Native Echoes: Listening to the Spirit of the Land

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 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.''

About the Author :
Kent Nerburn is a sculptor and award-winning author of sixteen books. He has been writing about Native American history and culture for almost thirty years, and is the founder and director of 'Project Preserve', working on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation helping students collect memoires of tribal elders. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Review :
''Nerburn documents his life deeply, showing his belief in the spiritual world of rocks, trees, winds, birds, animals and humans. He deals repeatedly with the buffalo, that age-old symbol of Indian dependence on Nature, from discussions with a buffalo rancher to his discovery of an old buffalo sculpture that has been robbed of its spirituality by a fence that symbolizes the way Western society makes sacred things merely 'important.' ...a 'poetry of thought' that begins and ends with a belief in the spiritual...'' -- David Marcou, St. Paul Pioneer Press ''...a collection of mini-essays sculpted to reveal the profound impact of nature and 'place' on the human spirit, and idea central to American Indian philosophy and religion... In 25 meditations, Nerburn shares discoveries that changed him forever: a rock shaped like the Madonna holding her child; a forlorn trailer home on a remote Minnesota highway; a perfect dawn. It is a white man's journey with an Indian road map, emphasized by aboriginal songs, sayings and chants that are quoted at the start of each essay... His promise, as hopeful as it is compelling, is that, if we take the Indian cue to listen to the land, to the primal forces of nature that shaped their homeland as well as ours, together we will find common ground; together we will hear the voice of God.'' ---- Larry Oakes, Minneapolis Star Tribune ''In this beautifully written book, Kent Nerburn has assembled a group of poignant and poetic essays... The author of Letters to My Son is an ardent believer in the spiritual practice of listening. From the Ojibwe tribe with whom he has worked, he learned how to ''find a message in a thunderstorm or a promise in the passage of an eagle overhead.'' The voice of God speaks through the land. Nerburn also practices the spiritual crafts of attention, being present, and wonder. He writes about an old pine tree that is a friend. He sees snow as ''a prayer shawl, donned upon the land, '' and he senses a wildness he can't control in an encounter with a buffalo. As the title of the book suggests, Nerburn has opened up his heart and all of his senses to appreciate the poetics of place, the changing of the seasons, and the Native American path of walking in beauty.'' -- Frederic Brussat, Spiritual Literacy ''The land speaks to us through the voices of Native peoples, plant and animal life, and natural forces such as weather, as well as its geography, rhythms and even its darkness according to nature lover and visionary, Kent Nerburn, whose poetic voice touches our heart... Nerburn helps us to realize that there is a common core of experience we share and that the primary bond linking all of us is our sacred Earth.'' -- Kathy Juline, Science of Mind ''...Nerburn eases his way from conversation to quiet metaphor, aiming toward poetry and even prayer.'' -- Jeanette Batz, The Riverfront Times ''Nerburn takes the reader on a quiet journey, a worship service in the wilderness and gives us a place to retreat with each chapter. Nerburn describes such things as finding a Madonna sculpted by naturure in a rock.--Gail Gabrielson, Fargo Forum