Douglas Graney

Indian Summer Douglas Graney

Capturing the spirit of the Native American plight, Indian Summer chronicles a modern Apache trek from Seminole reservations in Florida to an Apache reservation in New Mexico. Inspired by an ancestral calling, Ben Henry, the protagonist leads over one hundred fellow Apaches halfway across modern America on horseback to the land of their grandfathers. Along the way they encounter political hostility, racism and violence, which parallels what their ancestors experienced over a century before. Glenda Ives, a reporter with the Miami Tribune, is able to change how many people feel about what the Apaches are attempting, and becomes romantically involved with Ben Henry. She uncovers a government plot to stop the Apaches. While some of the story is factual and may surprise readers, it is a fictional adventure involving the strengths and weaknesses of the human condition. Subplots of love, Native American rights, coming of age, spiritual awakening and hidden agendas are carried throughout the story. How the Apaches overcome and prevail in their arduous journey against overwhelming odds against the backdrop of modern America is related with different points of view by characters in the story. In short, it is a story of man's struggle against adversity.