About the author
About the Author Belle Marie is of Menominee Indian descent and has provided years of instruction regarding the Native American way of living. Growing up in the small Wisconsin farming community of Milton, she learned from her parents what it is to be a Native American. She didn’t know that her family was different from others in this small town. When she was in the third grade at the community school, Harmony, one of her teachers asked her “What is your ethnicity?” She had no idea what the question meant. Yet, with each new assignment in Social Studies concentrating on the history of Wisconsin, she began her journey teaching about the Native American way of life. And later in the third grade, she gave her first presentation at the school. In the last three years, Belle Marie has taken her presentation skills to a whole new level. She settled down in Sedona, Arizona along with her significant other, David “White Cloud” Burkhart. Together, they are the company, Red Feather Life. They make weekly presentations to groups of people by including them in a Drum Circle. During the presentations she has provided guests with a basic knowledge of what it is to be a Native American. Within the context of the drum circle, which is an experience all of its own, Belle and David teach the seven life skills necessary to live by in the Native American Way. And now, forty-two years after she began her journey as a teacher about Native American life, she has written them down for anyone to read.