ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS'
Judie Aitken Page
DISTANT
ECHOES
Berkley
ISBN: 0-425-19211-3
September 2003
Reviewed By: Jennifer Hill
Judie
Aitken returns to the time travel genre with DISTANT ECHOES, and like her first
book, A LOVE BEYOND TIME, it is filled with a deep-rooted story sure to tug at
your emotions. I will warn you, however, that DISTANT ECHOES is the kind
of story that will make you think about things--the kinds of things that
occurred in this country under the guise of humanity. Its gritty and
powerful message will haunt you in that the Native American Indians are still
suffering today in the aftermaths of the atrocities that were heaped upon them
in the last century.
Jesse Spotted Horse has finally gotten the grant to do his documentary about the
Off Reservation Indian Schools. As a Lakota, he knows how important it is
to tell the story of the countless Indians, of all tribes, who were forced to go
these schools and give up their identity to fit in with the white man. His
grandmother was one of them and he especially wants to make her proud.
However, the guardian of the school that he has chosen, the Dubois Indian
School, has something to say about his film.
Kathleen Prescott isn’t about to let him come and make a mockery of her
family’s heritage. Her great- great-grandfather began this school and it
has been passed down through the years and now it rests on her shoulders as a
museum. When Kathleen agrees to the film, she has no idea that it entails
dressing up to play the part of a teacher at the school. With Jesse
portraying a Native American, they are thrown together by fate in more ways than
one. Instantly hurdled through time, they find themselves at the real
Dubois School some hundred and seventeen years ago. With Jesse having to live
his life as a Lakota student, Kathleen is forced to accept a teaching position
to help ensure their safety. What they find not only opens both their eyes, but
their hearts as well. Will they bridge their differences and be able to
return home, or will their identities and purpose be discovered?
Jesse is a strong, proud Lakota, so determined that he is right in his quest for
truth about the school. Kathleen is equally adamant about her great-
great-grandfather’s innocence in how the Indian children were treated or
mistreated. Jesse is a typical male of the twentieth century, but when he
goes to the late 19th century and makes a few discoveries, he quickly adapts and
changes even as he learns that there is more to a story than what is in the
books. Kathleen is an innocent, and somewhat recluse, spinster, who
blossoms in this book through sheer strength of having to endure what she faces.
Watching these two, who rubbed each other the wrong way at first, slowly warm up
to each other, then seeing them fall in love is very satisfying. The
romance between Jesse and Kathleen is shown in lots of small details, such as
the way he touches her with his eyes or the way she searches for him across the
room. The story itself has quite a few twists and turns, but it isn’t
really a mystery, as it is more about two people coming to their own awareness
of their prejudices against the other and leaving them behind in the past.
What I loved most about this book is the awareness that is brought to the
forefront to the reading public about a fraction of what the American Indian
endured in the last part of the 19th century. Of anyone in this country
that has the most right to complain about how his or her ancestors were treated,
the American Indian should be first on the list. The majority of American
Indians today still live on Reservations, and are living in below poverty
standards.
Ignoring history doesn’t make it go away. What we can do is learn from
our forefathers’ mistakes. A wise man once said, "Those who cannot
learn from history are doomed to repeat it." What a beautiful
and haunting romance from one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait for
her books to hit the shelves because I know I’ll be reading something I can
sink my teeth into. A very gifted voice in the contemporary Native
American genre, Judie Aitken delivers her most poignant romance to date.
Be sure to check out the interview with this talented author regarding this
book.
~~~
A
Roundtable Interview with
Judie Aitken
by Jennifer Hill-Russell
JR: Let's do a little background for any new readers who haven't read your
previous releases (yet). A LOVE BEYOND TIME was a labor of love for you,
was it not? How long after you wrote it did you have to wait before it was
picked up by a publisher?
JA: A LOVE BEYOND TIME had been completed about two months when I met my
editor at a conference sponsored by my RWA chapter. Within a month it was
in her hands. ALBT was published in 2000 and completely sold
through. Now it is only available through used book stores/dealers and
there aren't many there, either.
JR: The response to ALBT must have been overwhelming for you once it was
released. Were you surprised by how much people loved this book?
JA: Surprised doesn't quite cover my feelings – I suppose that
flabbergasted comes closer. A new writer, well new to the publishing
world, is always very apprehensive about how they will be accepted. I
couldn't have asked for a better reception and feel very blessed to have
received such a grand response to the book. ALBT also won numerous awards
including the prestigious HOLT Medallion for Excellence in Romantic Fiction, it
was a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award nominee for Best Historical Time
Travel, and spent 6 weeks on the Borders Best Sellers list.
