tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062557314808556275.post-22534597223352509452007-07-13T11:48:00.000-07:002007-07-13T19:30:42.797-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fB-0lpNuBtI/RpfPX2ndQaI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Np-hwea0EUc/s1600-h/2bulls+fight+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fB-0lpNuBtI/RpfPX2ndQaI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Np-hwea0EUc/s320/2bulls+fight+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086762312843215266" /></a><br />Well, I'm joining the 21st Century by beginning my blog. I'm a writer who has spent most of my career writing science and nature books for children, but also do travel and food writing for adults. I want to use this blog to communicate with people interested in my life and my work. so here goes.<br /> My most recent published book is "The Buffalo and the Indians: A Shared Destiny," published by Clarion Books. My photographer, William Munoz, who took this photo, and I, have always had a special affinity for buffalo, and the relationship between these powerful animals and Plains Tribes has been going on for thousands of years. In the past, buffalo provided both physical and spiritual sustainance for the Indians. Then whites took over western North America and almost wiped out both the Indians and the buffalo. Today, many tribes are acquiring buffalo herds to help them reconnect with the natural world. This book gave us both the opportunity to get to know some wonderful tribal members and to learn more about Indian spiritual life. By the way, most Indians we know use that term to describe themselves rather than the term "Native American" which is considered correct in the general media.Dorothy Patenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04897049725319745306noreply@blogger.com