Author’s Note
I have lived among the Native American people of Arizona most of my life and have the greatest respect for their customs and beliefs. As I began to write Powerful Medicine, I soon realized spiritual matters would play a significant role in the story. Rather than inadvertently offend by treading on sacred ground, I chose to create a tribal group and their ceremonial customs loosely based on those of the main tribes in Northeastern Arizona, the Navajo, Apache, and Hopi. The first two are distantly kin with Athabascan origins so there are many similarities.
A hypothetical tribe existing only in my imagination, the InDinay are share traits with both the Navajo and Apache with a few traces of Hopi and Zuni. Their reservation is in the northeastern corner of Arizona where they