JR: In this time travel romance (ALBT), the heroine, Ryan, goes back in
time to right before the Battle of the Little Big Horn, where she meets Wolf, a
Lakota warrior. Given the nature of this setting, how much time did you
spend researching the battle and what made you decide on this setting for ALBT?
JA: As a consummate student of Native American history, ethnographic
issues and societal practices, I had already accumulated quite a bit of
knowledge about the battle and the events that led up to it before beginning to
write the story. What research I did was fairly basic. I developed a
time line so that the days leading up to the battle were accurate and, of
course, a crash course in the Lakota language was involved as well. The
Battle of the Little Big Horn has raised the emotions of people on both sides of
the fight and it was these emotions and the ongoing results of the event that
made this setting perfect for the story.
JR: Your next book was completely contemporary. A PLACE CALLED HOME
is about a half Native American hero who fights to retain his land from greedy
land developers. What made you decide to switch gears and stay in the present?
JA: I wanted to show the struggles between the honor of heritage and the
intrusion of the modern world. Cody's story is all about discovering
that material possessions – those that have belonged to your family and become
part of your heritage – are not as important as being with the people you
love. This was a story line that lent itself to the contemporary genre
more than a time travel or historical. It was the only contemporary
book that was bought and published in Berkley's Seduction line.
JR: In your latest release, DISTANT ECHOES, you use different quotes at
the heading of each chapter, some from Native Americans, some from those who
were sent to these schools and some from the white people who were involved with
the schools. Most of them are heartbreaking to me. I can barely
stand it. How important was it to find the right quote to evoke the
reader's understanding of the treatment of the Native American's during this
time?
JA: Collecting the quotes for the beginning of each chapter turned out to
be a very difficult and emotional task. Some are over 100 years old and
others are less than ten years old, but all clearly show the wide separation
between the red and white worlds.
JR: I can't imagine being forced out of my home and shoved somewhere new.
Not only that, but being told that you can't speak your native language, you
can't wear your clothes, and everything you owned or had from your life was
taken and burned. They (the Indian students) were stripped of their
identity and forced to wear new clothes. Of all the atrocities that have
been committed against our fellow man in this country, I feel that the American
Indian has suffered the most and been repaid the least. To your knowledge,
have any of the tribes you've researched been paid any kind of restitution for
the crimes committed against them?
JA: I guess the answer to this question is that it depends which tribe or
who you are talking to. Yes, some have received monies from the government
but in many cases the money is still controlled by the government. In
other cases land allotments were made. Monetary allotments were also made
and many still receive small checks on a monthly basis. In Canada a
large portion of the North West Territories has been returned to the native
people. This area is now called Inuvit. Some restitution has been
made, and some tribes have even declined the money.
JR: Being part Cherokee myself, I love learning anything new about my
father's heritage. For others, is there any advice you can give on how one
can go about researching the Native American culture?
JA: If you are seeking your own heritage, there are many ways to go about
looking for your family. In the late 1800s the American government
conducted a census on the American Indians, which is referred to as the Dawes
Rolls. Today, many tribes use the Dawes to prove tribal status. If
your ancestor isn't listed in the Dawes, you can't claim tribal affiliation.
Degree of Indian blood varies per tribal acceptance. Some tribes require
the individual be no less than one quarter while others will accept much less.
Tribal offices also maintain detailed records and this is another place to
begin your search.
If your interest is just in learning about a specific tribe or aspect of the
culture, numerous books are available. The best place to find accurate and
trustworthy books is from publishers like Oklahoma or Nebraska University Press
or from dealers that specialize in Native American books.
JR: The Indian schools were run by people who believed they were helping
the American Indian assimilate into white society. What school did you
research for your book and what did you learn about them?
JA: I did a great deal of research on Carlisle Indian Industrial School in
Pennsylvania, Riverside in Anadarko Oklahoma and others, including Red Cloud,
Haskell, and Hampton. I also looked into some of Jesuit-run schools such
as Spanish, which was in Ontario Canada. I was very fortunate to have
access to over 300 of the newsletters put out by the Indian students at Carlisle
throughout the period of my book. This helped me a great deal in some of
the details of the story.
Degrees of discipline, curriculum and recreational activities were different
from school to school. Not all were bad – not all were good.
