Miller weaves a wonderful tale from several personal (and at first glance unrelated) experiences. Enchanting ramblings about the American Southwest will influence anyone's opinion about this spectacular region of North America. This book provides a great read and much anecdotal knowledge that encourages readers to share these stories with others...sometimes as if they had lived these experiences themselves!

I am a 9 year old girl (named Morgan) starting 4th grade. I liked this book because its about a girl going back in time and she meets a lot of friends, especially the children who live in the castle in Ireland. Its an exciting book and was hard to put down. After a few chapters, I wanted to read the whole thing. I also learned about life in the 1800s.

For many years I have been planning on getting around to reading the "Secret of the Ruby Ring" I always forgot to order it, or buy it. When I finally bought it over the holidays, I eagerly opened it and from the first word to the last I was not only thoroughly satisfied, but I also knew it was worth the wait. I felt disgusted at first with the young protagonist named Lucy, but as the book commenced, and Lucy began to understand her life and the history of her country a bit more fully, I was in awe of her. I would never think to do things she knew automatically, yet I would have done things she didn't think of as quickly before she did them. I found myself connected to the characters, who in the beginning I had loathed, and I myself had more of an appreciation for not only MY life, but for those who lived in a time in Ireland that history books in the U.S. shallowly mention. A good book for anyone who loves to learn about history without learning directly, loves novels, or just thinks it sounds magical and exciting. It lives up to every readers expectations and more!

This is a wonderful story. It was a little slow to get into, but after the second chapter I found it hard to put down. (I also read Emma and the Magic Ring.)I highly recommend this book.

In response to Hank Adams review on Esther Ross, Stillaguamish Champion. Regarding the weakness ascribed to the book by Hank when Ruby is delving into comments made by Mad Bear about Dick Gregory. In footnote 6 of Chapter 7, a reference is made to the citation for Ruby's claim of Mad Bear's judgement of Gregory. The source cited is Arlington Times December 15, 1966: "Of the Nisquallies, the Tuscarora remarked that they had made a bad mistake by importing Dick Gregory, Negro comedian, to draw attention to their cause. (Gregory was arrested and brought to trial last month on a charge of illegal fishing.) The Indian and Negro problems are not the same. There is no parallel, Indians owned and occupied the land, while the Negro people were brought in as slaves of the white man. Therefore, he said, the Medicine Creek Treaty was not allowed at Gregory's trial." The authors properly cited their source of information before making the statement.

Esther Ross, Stillaguamish Champion, reads like a novel. It is the thirteenth book by Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown, co-authors of several popular Pacific Northwest Indian ethnohistories. American Indian activist LaDonna Harris describes it as "A story about an American Indian woman who takes incredible risks." Esther's daring schemes for tribal identification were played out over fifty years (1926-1976).
Legislators who met up with Ross still mention the fiery-eyed Indian woman chief obsessed with the goal of federal recognition of the Stillaguamish people. The tribe was a signatory of the 1855 Point Elliott Treaty, yet without federal recognition the Stillaguamish could not carry into effect the treaty promises-rights to certain lands, use of certain waterways. Eventually the policy makers with whom Esther kept company by way of her frequent trips to the Capitol declared her a nuisance. Her long-winded speeches, highly repetitive, and her disregard for protocol irritated the officials; she would talk far beyond her allotted time, and she wouldn't go home.
Ruby and Brown invested almost a decade piecing together Esther's story after her son Frank offered them the five footlockers of primary documents and secondary source materials which Esther had kept. While the materials provided a close look at twentieth-century Indian politics and federal policy, the compelling subject was Esther Ross, a woman ordinary and extraordinary, complex and creative, tricky and tenacious as a bulldog.
Ruby points out that Ross "was a double minority, one-fourth Indian and a feminist before that word was coined." Hard to believe that this same Esther never knew she was Indian until near the end of her high school years. Her father was Norwegian, and Esther lived her girlhood in white Northern California society. Her mother, not noticeably Indian, did not enlighten her daughter regarding Stillaguamish blood quantum. Esther's father died when she was ten. When Esther was twenty-two, in response to a call from Indian relatives in distress, Esther and her mother moved to Washington State where Esther, ignorant of tribal history, decided to "uncover her identity."
To strengthen her quest Esther searched the vicinity of the Stillaguamish River for a legitimate source of land to qualify as a land base for her people. She sought ancestral burial grounds from the whites who owned and plowed them. Instead she was offered some bones from an exposed site. Applying her flair for the dramatic, Esther would spill these human bone fragments across the desk of governor Dan Evans in Olympia and later, display them in the national Capitol.
In pre-war days Esther's foot-going treks to visit Stillaguamish families increased the tribal membership to more than sixty, but post-war visits revealed a group more interested in award moneys than in Esther's larger goals.
During 1964 Esther's path crossed that of Herbert Holdridge, a retired brigadier general who advocated buying up Nevada desert land and turning it into a sovereign nation for American Indians. However, she had far greater interest in fishing rights for the Stillaguamish, a matter of sustenance and revenue. Joining the Poor People's Campaign (1968), Esther and her son Frank were bused to DC where Esther made her presence felt.
The Boldt Case would make the difference. The federal government was contesting the state of Washington's control of Indian fishing rights. The government attorney advised that Indians were entitled to fifty percent of the fish harvest; the state had ruled five percent. Judge George Boldt would try the case in Tacoma's U.S. District Court. And Esther Ross would have her "fifteen minutes." Fortunately for Esther-and the courtroom-David Getches represented Esther as special counsel. When she took the stand, he guided her through a review of Stillaguamish River history. Judge Boldt's ruling favored the tribes. The grumbling of non-Indian commercial fishers was heard for years, but the Stillaguamish had won the right to fish.
It would be difficult to add up the thousands and thousands of miles Esther Ross traveled during her fifty-year crusade for Stillaguamish recognition by the federal government. Or to say how many state capitols she visited, how many elected officials heard her speak-badgering, cajoling, but never threatening-on behalf of all unrecognized tribes who 120 years ago had chosen to stay on their homelands rather than accept the reserves chosen by white men. Their great-grandfathers had signed a treaty that would preserve fishing rights, but those rights had been denied the landless Indians. Esther became, eventually, champion for the whole, her mission self-sustained despite her meager income. Esther's complete and absolute dedication was not doubted. Perhaps this accounted for her supporters even among those persons who deplored her outrageous schemes.
Among such schemes was one that would temporarily disrupt the national Bicentennial pageant. The escapade began June, 1975 in Blaine, Washington, near the Canadian border, where three horse-drawn wagons and Western-clad riders headed for the 200th National Birthday Celebration, a 3000-mile trek to Valley Forge. It was son Frank's idea to set up an attack, to waylay the wagon train until the Secretary of the Interior unconditionally recognized the Stillaguamish tribe. Frank called television and radio stations, and Paul Harvey on his daily national newscast announced the impending attack. Indian activism of the 1970s was recalled-siege at Wounded Knee, takeover at Alcatraz, trouble at Fort Lawton. The "attack" might prove to be more than symbolic.
At Stillaguamish headquarters (Island Crossing), Frank stopped the wagons. And Esther, age 71, a wrinkled little woman wearing Indian clothing, stood in the middle of the road and read her speech. An assistant to the interior secretary assured Esther that the document granting tribal recognition would be ready in thirty days. Eight months then passed without word from the government, and a new secretary of the interior, Thomas Kleppe, was appointed.
Two years after the Boldt decision Esther "recruited" a steelhead trout from the Stillaguamish river to play a part in a scheme that stunk to high heaven. Needing to familiarize Kleppe with her drive for tribal recognition, she air-freighted him a frozen 18-pound trout labeled "Washington Salmon." The flying fish had begun to age en route; on arrival, dockers, holding their noses, wanted someone from Interior to take it off their hands immediately. Kleppe's response to Esther was to thank her and mention his preference for beef, saying he had given the beautiful fish to his neighbors.
Esther had problems within her tribe. They referred to her style of leadership as nepotism and resented her hiring whites as assistants. They challenged her right to increase, then decrease, the blood quantum for tribal enrollment to suit her personal intent. They openly wondered how much of tribal funds she was spending on herself. The Stillaguamish wanted Esther stripped of privileges and functions. It was more than two years since the promise made at the wagon train; push needed to become shove. Esther Ross sued the Department of Interior. Judge June L. Green heard the case. On October 27, 1976 Esther Ross' goal was achieved: the Stillaguamish had a recognized place in time.
During January, 1988 Esther began to sicken. Ever-protective son Frank cared for his mother until her death August 1, 1988, a month short of her 84th birthday.

