Author Description

Part current events and part myth, this storybook was inspired by the 2016 protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Reservation. It imagines the unseen forces at play in that historic gathering; portraying the mythical beings that come to the aid of the Water Protectors in their fight against the Black Snake. Ochumaré the Rainbow Serpent, the two-spirit orisha, is summoned by the triple goddesses of the Americas (Oya, Pachamama, and White Buffalo Woman) to defend the sacred and restore ecological balance. Written by scholar of U.S. myth and Culture, Dr. Kat Williams, and featuring original illustrations by José Anguiano. Mni Wiconi, Water is Life. Ochumaré Takes On the Black Snake is the first story in the forthcoming series: New Myths for the New Paradigm.