Far from the Forest

Far from the Forest is about the adventures of Kimimila (Mimi), a monarch butterfly. Mimi has emerged from her hibernation deep in the forest of Michoacán, Mexico, where she is befriended by Juan, a tree frog, who helps her prepare for her journey to America. She travels the migration path of her ancestors and is blown off course by a thunderstorm that separates her from the Monarch swarm. Upon crashing into a chokecherry tree, her wing becomes caught on a branch. Frightened and alone, she has no idea where she is or who will help her. A Lakota tale soars! Oglala Lakota author Tracy Hauff weaves a story of Kimimila, a monarch butterfly, on her incredible journey from Mexico to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Breathtaking illustrations by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Ame Myles bring this colorful migration to life.   Author Tracy Hauff is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and a contributor to museum exhibits created by the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS). She is the author of "Touch the Pen," published in the Articles of a Treaty, "The Sunflower," published in The Gift, and "These Men," published in Navigating Narratives, The Corps of Discovery in Teton Territory. Holding great respect for Uŋčí Makhá (Grandmother Earth), Tracy is passionate about saving the rainforests, indigenous homelands, and endangered species. She resides on treaty land in the sacred Black Hills. Illustrator Amé Myles is an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Tribe of North Dakota. She is a mixed-media artist who has been creating art in various forms since childhood. Self-taught, she works with a variety of materials including watercolors, ink, colored pencils and natural fibers with a focus on portraiture and the human form. She currently resides on Dakota homelands in Saint Paul, MN.