Odd People: Andapu Oyate

Shirley Bahlmann’s Odd People is a delightful departure from the dusty tomes of history. Breathing life into each of her historical events, Bahlmann gives us a look at what the participants may have been feeling at the time their encounters with each other occurred. —Blaine M. Yorgason, Author of The Windwalker, Charlie’s Monument , and From One Tattered Angel, with Love Imagine traveling thousands of weary miles only to find at the end of your journey a wild place inhabited by strange nomads wearing animal skins and feathers and living a savage and primitive lifestyle.

Now change places and imagine having your home invaded by a group of pale-faced people wearing bizarre clothing, speaking gibberish, and preparing food in ways you’ve never seen before. Using historical documents, family histories, out-of-print books, and oral accounts, Shirley Bahlmann brings the Old West to life with stories told from the perspective of both the newcomers and the Native Americans. “It is my wish,” she writes, “that all who read these accounts, whether they’re familiar with the stories or not, will find value in them and use the life lessons they teach to better their own lives and the lives of others.” Now and then we all need to walk in someone else’s moccasins. Shirley Bahlmann gives us a chance to do just that.