Native Echoes ― Listening to the Spirit of the Land

DESCRIPTION From the grandeur of the Great Plains to the solitude of the northern woods, from the intensity of a summer storm to the quiet redemption of a fresh blanket of snow, Kent Nerburn's new book, "Native Echoes," pays homage to the power of the land to shape our hearts and spirits. An Ojibwe elder once counseled Nerburn to "always teach by stories, because stories lodge deep in the heart." Using skills learned from Native storytellers as well as a deep reverence for the world's spiritual traditions, Nerburn takes us to an Ojibwe burial, down lonely winter roads, and into landscapes where trees have presence and the earth is made alive by the mystical power of water and light. "Native Echoes" is a stark, poetic work that honors both Native American traditions and our western way of thinking and believing. NAPRA Review calls it a "beautiful book that will touch not only those who find Spirit in Native American paths, but anyone who has felt the presence of something powerful beyond the known."

Kent Nerburn has been called "one of America's living spiritual teachers" (Spirituality and Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys) and "one of the few writers who can respectfully bridge the gap between Native and non-Native cultures" (Harper Collins publishers). Author Louise Erdrich has called his work "storytelling with a greatness of heart." Twice winner of the Minnesota Book award, Kent has authored 16 books on spirituality and Native American subjects, including the trilogy, "Neither Wolf nor Dog," "The Wolf at Twilight," and "The Girl who Sang to the Buffalo"; "Small Graces, Simple Truths," and "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace." He holds a Ph.d. with distinction from Graduate Theological Union and the University of California at Berkeley and has lived and worked among Native American communities for three decades. He and his wife, Louise Mengelkoch, and their elderly yellow Lab, Lucie, now live near Portland, Oregon after 30 years among the pines and lakes of northern Minnesota.