Spirit Fire and Lightning Songs

Robert J. David's Spirit Fire and Lightning Songs makes a major contribution to the steadily growing body of research in the western United States that prioritizes indigenous voices myth and neuropsychological models to provide a fresh and innovative approach to decolonizing the past. As a Klamath Tribal member David's scholarly and engaging writing style lends itself to the retelling of Klamath-Modoc myths and the interpretation of how these myths convincingly relate to rock art at 4-Mod-22 a complex Klamath Basin petroglyph site in Northern California near the former Tule Lake. David's work at 4-Mod-22 highlights three distinctive classes of rock art: iconic motifs residual markings and geometric figures. Information provided by a combination of Klamath-Modoc ethnography and myth suggests that these distinctive rock art categories denote two patterns of ritual use that include shamans' consultations with their spirit familiars and shamanic power quests.