
|
An extraordinary encounter with an Arrow Lakes visionary from the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State, USA, draws Celia into the midst of their struggle, and for six years, she walks a path that few have travelled, her life entwined with the great wisdom of Native American philosophy.
Her contemporary experience of traditional teachings and ceremonies unfolds alongside an increasing awareness of the harsh and painful political and social realities under which Native American people now live. Yet their gentle humour and wise teachings and the healing power of nature help reconcile her to an acceptance and inner peace that she has never before known.
Guided by a living shamanic tradition, Celia begins to understand that, rather than helping the Native people, she is the one being helped, into learning to understand the balance of her own, unique identity. Frankly sharing her hopes and illusions, her dreams and growing insights in the writing of this warm and powerfully descriptive account, she comes to realise that it is as much a tale about a woman’s personal journey – the song of a healing spirit learning her place in the dance of life – as the journey of a people back to their roots. Contents Include:
Red Cloud – Laughing Thunder – Rites of Passage – Sky-Wolf – Wind of Change – Thunder Speaks – White Eagle – Place of the Four Warriors – Little Wolf – Keepers of the Order of Life – Spirit-Guide – From Where the Sun Now Stands – Call of the Drum – Voice of the Ancestors – Green Blanket – Snake Medicine – Finding a Way Home – Spider Medicine – Winter Dance – Yinipi – Spirit-Walker – Medicine Wheel – Coyote
Dreams – Whitestone – Patches of Snow – Spirit in All Things – Walking the Red Road – Coyote Giveaway – Deliverance – All My Relations – Reflections – Envoi
Large-format 400 pages including section of photographs and fold-out map.
Paperback (RRP £16.99)
£16.00 inc p&p - Direct from the author and signed. |
|
Hardback (RRP £34.99)
£25.00 inc p&p - Limited First Edition, direct from the author only; signed & numbered |
SAMPLE: First 6 Chapters available as download
WATCH: 'THE SINIXT Bringing Home the Bones' a docu-drama (On YouTube)
~ based on 'A Twist in Coyote’s Tale'
NEWS: Become a friend of 'A Twist in Coyote's Tale' on Facebook,
and receive updates about the onoging saga of the Sinixt Nation.
A native of the county of Northumberland, UK, Celia’s deep, personal interest in the North American Indian has been part of her make-up for as long as she can remember. After completing her education in the UK, she spent the next several years in Jerusalem, Israel, before immigrating to British Columbia, Canada, where she lived for eighteen years.
Now located in the West Country of England, where in addition to A Twist in Coyote’s Tale she has written two novels, A Dark Wind and The Fourth Gateway, she continues to pursue a lifelong interest in the mysteries of reality. Currently working on a guide to Totem Animals, the biography of an elder of the Western Mystery tradition and a novel about ancient North America, when not planning her writing on long dog-walks, she can most often be found tending her beautiful woodland chakra garden. |
 |
 |
Tipis line the disputed road project at Vallican, a poignant protest against the disruption of the unique, last ancient settlement of the Arrow Lakes people. This controversial action was significant in bringing the issue of the “extinct” tribe to public attention. |
Arrow Lakes pipe-carrier, Kay-Pe-Out (Patches of Snow), dancing with his granddaughter at the Inchelium camp-out, Colville Confederated Indian Reservation, Washington State, USA.
The author assisted this elder in the development of the pioneering cultural projects, When the River Ran Free and Coyote Dreams, to conserve traditional Native American knowledge, practice, lore and wisdom. |
 |
|
