 Cover by Teri Adams
TOTEM Book 1 of the Totem Chronicles TOSH CLOUDTREE is a nineteen-year-old art student living in the shadow of his overachieving brother. Tosh loves his brother enough to follow him 1000 miles to Seattle, but couldn’t care less about politics or “native rights.” Tosh is not a traditional Indian, preferring kung fu movies and comic books to Hopi ceremonials and pow wows, so when he starts having vision-like nightmares he doesn’t know what to do except turn them into a series for art class. But Tosh discovers you can’t keep a bad dream down. Peaceful intentions turn riot and Tosh’s world crumbles at the end of a police baton. He compromises to save lives, while navigating the line between taking a stand and becoming a terrorist. A vision leads him home to Hopi, where his grandfather and the elders agree: the prophesied time of cleansing is at hand. It’s time to initiate a Totem to protect the Hopi . . . they just don’t believe Tosh has what it takes. Which is just fine with Tosh. But when the spirits call Tosh and his friends, they have to answer. Now if he can just convince his elders—while avoiding both militant Indians and corrupt FBI agents—he might actually survive long enough to realize his power, save his brother, and maybe even get the girl.  Cover by Shawn Taylor
TOTEM SPIRITS Book 2 of the Totem Chronicles TOSH CLOUDTREE flees the law leaving behind the aftermath of death and destruction on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. His mission: travel all the way up to Seattle to rescue Calvin, his comatose brother, from the militant Native Reclamation Movement. Unfortunately, Tosh rides with Gulf war veteran, Uncle Dino, in his antique truck, max speed 55 MPH. On this spiritual odyssey, Tosh must come to terms with his new role as Kaletaka, protector of the people, while the animal spirits he meets bestow gifts that make him a living Totem. With Calvin under the control of the Two-Hearts shaman, Chilehee, Tosh must quickly learn to follow the path, train in new totem powers, and be wary of psychic attacks. Eototo, the kachina chief, warns Tosh that another sacred mask of power is awakened. The time of cleansing comes. Chased by the FBI, hated by militants, and separated from his girlfriend (who is occasionally possessed by a spirit of righteous vengeance), Tosh knows he must stop the Destroyer mask and the Two-Hearts to heal Calvin, and he’s hopelessly outmatched. |
TOTEM - Setting and Synopsis
Though they suffered under Spanish rule and spiritual persecution for many years and more recent forced "American" boarding school education in the last century, the Hopi never budged from their rocky perch atop the three mesas where their villages are located still. Permanent residency has its advantages, especially when secret masks of power lay hidden nearby.
Tosh Cloudtree is Hopi--well, half-Hopi. The village will never let him forget his father came from another tribe in the Seattle area and that he is the son of an outsider. Yet somehow Tosh's overachieving brother, Calvin, is revered as a future leader of the village. Well, whatever. Tosh wants to be a famous artist and dream about other worlds…at least until his actual dreams take a sudden turn toward prophetic visions.
Read the unpublished 5 page original prologue of Totem
Tosh Cloudtree is Hopi--well, half-Hopi. The village will never let him forget his father came from another tribe in the Seattle area and that he is the son of an outsider. Yet somehow Tosh's overachieving brother, Calvin, is revered as a future leader of the village. Well, whatever. Tosh wants to be a famous artist and dream about other worlds…at least until his actual dreams take a sudden turn toward prophetic visions.
Read the unpublished 5 page original prologue of Totem
Seattle, Washington.
Tosh Cloudtree's story begins in the great city of Seattle.Though raised Hopi, Tosh and his brother seek out the home of their father who long abandoned them. His Skokomish tribe is nearby and their ancestral land is being threatened by a corporation and a government waste removal program.
Tosh Cloudtree's story begins in the great city of Seattle.Though raised Hopi, Tosh and his brother seek out the home of their father who long abandoned them. His Skokomish tribe is nearby and their ancestral land is being threatened by a corporation and a government waste removal program.
Occidental Park, in historic Pioneer Square, is the site where a peace rally brings out massive movement and the riot cops...
...and so they become embroiled in a peaceful protest that takes a turn...
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Tosh's dreams began in the Northwest, near the cold water and the deep woods. This was not his home, but the land of his father's people and where he decided to enroll at the Seattle Art Institute.
Environmental destruction threatens Native American land. Though Tosh doesn't care for politics, his older brother Calvin does ...
Seattle's massive bay, Puget Sound, is the sight of Tosh's awakening
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The Hopi Reservation, Northern Arizona
Tosh and his brother grew up with his mother's Hopi tribe, on the mesas of Hopi. But these barren rocks contain more than meets the eye, as Tosh learns.
Tosh and his brother grew up with his mother's Hopi tribe, on the mesas of Hopi. But these barren rocks contain more than meets the eye, as Tosh learns.
On the tip of Second Mesa, Tosh must reconcile his tribe and beliefs.
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Tosh's village is old but also strong and has withstood the test of time.
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But the Hopi left more than just markings out in the desert...
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San Francisco Mountains, or what the Hopi call "Nuva'tuk-iya-ovi" which is the home of the kachina (katsina) spirits.
Legends and Lore
The Hopi have a rich, complex, and multi-layered spirituality. During research for Totem, I was astounded how deep the theology ran, and how interwoven it was into every-day life.