Choctaw Tribune

From an award-winning author and Choctaw storyteller comes a riveting tale set in turn-of-the-century Indian Territory. Who would show up for their own execution? It's 1892, Indian Territory. A war is brewing in the Choctaw Nation as two political parties fight out issues of old and new ways. Caught in the middle is eighteen-year-old Ruth Ann Teller, a Choctaw who doesn't want to see her family killed. In a small but booming pre-statehood town, her family owns a controversial newspaper, the Choctaw Tribune. Ruth Ann wants to help spread the word about critical issues but there is danger for a female reporter on all fronts-socially, politically, even physically. But what is truly worth dying for? This quest leads Ruth Ann and her brother Matthew, the stubborn editor of the fledgling Choctaw Tribune, to old Choctaw ways at the farm of a condemned murderer. It also brings them to head on clashes with leading townsmen who want their reports silenced no matter what. More killings are ahead. Who will survive to know the truth? Will truth survive? The Executions is a story of friendship, faith, and family in a gritty western setting with characters that fight for truth against all odds. About the Choctaw Tribune Series 1. The Executions 2. Traitors3. Shaft of Truth The Choctaw Tribune series follows the journey of a fictional Choctaw family as they encounter the real events and history in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a state. A historical fiction series with a Western flare, these Native stories explore racial, political, spiritual, and social issues in the old Choctaw Nation-and beyond. "Among the many pleasures of Sarah Elisabeth's writing are her attention to character, language, and period detail. In The Executions, a story grounded in history and the complexities of pre-statehood Oklahoma, she brings to life, with great heart, the compelling mix of cultures, faith, and political intrigue in the old Choctaw Nation. An intriguing read."-Rilla Askew, author of The Mercy Seat

Ruth Ann wondered if she and her brother would ever fully trust each other again. When Ruth Ann Teller learns the shocking truth her brother Matthew brings back from the coal mines in Choctaw Nation, she is devastated beyond words. Determined to piece her family back together, Ruth Ann resolves to find and hire the best lawyer in Indian Territory. But the best lawyer happens to be the Teller family's opposition: Tecumseh Shoemaker, who is determined to bring justice by pitting the family against one another. Broken trust with her brother pushes Ruth Ann to an unlikely alliance with the one person who promises to help her-Pepper Barnes. But Pepper harbors his own agenda, one that includes wrangling Ruth Ann into traveling to Washington, D.C. with a political delegation from the Choctaw Nation, serving as a reporter for the Choctaw Tribune. In D.C., Ruth Ann's hope turns to full-blood Choctaw lawyer Benjamin Nakishi, a man on the cusp of greatness-and who has his own troubled past and reasons not to return with her to Indian Territory. With a wounded heart and the future of her family hanging in the balance, Ruth Ann is caught in the swirl of politics, historical injustices, and romance in a bustling city full of its own stories and secrets. A judgment is coming that will affect the Teller family forever-but will justice truly be served?

From an award-winning author and Choctaw storyteller comes riveting tales set in turn-of-the-century Indian Territory. Inside the Choctaw Tribune series are stories of friendship, faith, and family in a gritty western setting with characters that fight for truth against all odds. This boxset includes books 1 - 3 of the Choctaw Tribune series. THE EXECUTIONS It's 1892, Indian Territory. A war is brewing in the Choctaw Nation as two political parties fight out issues of old and new ways. Caught in the middle is eighteen-year-old Ruth Ann, a Choctaw who doesn't want to see her family killed. In a small but booming pre-statehood town, her family owns a controversial newspaper, the Choctaw Tribune. Ruth Ann wants to help spread the word about critical issues but there is danger for a female reporter on all fronts-socially, politically, even physically. But what is truly worth dying for? This quest leads Ruth Ann and her brother Matthew, the stubborn editor of the fledgling Choctaw Tribune, to old Choctaw ways at the farm of a condemned murderer. It also brings them to head on clashes with leading townsmen who want their reports silenced no matter what. More killings are ahead. Who will survive to know the truth? Will truth survive? TRAITORS Betrayed.Someone is tearing at the fabric of the Choctaw Nation while political turmoil, assassinations, and feuds threaten the sovereignty of the tribe, which stands under the U.S. government's scrutiny. When heated words turn to hot lead, Ruth Ann Teller-a young Choctaw woman-fears losing her brother, who won't settle for anything but the truth. Matthew is determined to use his newspaper, the Choctaw Tribune, to uncover the scheme behind Mayor Thaddeus Warren's claim to the townsite of Dickens. Matthew is willing to risk his newspaper-and his life-to uncover a traitor among their people. But when Ruth Ann tries to help, she causes more harm than good-especially after the mayor brings in Lance Fuller, a schoolteacher from New York, to provide a rare educational opportunity for white children. How does this charming yet aloof young man fit into the mayor's scheme? When attacks against the newspaper strike and bullets fly, a trip to the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 is the key to saving the Choctaw Tribune and Matthew's investigation. But Ruth Ann must find the courage to face a journey to the White City-without her brother.SHAFT OF TRUTH On a mission to bring justice to the outlaw gang that murdered his father and brother, Matthew Teller leaves the Choctaw Tribune newspaper for his sister to operate and plunges into an unfamiliar world of darkness and danger. Working inside the coal mines of the Choctaw Nation-one of the most dangerous places in the country-he searches for a man who may have the answers to this six-year-old mystery. But after Matthew uncovers an earth-shattering truth that rocks him to his core, he must decide what right is, and what price he is willing to pay for it. Ruth Ann Teller knows she can handle publishing the Choctaw Tribune-until she loses their biggest advertiser. Now, with Matthew miles away and the future of the newspaper resting squarely on her shoulders, Ruth Ann must make a bold move to keep the newspaper afloat in her brother's absence. She sets it on a course for new success or total disaster. Striking coal miners. Outlaw gangs. An unsolved crime. And a Choctaw family that fights for one another, and for truth.