Little Indian War Goes Big
The few ups and many downs of the Modoc War of 1872–73: gunfights, battles, hangings, decapitations in the name of science, all played out against the backdrop of California's state-sponsored gencoide of Native peoples. A hard and necessary story.
Answers to Writing Questions You May Never Have Thought of
Carpentry is a good metaphor for explaining the difference between being a writer and being an author, for example. You'll also learn why backpacking with sons Darren McNally and Brian McNally is way cool, and how it is that partner Gayle Eleanor and I prefer wild places to cities.
California's Genocide Steps into the Light
In only the two years since The Modoc War was published, this state's extermination of Native peoples has lost its news value. More and more people, including non-Natives, have heard of it. There's a reason, and it's likely other than what you think.
Harte for the Wiyots
A young journalist working along the northern coast of California, Bret Harte found out how dangerous it could be to confront the genocidal reality behind a massacre of local Wiyot Indians.
California Governor Opens the Door on Native Genocide in the State's Closet and Apologizes
In an unprecedented move in front of a gathering of tribal leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom took responsibility for California's state-sponsored attempt to wipe out its Native peoples in the second half of the 19th-century. He went on to apologize for this atrocity and to establish a Truth and Healing Council to address the genocide's unresolved justice issues.
A Small Step in the Right Direction. Now Comes the Hard Part.
Oregon has expressed governmental "regret" over the many injustices that were the Modoc War of 1872–1873. That's a small step in the right direction. Now it's California's turn to go big and admit the 19th-century genocide that took place in this state. This unpalatable truth affects every Californian, Native and non-Native alike, to this day.
The Journalist and the Modocs
During the Modoc War, an intrepid correspondent from the New York Herald raised the bar for reporting on Natives.
The Nod and a Wink Slaughter: What California's Genocide Looked Like
In the 1850s local militia campaigns paid for the state set upon California's Indigenous people. Here's what one of those death squads looked like.
Telling the Truth About the Modocs
Sometimes the book you set out to write differs from the book you finish. The truth may be other than what you imagined. Here's the backstory.
Video: The Genocide in California's Closet
Genocide isn’t a crime that happens only in distant realms ruled by dictators. In fact, Native Americans were the target of state-sponsored and -funded policy in mid-19th-century California. This sermon explores the dimensions of this horror, considers its continuing effects, and challenges people of faith to seek a path to justice.