Navajo Ranger, Stanley Milford Jr. chats about the chilling and clear-eyed investigations into bizarre cases of the paranormal and the unexplained in Navajoland.

As a Native American with parents of both Navajo and Cherokee descent, Stanley Milford Jr. grew up in a world where the supernatural was both expected and taboo, where shapeshifters roamed, witchcraft was a thing to be feared, and children were taught not to whistle at night. In his youth, Milford never went looking for the paranormal, but it always seemed to find him. When he joined the fabled Navajo Rangers—a law enforcement branch of the Navajo Nation who are equal parts police officers, archeological conservationists, and historians—the paranormal became part of his job. Alongside addressing the mundane duties of overseeing the massive 27,000-square-mile reservation, Milford was assigned to utterly bizarre and shockingly frequent cases involving mysterious livestock mutilations, skinwalker and Bigfoot sightings, UFOs, and malicious hauntings.

In The Paranormal Ranger, Milford recounts the stories of these cases from the clinical and deductive perspective of a law enforcement officer. Milford’s Native American worldview and investigative training collide to provide an eerie account of what logic dictates should not be possible. Register now to expand your own worldview and be ready for a chill to run down your spine!

Register for this virtual Author Talk at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

View upcoming Author Talk programs and recordings of past talks at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

The Author Talk series is sponsored by the Friends of the Leon County Public Library.

Discover the rich history of the Apalachee people, an indigenous group from the Tallahassee area. Curator David Ellis of Mission San Luis will explore their connection to the Mississippian Cultural Complex, a civilization that thrived in North America before European contact. Mr. Ellis will also discuss their cultural practices and how interactions with the Spanish impacted them.

You’re invited to join us as Mona Susan Power chats about her newest novel A Council of Dolls. This conversation highlights how her work explores Native Rights and Native American culture, in particular using an important symbol that anchors comfort and companionship in Native life: dolls. 

From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.

A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page.

Register for this virtual Author Talk at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

View upcoming Author Talk programs and recordings of past talks at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

The Author Talk series is sponsored by the Friends of the Leon County Public Library.