"A few increasingly outspoken Indians in Indiana, joined by a researcher in the Loyal Shawnee tribe in Kansas, have turned their wrath on Columbus and Hoosier writer James Alexander Thom. The Owen County author is nationally known for his Indian-related historical novels.

Thom's account misrepresents and even maligns Indians, said Debra Haza. She is a Columbus resident who serves on the city's cultural diversity committee and is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians.

"We are portrayed as savages and squaws. An Indian man is described as having a snakelike appearance. He (Thom) has all these misconceptions going through her (Mary Ingles') head," she said."

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Ruth Holladay: Hoosier's popular book is insensitive, Indians say (The Indianpolis Star 8/23)