The Gathering — J.R. Freeman

George Chapawee is a 16-year-old Lakota Sioux. In 1937 South Dakota, how well he can resolve the conflicts between his heritage and the desperation he feels for a life and future beyond the reservation are not easily balanced. As a call boy on a project that is decimating the sacred grounds of his people, the Indian youth works, hoping to learn a skill that will provide opportunities that otherwise would not be forthcoming.
Then the group arrives. One day they are there and George is faced with a puzzle that will stay with him for a lifetime. There are no answers he can pry from the group of six who materialize on top of the mountain. He knows there never will be.
George is intuitive and senses a collective essence to all but one of the teenagers. He names them with what he knows is the power the spirits have empowered him with: Two Suns Rising, Clapping Hands, Girl Of Many Words, Maiden Teaser and One Who Soars. And, George Chapawee knows, Boy Who Travels is the one responsible.
An unexpected explosion, a foreboding forest filled with night creatures, history and heritage and nature of the people who forged their way across the nation, leave Kyle and Hilly disturbed and wondering if American pride is really nothing but a fallacy.