I would like to thank the many Native American people who offered me their friendship and hospitality and who freely shared their knowledge and wisdom with me. Some of them are specifically mentioned by name in the text. If I were to attempt to mention everyone here I would run the risk of inadvertently leaving out the name of a friend or someone who helped me. I would, however, like to mention three people who have been particularly important to me and ask them to stand as representatives for all—they are Leroy Little Bear, Ernie Benedict, and Sa'ke'j Henderson.