Red-Haired Giants of Lovelock

Picture In Lovelock Ones: Native One, teens, Jema and Troy, are sent to a cave community to escape a flu outbreak. In my search for a cavern which could serve as quarters for a group of people, Lovelock Cave rose to the top of my list. It is located just twenty miles south of modern day, Lovelock, which sits in the mid-western desert region of Nevada.

Lovelock Cave is thought to be one of the most important archeological sites in North America. Its history of human occupation spans 3500 years, dating to 1500 BC. Over ten thousand archeological specimens including tools, bones, baskets, mummies, fifteen inch sandals, and the oldest feathered duck decoys exist from the site.

The first people in Lovelock Cave are known as the Lovelock Culture. The Northern Paiutes are believed to have replaced the Lovelock Culture. According to Paiute legend, a group of red-headed giants terrorized the local tribes. These large people are known as the Saiduka (Si-Te-Cah). The tribes are said to have banded together, drove the giants into Lovelock Cave, and exterminated them by fire. Some archeological evidence for a group of tall red-headed people exists from digs in the early 1900s.

It is Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, a Paiute writer and lecturer, pictured above with her father (a Paiute chief), who wrote down the legends in 1882 in a book titled Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims.

An early idea for the title of Lovelock Ones was The New Paiute. As the cave became more important to Jema and Troy, I decided to adopt it as the title. You may have noted the emblem (below) I had designed to represent this book series. It includes Jema’s icon, arrows, Troy’s icon, jack rabbits, and the outline of Lovelock Cave’s entrance in the center.

If you haven’t read Lovelock Ones: Native One you can find it in The Butterfly Box, an anthology of eight healing themed novellas. Native One is a novella centered around Jema, who decides she must find a cure for her sister. It will be followed by Bred One in Jan. 2018, which tells Troy’s challenges in the cave community.

Find The Butterfly Box:
US: http://a.co/bm5ExQN
UK: http://amzn.eu/bl6xlyR
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/6760621
Add to Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/b…/show/33228112-the-butterfly-box
 
To learn more about the Paiutes and Lovelock Cave go to these sites:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/lovelock-cave-tale-giants-or-giant-tale-fiction-003060
http://www.allaroundnevada.com/lovelock-cave/
 
Happy reading,
Tricia

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Published on January 24, 2017 05:43
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