An Unforgettable Journey into the Native American Experience

Against an unflinching backdrop of 1990s reservation life and the majestic spaces of the western Dakotas, Neither Wolf nor Dog tells the story of two men, one white and one Indian, locked in their own understandings yet struggling to find a common voice. In this award‑winning book, acclaimed author Kent Nerburn draws us deep into the world of a Native American elder named Dan, who leads Kent through Indian towns and down forgotten roads that swirl with the memories of the Ghost Dance and Sitting Bull. Along the way we meet a vivid cast of characters — ranging from Jumbo, a 400‑pound mechanic, to Annie, an eighty‑year‑old Lakota woman living in a log cabin with no running water. An unlikely cross between On the Road and Black Elk Speaks, Neither Wolf nor Dog takes us past the myths and stereotypes of the Native American experience, revealing an America few ever see.

“An imaginative leap that encompasses several genres in its successful attempt to convey some aspects of American Indian life and truth to American readers.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A chronicle extraordinary for its difficult truths and its stunning depths… This is a sobering, humbling, cleansing, loving book, one that every American should read.”
— Yoga Journal

“I expected to find Black Elk between these covers. What I found instead was more modern, more alive, and every bit as poignant and moving.”
— NAPRA Review

“Realists wanting a truthful, fiery, and ultimately cleansing dialogue between Indian and white will definitely want [this book].”

— Booklist