Publisher's Synopsis
A father and his young daughter set out to learn the truth about California's ancient island-dwelling People, especially the real-life woman fictionalized as Karana in Scott O'Dell's beloved novel Island of the Blue Dolphins. That endearing soul became the last of her kind after witnessing the bloody massacre of her tribe. She then suffered 18 years of isolation on her cold and merciless island. This investigation of her life and the legacy of her People inadvertently triggers a battle among academics and Indigenous Peoples with world-wide implications. Bitter conflicts arise as evidence suggests that archaeologists and powerful institutions are manipulating data in order to continue exhuming and warehousing human remains once entombed on the real "Island of the Blue Dolphins." Their challengers are historically-ignored indigenous tribes, which simply wish to rebury their ancestors' bones, in accordance with their faith, so that their souls can rejoin their families in heaven. Woven together within this saga are data from church records, court papers, ship logs and dozens of other historic and "scientific" documents. Likewise, and with equal reverence, included are oral accounts, traditional songs, and religious beliefs of tribal elders. This uniquely inclusive approach provides the source of new information about the real "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and its remarkable heritage.