My name is Sandra M. Allen, Chief Esther R. Ross Was my Mom and grandmother.

My brother David has received a history book for his birthday about yrs after grandma passed away in 1990 and we had noticed that the full information wasn't in it about Stillaguamish and this is when we decided to have Esther's(grandmas)story written.

I spent from birth till I was 16years old on the road with grandma and I had an education that I thought should be shared and here it is. To me Grandma was a role model and someone I wanted to live my life by and follow. In the book tells everything both good and bad in some eyes, but everyone has a opion. When my dad (Frank)and myself talked about it too me I wanted a book out because I wanted to have people read and see what she did and was able to do. To me she did more then she was ever given credit for. David and myself gave our education while growing up but in this book everyone can see why we are proud to have had the experience. I have finished high school and college this year will be going on to law school to finish grandmas work... I will be going for Land and Water rights and am very proud to have had her as a Mom and as a role model. My Father Chief Frank Allen passed away one week before seeing the cover of the book on May 14.2001 it was given to us at the gave site, this is to us a wonderful book and has everything in it that we wanted and to my brother David and myself we hope schools will use it and hope that it encourages people to not give up and that one person can make a difference. This women you all are reading about was a legend, role modle,history maker,mother,and friend. She had people who couldn't stand to be around her and she had people who couldn't wait to see her she was a honor to be around and I am proud to say this book is a 5 star. This wasn't to be about facts or to please everyone this book is from us to you the readers its not just one more book Ruby and Brown have written, this is a part of our lives and a way to keep it all together for our children and grandchildren and so on this is opening up our lives to you to share with you what kind of women she was, she was a loving, caring and I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for her and my dad Frank Allen, I would have been like my other siblings out drinking and no education or just given up but my goal in life is to be like her and do as she would have me do. So please take the time and read about my mother/grandmother, and see why we wanted to share her life with you and I hope she can be a role model for you also or your children. I was with Esther till she was taken from us and went on to school and when I graduated I dedicated my diploma to my grandma and dad cause without them I wouldn't have had the wisdom or strength to try and be the most I could be....

So please share this with others and I hope the memories of our life with our mom/grandmother and father will live on. Dad and Grandma always were together and now they are together in peace.
I miss dad and grandma so Dearly but with this it makes it as they are here with us still and I can still her my grandmas voice when I read the book so many memories. Some people have a scrap book we have a history richer to us then gold that is what dad and grandma left me the richest person on earth a life time of fighting and tears and sweat to give me and my children and theirs an IDENTITY and its one we hold close to our hearts.