Little Bird

Esther McLish, a Choctaw\-Cherokee woman, is faced with the latest in a string of tragic events, when her Chickasaw husband, Holmes Sr., unexpectedly leaves her a widow, just before the birth of their son. Shattered by her husband’s death, Esther embarks on a journey to have her son, Holmes Jr., listed on the final Chickasaw Nation rolls. Soon, Esther is forced to relive all of her life’s tragedies, as she must repeatedly testify on behalf of her son before the men of the Dawes Commission, who hardly seem to believe her. Can she succeed against all odds?\nBased on accounts of real people and events from the days of Indian Territory, Little Bird tells the story of one woman’s bravery in the face of heartbreak and misfortune.

Mary Ruth Barnes is a Chickasaw artist, teacher, and writer. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina State University, and received her master’s degree in education from Montana State University. In 2015, Barnes was named the Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year and in 2019, received the Women in the Arts Recognition Award from the Ada, Oklahoma chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 2017, she retired from her years of service with the American Cancer Society. Barnes is a long-time equestrian and likes to spend time with her husband, Mike, at their Oklahoma ranch. She enjoys painting and writing, and her short stories have been featured in The Journal of Chickasaw History and Culture. Little Bird is Barnes’s debut into the world of historical fiction and her first full-length novel.