Synopsis
Hawkdancer is Joshua's first novel, followed by the companion novel, Clousburst; a dynamically driven
story set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula pristine wildreness, with journies into Northern Wisconsin and elsewhere around the Great Lakes region.
Watch in full screen for a spectacular view
Hawkdancer Cloudburst Birch Clump Portfolio
Three books by Joshua Seidl, SSP.
Birch Clump Portfolio, is a collection of Joshua's short stories and poetry. All three books are expressively
illustrated by North Country artist, Kathy Johnson and edited by Charlie Browne.
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Hawk Dancer, © 2004
519 pages, illustrated
Two formats, 2 prices:
Original soft cover
ISBN 1-4137-4103-7 List, $34.95
Or → new economical PAperback
ISBN 978-1-4512-5312-8 for $9.95
Five years in the making and well researched, Hawk Dancer is Joshua Seidl’s first published book. It’s
about the relationships of three cultures: Native, White and Métis in modern times.
This novel is centered in the Village of Birch Clump nestled at the shores of Green Bay (northern portion of Lake
Michigan) within the pristine wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The story’s time line is between 1934 and 1978 with a brief catch
up to 2003. It mingles Métis (mixed race) with Anishinabe (Native American) and Euro-American cultures. In a sense, it is a modern
Guadeloupian accounting of Los Tres Culturas of the 1530’s in Mexico.
There, as in Joshua’s books, the futures of three major cultures and their religious traditions are significantly
fused into a new society. Each group maintains what they can of their cultural inheritance amidst long term variance with each other while
realizing their fate will never permit them to ever again be separate of each other. Seekers of peace and justice rise up with supposed
solutions such as enculturation, assimilation, and segregation along with various movements that eventually evolve into the new theory
called inculturation that we have today.
What is inculturation? Is it the answer we need, can it work or will some other miracle of social
science eventually replace inculturation is anyone’s guess. The author, for now, attempts to present practical applications of inculturation
as the better course.
Dynamically driven, Hawk Dancer respects family moral values in reading, but without being soft, cuddly and syrupy
sweet. There are better moments of life, marriage, love and walks in the woods. Then there is the abrupt crack of flesh meeting flesh
provoking a fisted duel. There is a cross over the Chapel and the burned remains from a cross burning on the lawn.
The Cure is the short story that spun into two novels encompassing dozens of people with nearly 800 pages between the two
books. The Cure, predicted to become a Christmas tradition occurred in a single night of December 23/24, 1957. The first of the two epic
novels that followed brings the readers through World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Civil rights Movement and culminates in the repeal of the
infamous American Indian Termination and Relocation era, (1948-1971,) and the passage of the American Indian Freedom of Religion Law passed
on August 11, 1978, more than 30 years ago.
Characters in the novel prove that Birch Clump is not just some obscure village as they observe or even participate in the taking of
Alcatraz, support the birth of the American Indian Movement (AIM), follow Martin Luther King, and develop the first ever American Indian
Order of Friars and Sisters, the main tool by which Brother Joshua demonstrates real and practical means of inculturation and the promotion
of Indigenous cultures within the main line Churches in America.
This experiment, or better put, experience is based on Number 72.1 of the Constitutions of the Society of St. Paul, of which Joshua
is a professed member that reads: "In those countries where circumstances warrant it our activity will promote indigenous culture as well."
The innovative, yet practical means by which Joshua conceptualizes that line from those constitutions and into
these books and his web sites
is such a bold and leading example of what Pope John Paul II advocated for the rights and dignity of Indigenous Peoples through inculturation
and drawing from Vatican II documents and other supporting documents from the Pontifical council on Justice and Peace and resolutions drafted
by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that there was a momentary movement to expel the author. He survived in good standing and
so does his books.
Fiction does not warrant or require an imprimatur; yet a number of respected theologians of moderate to conservative standing have
expressed their approvals and recommendations for these books.
† July 18, 2008 – I located the following quote from the minuets of Our Lady of the Angles Regional council Meeting,
November 28, 2005:
_________________________
Highly Recommended:
Bishop Clark also recommended that the Regional Council members read “Hawk Dancer”, a novel by Joshua Seidl which gives an
experience on the Native American culture in the Catholic community in this country.
L.A. Archdiocese
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Cloudburst, © 2008 † The village of Birch Clump is one of those quaint little country towns where every one knows everyone and helps each other.
ISBN 1-60563-656-8
280 pages
List $24.95
Discounts available
Cloudburst overlaps the first novel’s time frame concentrating a bit more on the late 50’s through the 1970’s and then
carries on in a more complete manner the journeys of the main protagonists up to March 25, 2008.
Actual events are adjusted to fit into the lives of the residents and friends of the Village of Birch Clump keeping these novels
within the genre of historical fiction. That is, based on real history but molded to a fictional setting. A pseudo-liberal
pastor invites and then ousts family members of the Chief of the Tribe surrounding a Californian mission from the hallowed grounds.
