Thursday marks the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
“Totems of September,” a historical novel by Robin LaDue and Mary Kay Voss, involves the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, and the lives of three families touched by the tragedy.
However, it’s not what you might expect.
The book is about the first responders to the tragedy and the aftermath of that day. It loops in the spiritual importance to Plains Indians of Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, the boarding schools that took Northwest Indian children away from their families, the post-traumatic stress suffered by war veterans and the spiritual beliefs of American Indians.
Whew.
But it works.
LaDue, 60, a well-known clinical psychologist who lives in Cle Elum and on Whidbey Island, is the author of the award-winning “Journey through the Healing Circle” books and video. She is a member of the Taidnapam band of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
Voss, who grew up in Texas and lives in Mill Creek, is LaDue’s financial adviser. A public speaker and journalist, Voss also served as the preliminary editor of LaDue’s factual-fictional stories, published last year by a Bothell publisher.
When LaDue presented her first chapters, Voss was shocked.
“I must say that many of our history books have been whitewashed, pun intended,” Voss said. “I knew nothing about the Indian boarding schools. I became interested in the book because I feel strongly that we need to own up to our history. I certainly look at things much differently since my collaboration with Robin.”
LaDue’s grandfather Roy LaDue was educated at the Cushman Indian Boarding School in Puyallup. There his hair was cut, he was forced to stop speaking his native language and he struggled to s urvive the loss of his culture.
Roy’s daughter (and Robin’s aunt) Helen Lucile LaDue passed the state bar exam on the same day that Robin received her doctoral degree at Washington State University. Part of “Totems” reflects on a trip Robin and her aunt took to see the Crazy Horse mountain carving in South Dakota and Devil’s Tower, a sacred icon of Plains Indian tribes, in Wyoming.
They were on their way home to Western Washington when the jets struck the World Trade Center twin towers.
“It actually took a long time to do all the historical research for the book,” LaDue said. “And Mary Kay kept us on track with a timeline because, together, the main characters’ lives span more than 100 years.”
The book is written from a decidedly native and spiritual perspective, LaDue said.
“We’ve had to fight for our culture, voting rights and treaty rights,” she said. “Even today, the racism we encounter is mind blowing.”
People have told LaDue that the book is visual and realistic.
“It’s a thinking-person’s book,” LaDue said. “It’s not fluff. It sticks with people. And ultimately it speaks of healing, hope and lives that connect.”
The book was a finalist in the 2014 National Indie Excellence Book Award competition.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
Book signing
LoRobin LaDue and Mary Kay Voss plan to sign copies of “Totems of September” on Dec. 6 at the Barnes &Noble shop in Bellevue. Learn more about the book at septembertotems.com, amazon.com or goodreads.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
