1972 PCHS Graduate, Ruth Ann Parcel Ridgeway, Publishes Book
1972 PCHS graduate, Ruth Ann (Parcel) Ridgeway has published the following book which is being sold at Amazon.com. She currently teaches on an Indian reservation in South Dakota and lives in Missouri when school is not in session.
Mahpiya's Gift
Over one hundred years ago, there was a magnificent gift given to a Native American people who had given up all hope. The tale is told of an Indian village that is starving. The tribe camped out too long on the Niobrara River in the center of Nebraska Territory, and is now paying the price. A young mother sends her nine-year-old son out on a mission to bring back food so the whole village can eat. The boy, Mahpiya, encounters many hardships on his travels across the prairie, as he struggles to find enough food to feed his village. After a near drowning, he returns triumphant with Mahpiya's Gift. This story about courage is told by Chaske, a grandfather trying to keep his people's culture alive by retelling the old stories to his grandchildren. Author Bio: Ruth Ann Ridgeway was asked to write this story for a Lakota school, so the children could immerse themselves in their language and culture. She is a teacher on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Her next three books have already been written.