TOBY JOHNSON is co-author, with Walter L. Williams, of Two Spirits: A Story of Life with the Navajo (2005), a historical novel that creatively recounts the brutal history of how Union soldiers mistreated the Navajo people in New Mexico just after the Civil War. It turns into a tender love story between the two-spirit “berdache” shaman of the tribe and the protagonist, a young government Indian agent with a conscience. Their passionate relationship allows the white agent to understand the Indians’ plight and seek to redress their mistreatment by the corrupt Union general who’s intent on stealing their land. The plot thickens as the Indian agent discovers that the native American culture honors people like himself—and his new beloved, who blends masculine and feminine characteristics.
