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“Falling into Congo: Fighting Off the Poachers” is available now through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kindle and Kindle Audiobook.
Fighting poachers, drug-runners, kidnappers and others who threaten the way of life of the Wantu people is the mission at the heart of a group of strangers who each travel to Africa seeking its beauty and grandeur. What begins as a journey to experience the land and wildlife soon becomes a confrontation with the devastating realities of wildlife poaching. Such is the adventure at the center of author Stan Bindell’s new novel, “Falling into Congo: Fighting Off the Poachers.”
“Falling into Congo: Fighting Off the Poachers” is available now through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kindle and Kindle Audiobook.
Often missing from American literature, Bindell says, Native American characters are front and center in this adventure, which finds Navajo and Hopi youth comparing their cultures with that of the fictional Wantu.
Environmental issues making headlines in Arizona are touchstones for the engaged adventurers of “Falling into Congo” as they encounter endangered white rhinos and other wildlife along with similarly imperiled human traditional cultures and wisdom.
The Native characters explore this new world alongside teen travelers from Flagstaff, New Jersey and Seattle, who bring a variety of experiences, values and skills to the adventure – a race-car driver, a photographer, a survivor of domestic violence, a jeweler’s son and a single mom.
In his foreword, Dineh environmentalist Tom Skrelunas explores how culture is essential to the environment and all living things among indigenous people. Bindell says the book reveals how indigenous teens must live in two realms, the Native American experience and the mainstream-society experience, and how the two interact.
At the center of the story, Hopi teenager Sky finds that tradition and modernization are not mutually exclusive. His African adventure illustrates how human experiences, even separated by vast distances, can be linked and shared. Bindell says his novel is designed to underscore the importance of connection to the earth among Native Americans and encourage the preservation and protection of traditional wisdom and practices everywhere.
Former educator Stan Bindell is a freelance writer and journalist whose work appears regularly in Flagstaff Business News, Quad Cities Business News, and 5enses magazine. He has been reporting from the Navajo and Hopi reservations for many years and taught at Hopi Jr/Sr High School for 23 years. He continues to report on Native American and environmental issues. Through his YouTube page, “Preserving Arizona Wilderness,” he works with videographers to share information about Arizona’s 90 designated wilderness areas, their beauty and the recreation opportunities they offer.
“Falling into Congo: Fighting Off the Poachers” is available now through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kindle and Kindle Audiobook. FBN
Courtesy Photo: FBN writer Stan Bindell holds his recently released novel, “Falling into Congo: Fighting Off the Poachers,” available on Amazon.
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