Frances Washburn

Opening July 4, 1969, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, The Red Bird All-Indian Traveling Band follows a country western band through a summer of gigs in this novel that is equal parts mystery and community chronicle. At its core is the band’s sassy lead singer and guitarist, Sissy Roberts, who must unravel a mysterious death as well as her own future in this story set in Indian Country on the verge of historic changes.

Billy J. Stratton’s critical examination of Mary Rowlandson’s 1682 publication, The Soveraignty and Goodness of God, reconsiders the role of the captivity narrative in American literary history and national identity. With pivotal new research into Puritan minister Increase Mather’s influence on the narrative, Stratton calls for a reconsideration of past scholarly work on the genre.