Although a great many of the students were taken from their families by force,
in many cases, families did volunteer to have their children go to these
schools. Quanah Parker, the famous and highly respected war chief of the
Comanche people, insisted that his children go to Carlisle. A
progressive thinker, he knew that his people would need the same education as
the whites in order for the Comanche to survive.
JR: DISTANT ECHOES tells the story of Jesse Spotted Horse, a Native
American who is trying to make a documentary about the Indian Schools of the
late 1800s. He clearly has his own opinions about the schools from his own
heritage and life. How much of your own personal experience and family
background did you base Jesse's life on?
JA: Jesse's life is very typical of a lot of people who grew up on
reservations. Family history plays a very important role in the molding of
their lives. Many of the stories I've been told by our old people who were
at some of these schools, went into shaping the story. It is interesting
to realize that Indian people are very aware of their ancestors, who they were
and what they did. Few white people can say as much without checking into
all the genealogy information they can find.
JR: I'm very sorry about the loss of your mother. What was the most
important thing she taught you about your heritage?
JA: Perhaps her teachings can best be described in one simple phrase:
self-respect. She was also a great teacher. When she married she
moved away from her Comanche people but she never forgot who she was. She
spent most of her adult life working on Indian issues. She was Director of
the American Indian Center in St. Louis for over 10 years and following that was
the Assistant Director of Indian Affairs for the State of Illinois.
Throughout all of her life, she shared her Indian culture with those who were
interested in learning. She worked diligently to enable the Native
American inmates in the federal penal systems to be allowed to practice their
religions and she was recognized by her Comanche tribe as an honored elder.
JR: In DISTANT ECHOES, Kathleen is the descendant of the founder of the
school that Jesse plans to film. She has her own thoughts, which
completely contradict Jesse's story. How important was it to give both
sides of the story?
JA: Ah…great question. Kathleen's view of the schools was
unrealistic, but so was Jesse's. Kathleen's life was totally absorbed by
DuBois Indian School and her determination to keep the honor of the school.
Jesse's determination to tell what he perceived as the truth was just as
stubborn. But it took both of them working together to discover the truth
– to discover who was right and who was wrong.
JR: What do you feel would be the best way to preserve our American Indian
heritage?
JA: Seek the truth. Show respect. Enjoy the differences
between the cultures. Read. Learn with an open mind. Put
prejudice aside. Put stereotypes out of your mind. Be tolerant.
JR: Have the living conditions on the reservations improved any over the
course of the last century? Is there anything our government can do to improve
these conditions?
JA: There have been improvements, and depending on which reservation
you're referring to; it may look no different than a middle class neighborhood.
But, there are still totally impoverished communities. Suicide, murder and
drug abuse is on the rise and the poverty level is way below the national
median. Education in self-governance is an excellent place for the
government to begin helping the tribes.
JR: If there is one thing you would like the reader to know after reading
DISTANT ECHOES, what would that be?
JA: Many wonderful things have come to the white world from the Indians.
The idea and format of confederation came from the Iroquois people. Many
medicines we use today are based on knowledge gained from Native peoples.
Cities, states and rivers have been given Indian names. Sports teams,
although some find this insulting, are given Indian names. Certain foods
that grace your tables came from Indian foods. Assimilation has happened
not only from red to white, but white to red. But as people we are
different in many, many ways. Respect our differences, understand the
pride Indians take in their culture, allow them their religious beliefs – we
are all God's creations and family.
JR: You are also an artist and some of your work is displayed on your
website. Do you have any artwork for the buying public and how could one
purchase some of your work?
JA: Unfortunately my writing has been taking up a great deal of my
painting time but I occasionally get out the brushes. My work is available
by contacting me – my e-mail address is on my website. I have a couple
of paintings in limited edition prints and will always consider taking
commissions.
JR: I thank you so much for talking with me and being our Author of the
Month at Roundtable Reviews. I hope that the readers will gain some
insight to your work and learn a little about the Native American culture.
I look forward to picking up the next Judie Aitken book – and hope it is soon!
JA: Jennifer, many thanks to you and Roundtable Reviews for inviting me to
be your Author of the Month, and thank you for your insightful questions.
It is the readers that keep writers inspired and it is through the gracious
words, such as those in your review of DISTANT ECHOES that keep my fingers on
the keyboard. Much success with your new website and again, thank you, thank
you, thank you!!!
Roundtable Reviews design is created by Crystal Cloud Graphics