About the Book

The Sioux and their allies, the Cheyenne, call the 1800s Plains Wars The Circle of Fire. It proved to be a brutal era for the Cheyenne and the Sioux Nations as the United States Army fought to secure all Indians onto reservations, making room for government interests. Today, these memories continue to haunt the oral histories and the memories of the elders. Now as he travels to basic training, Alfred wears the uniform of his ancestors’ former enemy, a member of the new warriors, the 163rd Regiment of the 41^st Division, bound for the War in the Pacific.

During jungle training in the Sand Hills near Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, Alfred falls in love with Helene, the daughter of a South Sea Island couple who have horses for hire. The horses connect him to his great horse culture of the “Fighting Cheyenne.” In a war torn world, love and horses are an island refuge.  On Christmas Eve, 1942, the 163rd departs Queensland for the war in New Guinea.  Their daughter, Evelyn Stella, is born while he is there. 

Because Evelyn Stella’s skin is fairer than the skin of other Island children, the community vows never to tell her the name of the American Indian soldier who loved her mother; they are fearful that Evelyn may be whisked away by Australian authorities and placed in an institution to become part of the  “Stolen Generation.” Evelyn Stella vows that one day, she will find him.

Nearing the end of his life, only Evelyn’s Uncle Ben remembers Evelyn’s father’s name, “His name is Little Sun and he is a Red Indian.” 

The trail leading to Alfred Little Sun has not been easy, but the family never thought of surrendering.  It has taken over 59 years for her to kneel at his grave in the Birney Cemetery on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. She is the only daughter of Alfred Little Sun, his Cheyenne Daughter.

Theirs a story of secrecy, intrigue, bravery, and honor.

About the Author

Dr. Lori Lambert is an enrolled member of the Abenaki Nation and a descendent of Mi’kmaq tribal members and French Canadians.  She has 25 years of teaching experiences at the elementary and university levels, extensive curriculum design experience, and 15 years of distance education experience in online learning, satellite courses, and cable television. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.  More recently, she was awarded the 2001 Excellence in Online Teaching Award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at the 8^th Annual Asynchronous Learning Conference.  At the College level, Lori has taught courses in health, anatomy, health science, native studies, pharmacology, natural history, geography, geology, meteorology, ethics, aquatic ecology, and curriculum development.  At the elementary level she taught health and physical education, gymnastics, fencing, swimming, and tennis.  While living in Philadelphia Lori taught for 14 years at the graduate level in Environmental Science Education, Acadia University. 

     She holds a diploma in nursing from Cambridge Teaching Hospital, Harvard University; a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education/Therapeutic Recreation from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a Master of Arts in Education with a focus in Environmental Science Education; a Ph.D. Medical Ecology: Arctic Studies from the Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, Ohio; a Post Doctorate Certificate from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in Distributed learning and Technology. 

     Dr. Lambert is a member of the E-Learning Team at Salish Kootenai Tribal College on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana where she has trained over 100 faculty in designing online education.  She is a much sought after conference presenter and is internationally known as a researcher and lecturer and has presented in Australia, Finland, Norway, Canada, and Russia.  She is the author of numerous articles and three books: Through the Northern Looking: Breast Cancer Stories told by Northern Native Women published by National League for Nursing, 1996; Keepers of the Central Fire: Issues in Ecology for Indigenous Peoples published by Jones & Bartlett in 2000; Heart of the Salmon, Spirit of the People: Ethnicity, Pollution and Cultural Loss.  (2002). 1st Books Library.

Dr. Lambert lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation with her husband, Dr. Frank Tyro   and their tribe of Siberian Huskies.