Black Wing
by David Campiche

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Above the precipice, a lone eagle circled. Two, three, four times, it floated across a half-dozen spots of living flesh, six men ascending painfully up the cliff face, praying for wings like his. Deep in the winter of 1896, Dan Skinner and his younger brother, André, flee into the icy, windswept mountains of British Columbia, barely ahead of a contingent of Mounties and their Tsimshian tracker, Tom LaCross, once a friend and mentor to Dan. In the brutal, relentless cat and mouse chase that ensues, some of these men will fall, but for the survivors a collision of cultures awaits far ahead in the wilderness. As history painfully unwinds at a dire time for the Native Peoples, and environmental disaster follows the destruction of their way of life, Black Wing introduces a cast of unforgettable characters: two friends torn apart by racial hatred, a Native shaman with formidable power, a wife determined to reunite with her lost husband, a band of Native people fighting to preserve their ways…and generations later, a descendant who takes on the quest for ecological balance. In gorgeous, sensory, lyrical prose, author David Campiche has filtered his meticulous research on First Nations history and traditions into a nail-biting thriller that pulses with grief and rage at all that’s been lost. Black Wing is a banquet for the senses, a symphony for the emotions, an elegy for what’s gone, and a clarion call for what needs to be done.

www.davidcampiche.com

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“In his distinctive, poetic voice David Campiche is able to tell a story that spins back to the 1890’s and the start of the early immigration of the European pioneers into British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, lands occupied by First Nations people for eons beyond memory. Campiche includes excerpts about Native ceremonies, legends of shape shifters, and so much more that is relevant to understanding the clash between two distinct and competing cultures. He is respectful of the indigenous peoples and their customs and offers insights into the lives and encounters of two cultures in a rapidly changing world. He is careful to not reveal the full detail of ceremonies held sacred by the First Nation Peoples yet tells a compelling yarn about the treatment and abuse of the First Nations. All is revealed with compassion and insight. I found it to be an incredible journey through moments of past and present history. Black Wing is a must read.” —John Joseph, Native American Spiritual Leader and Author of “Everything is a gift.” “David Campiche has written a stunning book. Black Wing is lyrical, poetic, and exciting in the face off of its two protagonists across relentless snow and cold. His depiction of the Pacific Northwest in all its physical beauty and power is the best I have ever read. It is hard to believe this is his first novel: read it slowly to savor every word.” —Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and The Mosquito

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David Campiche is a published poet, a professional potter, an avid outdoorsman, retired innkeeper of 42 years, and a passionate student of Indigenous cultures, art history, painting, and nature. He is a member of the National Audubon Society and Sea Resources and serves on the board of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. On trips into northern British Columbia, both privately and with the organization, EcoTrust, he conferred with leaders in the environmental effort to protect areas of the B.C. wilderness. David has published a book of poetry with the author, Jim Tweedie, two novellas, and has written columns and stories centering around the Pacific Northwest for The Chinook Observer and The Daily Astorian. He and his wife, Laurie Anderson, live on the Long Beach Peninsula in Southwest Washington State.

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Contributors

Author

David Campiche

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