Candidates to priesthood are courted by seminary directors in a demonstration to show openness to cultural diversity; but those same
seminarians are cast out when they act upon the invitation to inculturate their traditions within the seminary and over all church
structure. Much of this novel shows the modern history of organizations taking three steps forward and two steps backwards in the
dance to advance inculturation, or to even comprehend what inculturation is. Thus, the author admits to over all progress since the
legend began in 1934.
We learn, for the first time in this part two book, the name of the Religious Order of Priests and Brothers and the Order for
Sisters invented for these novels. It is the Native American Franciscan Friars (or Sisters) of the Congregation of St. James; CSJ or
Jamians for short. Author Joshua Seidl, SSP even went so far as to set up a web site and post a practical Rule and Constitution for
the religious order that he had Jacob Gibwanasi (Hawk Dancer) lay the foundation for in his novels.
The author takes greater liberties to weave concepts from the speeches of Pope John Paul II and from other Church and modern
day social studies on cultural diversity into a more down to earth folk setting delivered by Job and by Jacob and his robed wizards.
Even the Baby Boomer Teens, Randy, Dean and others stylishly sporting long hair, tie-dyed t-shirts, hippy beads, sandals and testing the
durance of their skin-tight denim jeans,
advance the theological concepts in their own generational jabber and in what ever manner they are able to interpret these marvelously
new insights.
Grant and Teddy Roosevelt inspired St. Katherine Drexel to form and send out an order of missionary sisters to make the recently
conquered Native American Nations (late 1880’s) obey the USA government. Odd or unfortunate as that reasoning was, the word, study and
practice of inculturation had geminated by the time of her death in the 1950’s. This volume relives the desperate period of the American
Indian Termination and Relocation and how people survived or mortally succumbed to the government action to cut off food, medicine and
heating fuel from Reservations, and even terminated solemn treaty recognition of many Indigenous Tribal Nations without recourse to
lawfully mandated government to government negotiations.
Fifteen year old Randy ate a few too many oil soaked French fries and gallantly fainted while attempting to extend a hand to
Trudy as they disembarked from a Ferris Wheel at Michigan’s State Fair in Escanaba. A pair of bored pre-teens livens up a gloomy wake
service with their fists. Prayers of gratitude for our mosquito relatives bring about a few chuckles and need to be explained. A
prediction is given that soon the Condor and the Eagle will fly together and a great peace will come about. Taino Elder Xotchitil
and Sister Abigail sang: I’m Brown, Ancient and Proud.
Jacob delivered his famous Broken Tree Tips speech comparing the current condition of Tribal cultural identity with
that of a giant pine tree whose tip was snapped off in a thunderstorm. The parent tree lives, but does not grow, while the young tip
representing the younger generation falls to the ground, dries out, turns orange then brown and is dissolved into the soil. He points
out the new seedlings that fell from the growth stunted parent tree and acknowledges that as desperate as things might appear, there
is hope.
Will the shade of the other tall trees still growing permit enough light to peer through to the ancient virgin forest floor so these
new seedlings can grow?
Time will tell.
______________________________
Well, most of the time its that way.
(←) Left is the results of
one of the less
amiacable neighborly acts in Cloudburst.
Next column: (→) Amos runs into a bit of trouble.
Sgt. T. Douglas is credited with providing information on the characters in these novels. Drawing would be of him around 1978, age 27.
Read a page from the book about Sgt. T. Douglas and see an enlargement. Clic pic →
Every visitor counts
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Birch Clump Portfolio
ISBN: 978-1-4489-5950-1
Published: March 2010
168 pages, List: $24.95
Discounts available
This is a collection of short stories and poetry by Joshua Seidl. Most are North Country influenced. The series of
Jason Stories is about a diminutive teen of the 1960’s, a bit on the quiet side that gets himself into some interesting little jams.
◊
Paul, a young recovering alcoholic, gives his amusing and somewhat sarcastic observations of a bunch of losers in a Government
relief work project around 1978.
◊ A fugitive is spooked by his past.
◊ A father receives a letter from his son fighting a war in The Gulf.
This collection of short stories and poems is the newest book by Joushua that was published: March 2010.
Read more about this latest book: BC Portfolio, and about a 4th book in the works,
Road Kill Menu. I doubt that will be the actual title of the 4th book, but there's something behind that inspiring a next book.
______________________________
† Yooper stuff by Joshua:
The author around 1981/83 (age 30/32, -65 #s ago)
Has much realy changed? Left is a youth of the 1970's with headband, long hair and close tapered jeans with flared cuffs.
Right is an Emo of the current era, funny long hair,
and skinny jeans.
Iggi, the class Birch Clump Highschool wiz kid mentioned in Hawk dancer,
and below is Jig: 
, the kid from surinam who moved to BC in 1968 or 69.
Amos, a character in one of the Jason stories. 1969, age 18.
Partial Site Index
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| Full SITE MAP | Synopsis of each page |
| Reviews | Media Reviews |
| About us | About the Author, Illustrator and the Editor |
| Read a selection | The little christmas story that grew to become two novels |
| Contact Us | Email, post, phone |
Joshua Space Live For those who like that blgging stuff, visit my Windows Space.
These books can be classified as: Historical Fiction, Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Tri-Cultural: Including Native American, Metis and Euro-American cultures, Christian Book, Catholic Novel, Family Book, etc.